AMHERST, Mass. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team led for nearly 30 minutes but in the end was edged by Massachusetts 85-84 on Friday afternoon at the Mullins Center.
 
The Knights (5-6), who were on top for 28:52 and held a 14-point first-half lead, were held scoreless over the final 1:28 as the Minutemen (6-6) came away with the win.
 
Luwane Pipkins' difficult layup in traffic with 30 seconds to go proved to be winning basket for the home team. The Knights had two chances but were unable to find the go-ahead bucket before the final horn sounded.

First, Jahlil Jenkins drove hard to the basket and nearly sank a floater but it rimmed out. After UMass missed a pair of free throws, the Knights had 2.6 seconds to travel the length of the floor. Darnell Edge managed to make a long 3-pointer but the shot was released just after the buzzer sounded and UMass was awarded the victory.
 
For the second straight outing and the third time in the last four games, five Knights scored in double figures. Jenkins led the way with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals as the Knights shot 54.5 percent from the field.
 
In the battle against his older brother, Rashaan, senior forward Mike Holloway Jr. finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with three steals. Xzavier Malone-Key matched Holloway's 15 points, while junior forward Kaleb Bishop scored 16 with six boards and Edge added 11 in the loss.
 
For UMass, Pipkins scored 20 with seven assists and five boards, while the elder Holloway scored 18 on an efficient 8-of-9 shooting.
 
After making 6-of-9 from deep in the first half, the Knights shot just 2-for-11 from distance in the second half.
 
The Minutemen's comeback was aided by a red-hot second-half shooting performance, which saw the home team convert 75 percent (18-of-24) from the field.

Following the game, head coach Greg Herenda said, "What can you say? We played so well for so long and left everything on the floor. I am so proud of my guys, my staff and our program. I really do not feel that we lost -- the game just ended with UMass up one. I am so happy for Mike and his brother today. Both brothers played great and have everything to be proud of. Again, we had five guys in double figures and played so hard as a team but it obviously was a tough ending for us."
 
After Jenkins nabbed a steal and finished a layup for the first bucket, Holloway swished a baseline jumper over his older brother as the Knights led 9-7 at the first media timeout.
 
Edge converted his first two shots of the afternoon and the Knights started 7-of-10 from the field en route to a 16-13 lead.
 
Senior captains, Edge and Holloway accounted for 15 of the Knights' first 27 points on 6-of-8 shooting as they led by nine at the under-eight media timeout.
 
A 15-3 run by the Knights was highlighted by a pull-up 3-pointer by Malone-Key, which gave the Knights a 32-19 lead and forced a UMass timeout. The Knights hit 11 of their first 15 shots overall, including 5-of-6 from downtown and eventually established a 14-point lead with 6:07 to play in the half.
 
After shooting 54.5 percent overall and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from behind the arc, the Knights carried a 44-36 lead into halftime.  Defensively, the Burgundy and Blue forced seven, first-half miscues and blocked four shots.
 
Holloway led all scorers at the break with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Bishop scored 12 and made a pair of 3-pointers.
 
Jonathan Laurent topped the halftime box score for UMass with 11 points and made 3-of-4 from downtown. Laurent hit 6-of-8 overall in the win and grabbed six rebounds with five assists.
 
The Knights began the second half the way they started the first, with a turnover leading to a Jenkins bucket which rebuilt the double-digit lead. But Rashaan Holloway went on a 6-0 run of his own – with three dunks –
 
Five straight points by Jenkins were followed by back-to-back dunks from Malone-Key and Bishop as the Knights netted a 62-54 lead with 11:33 to play. Malone-Key's jam came after he leapt into the passing lane and finished a two-handed slam, while Bishop darted down the lane to clean up a missed layup.
 
Leading 64-57, the Knights endured a two-minute scoreless stretch, which allowed the Minutemen to score seven unanswered and tie the game with 8:30 to play. Edge ended the drought for the Knights when he finished a reverse layup off of a feed from Holloway.
 
Pipkins gave the Minutemen their first lead since the 15-minute mark of the first half by knocking down a 3-pointer with 7:25 to go. The lead moved to 74-70 as the hot shooting continued for the home team. Over the course of the comeback, the Minutemen enjoyed a 12-of-13 stretch from the field. During that same span, they also made 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
 
The Knights weathered the storm and four straight offensive rebounds eventually resulted in a 5-0 run by Malone-Key, which put his team back on top, 80-78, with three minutes to play.
 
With the Knights up by one, Pipkins finished a difficult up-and-under layup inside to put the Minutemen in front, 85-84. After an FDU miss and a pair of missed free throws by the Minutemen, the Knights had one final chance with 2.8 seconds to go.
 
Needing to go the length of the court, the Knights were unable to get off a shot prior to the horn as Edge's 3-pointer – which he made – came after the buzzer had sounded.

Herenda concluded, "We treated today's game as our final exam for the first semester and we passed with a very high grade. This game will help us prepare for our ultimate goal in March for sure."
 
The Knights have eight days off before they close out non-conference action next Saturday, December 29 at South Florida.