HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team is set to host New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) on Friday night at the Rothman Center.

Game 3
Fairleigh Dickinson (1-1, 0-0 NEC)
vs. NYIT (0-2, 0-0 ECC)
Date: Friday, November 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
Coverage: NEC Front Row (Sitesh Shah and Darryl Jacobs) 
Live Stats

The Series
All-Time Series...1-0
at FDU...1-0
Knights Last Five...1-0
Knights Streak...W1
First Meeting..FDU 83, NYIT 58 (12/3/88)

The Coaches

• Head Coach Greg Herenda is in his sixth season at the helm of the Knights and improved to 6-0 in home openers with Wednesday's win over Queens. Last season, the Knights enjoyed their third consecutive .500 or better season in NEC play as Herenda led the team to a 9-9 conference mark. Under Herenda, the Knights have qualified for the NEC Tournament in four of his five seasons.
• Kevin Hamilton is in his third season as head coach of NYIT. Under his tenure, the Bears are 13-43 including a 9-27 mark in ECC play. The Iona College Hall of Famer joined the Gaels in 1976 after a successful prep career at North Babylon High School. In four seasons at Iona, where he played Jim Valvano, Hamilton helped guide the Gaels to an impressive 84-31 record and the program's first two NCAA Tournament appearances. Hamilton ended his career as Iona's fourth all-time leading scorer, with 1,412 points. The Boston Celtics selected Hamilton in the fourth round of the 1980 NBA Draft.

The Teams

• FDU was picked second in the NEC Preseason Poll for the second year in a row. The team welcomes back four of its five starters from last season and eight players total.  The Burgundy & Blue is coming off of an NEC Semifinals appearance. They opened the 2018-19 season last Friday in Piscataway and suffered a 90-55 setback to Rutgers before Wednesday's rout of Queens.
• NYIT is seeking its first win of the season following losses to Southern New Hampshire (83-65) and Franklin Pierce (91-82). In the loss to franklin Pierce, Jeffrey Hayden and Collins Onyeike each logged double-doubles. Hayden scored 26 points with 14 rebounds and Onyeike had 15 and 11.The Bears were picked to finish eighth in the ECC this season by the conference's preseason poll.

Opening Tip

• NYIT is the Knights' second-straight East Coast Conference (ECC) opponent.
• Over his first two games donning the Burgundy & Blue, Xzavier Malone-Key is averaging 10 points, five rebounds and two steals on 50 percent shooting.
• With Wednesday's win over Queens, Herenda improved to 6-0 in home openers at FDU.
• The Knights have forced 38 turnovers over the first two games of the season, including 21 last time out against Queens.
• The NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll selected the Burgundy & Blue to finish second this season with one first-place vote.
• Mike Holloway Jr. was named Preseason All-NEC at this year's NEC Media Day.

Knights Last Time Out
Six players scored in double figures as the Knights rolled to an 87-48 victory over Queens College in its 2018-19 home opener at the Rothman Center on Wednesday night.

Senior guard Darnell Edge scored a game-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four rebounds in 27 minutes of action. Fellow senior captain, Holloway Jr. finished with 15 points and five boards, while second-year point guard Jahlil Jenkins finished with 12 points and four assists in the victory.

The home Knights, who led by as much as 47 points, jumped out to a 16-2 lead with sophomore guard Tyler Jones spearheading the attack. The Lawrenceville, N.J. native scored a career-high eight points prior to the second media timeout, draining a pair of 3-pointers along the way. Jones would finish with 10 points in 13 minutes of court time.

The Knights (1-1) shot 57.9 percent from the field and forced 21 turnovers in the win, while limiting Queens to just 29.8 percent overall.

Herenda's Thoughts
"We got off to a sluggish start but our defensive pressure and our sharing of the ball in the second half really got us going. Give Queens credit -- they run their offense very well but we just guarded them hard for the entire 40 minutes. Having six players in double figures and 18 assists is a great sign of just how potent our offense will eventually be."

Next Up
The Knights travel to in-state foe, Princeton for their next contest on Wednesday, November 21. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Jadwin Gymnasium.