WORCESTER, Mass. – A cold-shooting second half resulted in a 67-49 setback for the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team at Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon.
 
After carrying a one-point lead into the locker room, the Knights were held to 22.6 percent (7-of-31) from the field in the latter stanza and saw the Crusaders pull away with the win.
 
Sophomore forward Elyjah Williams scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting to top the Knights' statsheet and second-year guard Jahlil Jenkins finished with 10 points and five rebounds in the loss. Senior guard Darnell Edge finished with 10 points and added four rebounds to his ledger, while classmate Mike Holloway Jr. totaled eight points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
 
Holy Cross featured four players in double figures led by Austin Butler and Connor Niego, who scored 13 apiece. Senior forward Jehyve Floyd filled up the box score for the host Crusaders with 12 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
 
The Knights, who were playing short-handed with just eight active players, lost the turnover battle 19-12 but out-rebounded the Crusaders 42-36 in the loss. The Crusaders logged 29 points off of the 19 FDU miscues and overcame a 2-for-18 (11.1%) performance from three-point range by amassing 42 points in the paint.
 
The 49 points are the fewest scored by the Knights since a 2014 loss at Columbia.

"I loved our composure and execution after the first few minutes of the game today," said head coach Greg Herenda following the loss. "We opened the lead to seven points but the key was only going into the half up one. We had a chance to extend the lead but we never did. All I can say about the second half is that we just completely ran out of gas on both ends of the floor. We had five players out today and they have been out for practice for almost the last 10 days. The wear and tear on our top six took its toll."
 
The Knights trailed 16-11 midway through the opening half and shot 4-for-14 (28.6%) over that span. Floyd's defense helped to limit the FDU offense as he blocked three shots in the first five minutes of action.  Defensively, the Knights held the Crusaders to a 2-for-10 start from downtown.
 
Williams' first 3-pointer of the season ignited a 12-0 run, which gave the Knights their first lead of the game, 23-16, with under five minutes to play in the half.
 
A soaring slam by Malone-Key highlighted the outburst and forced a Holy Cross timeout at the 4:04 mark before consecutive layups by Butler and Patrick Benzan quelled the Knights' momentum.
 
Despite tallying two points over the final four minutes, the Burgundy and Blue carried a 25-24 edge into halftime. Through the first 20 minutes of action, the Knights dominated on the glass, 18-10, knocked down 3-of-5 (60%) from three-point range and 9-of-23 (39.1%) overall.
 
Edge had a team-high six points at the break, while Xzavier Malone-Key scored five with four boards. Malone-Key failed to score in the second half and was held to single-digits for the first time in his FDU career.
 
For the Crusaders, Floyd had four points, four rebounds and four blocks and Jacob Grandinson scored seven points to lead all scorers at intermission.
 
The home team scored the first six points of the half before Holloway Jr. ended the spurt with a pair of free throws. The Crusaders' momentum continued as they extended their run to 16-6 and established a double-digit lead, 44-33, with 10:30 to go.
 
After an Edge layup with 9:39 remaining, the Knights suffered a five-minute drought, which allowed the Crusaders to pull away and enhance their cushion to 19 points. Williams finally ended the scoreless stretch for FDU by converting a layup at the 4:11 mark but the deficit proved to be too large.

"Now we have 11 days to rest, heal and prepare for a three-game homestand. I like this group alot but we have to get our key reserves back and have a complete team again."
 
The Knights have 11 days off before returning to the Rothman Center for three straight games. First up is a date with Army West Point on Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m.