HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team travels to Holy Cross on Saturday for a non-conference game at the Hart Center.

Game 7
Fairleigh Dickinson (3-3, 0-0 NEC)
at Holy Cross (4-3, 0-0 Patriot)
Date: Saturday, December 1
Time: 1:05 p.m.
Location: Hart Center (Worcester, Mass.)
Coverage: PLN | NESN+ | Live Stats | WEEI Radio

The Series
All-Time Series...1-0
at Holy Cross...0-0
Knights Streak...W1
Last Meeting..FDU 87, Holy Cross 76 (11/22/17 at FDU)

The Knights shot 62.5 percent in the second half and sprinted past Holy Cross for a 78-67 victory last season in the first-ever matchup.

The Knights blitzed the Crusaders with a 10-0 run in the second half, which spanned 1:10 and was highlighted by a vicious dunk from Elyjah Williams, which resulted in a 65-63 lead at the five-minute mark. From that point on, the momentum continued as the Knights ran away with the victory.Four Knights scored in double figures led by junior guard Darnell Edge, who netted a career-high 23 points and dished out six assists in his 39 minutes of action. Mike Holloway Jr. recorded his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard Darian Anderson scored 17 to go along with six assists in the win.

The Knights overcame 19 turnovers by out-rebounding the Crusaders 37-27. Holloway and Williams each nabbed three offensive boards in the win, which contributed to 16 second-chance points for the home team. Freshman guard Caleb Green led the Crusaders with 22 points and junior forward Karl Charles tallied 17 in the loss.

Opening Tip

• Playing for the second time in three days, the Knights dropped a non-conference road test 69-59 at Providence on Tuesday night.  The Knights played the Big East Friars tough and remained within striking distance throughout the contest including a 40-39 second-half score, but ultimately were unable to take the lead.
• Senior guard Darnell Edge's final campaign in Hackensack is off to a great start as he earned NEC Player of the Week honors on Monday and currently ranks fourth in the conference with 17.5 ppg.
• Today's game marks a return to Worcester for Greg Herenda, who spent five seasons as an assistant at Holy Cross (1989-94).
• Through the first six games, the Knights are averaging 8.2 made 3-pointers per game, the highest rate since they knocked down 8.5 per game in 2002-03.
• 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. 

The Coaches
Head Coach Greg Herenda is in his sixth season at the helm of the Knights. 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. The Jersey City native spent five seasons as an assistant at Holy Cross (1989-94). 

Bill Carmody is in his fourth season at Holy Cross. He owns a career record of 326-291, after earning his 300th career victory when the Crusaders defeated Harvard 63-52 on Nov. 22, 2016. During the 2015-16 season, Carmody led the Crusaders to their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1953 and their first Patriot League Tournament title since 2007. His team won all four of its Patriot League Tournament games on the road, becoming the first team in conference history to accomplish that feat. 

Scouting Holy Cross
Holy Cross is off to a 4-3 start this season and is coming off a 73-62 loss at Harvard on Wednesday. The Crusaders previously had won three straight contests against Stony Brook (84-70), Siena (57-45) and Albany (69-65 OT). Holy Cross currently leads the Patriot League in turnover margin (+3.6 turnovers per game) and assist-turnover ratio (1.7-to-1).

Sophomore guard Jacob Grandison has led the team by averaging 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Sophomore guard Austin Butler has added 12.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while making 45.8 percent of his 3-pointers. Four other Crusaders are averaging at least six points, led by sophomore guard Caleb Green, who averages 10 points per contest.
 

Knights Last Time Out
Fairleigh Dickinson dropped a non-conference road test to Providence 69-59 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Tuesday night.

The Knights (3-3) remained within striking distance of the Big East Friars (5-2) for the duration of the contest and won the second half 40-39 but were unable to ever take the lead.

Xzavier Malone-Key led the way with 16 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting effort and has now scored in double figures in all six games. The Philadelphia native added five rebounds and two steals to his ledger, while Jahlil Jenkins joined his teammate in double figures with 12 points in the loss. Providence junior forward Alpha Diallo led all scorers with 20 points and nabbed eight rebounds for the Friars, who shot 50 percent in the victory.

After a cold-shooting first half, the Knights rebounded to shoot 57.7 percent from the field in the second stanza and 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range. The Knights also held their own on the glass surrendering a 34-31 rebounding edge. Junior forward Kaleb Bishop was at the forefront of the rebounding effort with a season-high 12 caroms.

Herenda's Thoughts
"I'm very proud of our effort tonight from start to finish. I just wish that we could have played better offense in the first half. Give Providence's defense a ton of credit. They are very long, athletic and well-schooled." 

"Also, I am excited that our big guys are starting to come around and play better. Kaleb was a force on the glass tonight on both ends and Mike finished really strong around the basket. We came here tonight to win and didn't but the guys played their hearts out and we have nothing to be ashamed of. We competed for 40 minutes against a very good Big East team and acquitted ourselves well."

Next Up
The Knights have 11 days off before opening a three-game homestand on Wednesday, December 12 against Army West Point.