EMMITSBURG, Md. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team extended its win streak to four by claiming a thrilling 80-79 victory over Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena on Thursday night.
Junior forward
Mike Holloway Jr. led the Knights (11-15, 8-7 NEC) with 23 points and nine rebounds and became the 27
th Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball player to eclipse the 1,000 career-point mark. Holloway's milestone bucket came with a
smooth spin move out of the post, which he finished by dropping the ball in for his 18th and 19th points of the evening.
With the win, the Knights complete the season sweep of the Mountaineers (15-13, 9-6 NEC), who were 9-1 this season on their home floor. The Mount currently sits in a log jam tied for second place with three other teams at 9-6, while the Knights are one-game back along with LIU Brooklyn at 8-7.
The victory also clinches a third-straight NEC Tournament appearance for FDU as they have locked up one of the conference's eight postseason berths.
For the second time this season, the game came down to a final shot for the Mount but the Knights survived again. With FDU leading 79-76 and 14.5 to play, the Mount's Junior Robinson drew a foul from behind the arc and netted all three to tie the game.
On the ensuing possession,
Darnell Edge, who entered the game as the nation's top free throw shooter – missed the first but connected on the second to put the Knights on top by one.
The Mountaineers had one final shot but the defense of the Knights was up to task as they disrupted the play and forced Greg Alexander to heave a last-second 3-pointer, which was off the mark as time expired.
For the 19
th time this season, the Knights logged four players in double figures with sophomore forward
Kaleb Bishop's third double-double of the season highlighting the group. Bishop finished with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Edge scored 18 with six boards and five assists, freshman forward
Noah Morgan had 14 points and first-year guard
Jahlil Jenkins had seven points and seven assists.
Bishop's work on the glass contributed to a 42-26 disparity on the glass, which led to a 16-0 dominance in second-chance points by the Knights. The 42 rebounds are a season-best for the Knights against Division I opponents, while the 18 offensive boards they corralled tied for the season-high.
Robinson scored 23 to lead the Mount, who registered five players in double figures in the loss.
"This team is turning into the 2018 version of the cardiac kids," said an emotional
Greg Herenda following the victory. "They are playing so hard and so together but we're also making some critical mistakes. However, we are still finding ways to beat some very good teams over the last month of the season. This is a very difficult gym to win in and tonight our team showed tremendous resolve and character."
Herenda continued, "Our ability to score the ball in the paint and rebound were the ingredients for success tonight. The combination of Mike Holloway, Kaleb Bishop, and
Elyjah Williams combine to be a really special interior group. Kaleb's 16 and 14 are tremendous numbers that he is capable of providing. The interior play of Mike, Kaleb and Elyjah was huge tonight and we need to continue to get the ball inside to all three of those guys."
On his junior forward reaching the career milestone Herenda said, "I am so happy that Mike got his 1,000
th point in such a meaningful conference road victory. Mike has been a constant throughout our recent success here at Fairleigh Dickinson and he deserves to be in our great ring of honor with all of the other 1,000-point scorers."
The game began with an offensive flurry as the Mount buried six of eight from downtown, while the Knights hit 5-of-8 overall and trailed 20-15 at the first break -- which did not come until the 12:20 mark of the half.
Jonah Antonio spearheaded the Mountaineers' hot start by knocking down all three of his 3-pointers, while Jenkins' four points topped the Knights over the first eight minutes. Antonio finished with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
A Bishop tip-in with just under five to play in the half gave the Knights their first lead of the contest 29-28 before Robinson immediately answered with a bucket.
The Knights would regain the lead and build their largest cushion of the half, 36-31, after a Holloway bucket but the Mount went on to score the final seven points of the stanza and carried a 38-36 edge into the break.
Holloway paced the Knights at intermission with 10 points and four rebounds, while Bishop had eight points and five boards. The Knights shot 42.9% from the field and 4-of-6 from deep, while Mount hit 48.1% and 9-of-17 from behind the arc.
After trailing for the first 13 minutes of the second half, the Knights retook the lead, 64-63, when Edge knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:33 to play in regulation.
Edge would score eight of the Knights' next ten to give his team a 72-66 lead with under four to go. The Knights would keep the lead until the final 14 seconds when Robinson's free throws tied it.
For the game, the Knights shot 45.5 percent (30-of-66) and made 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from three-point range, while the Mountaineers finished at 43.1 percent (22-of-51) overall and 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) from deep.
In addition to Robinson and Antonio, Donald Carey scored 13 with seven rebounds for the Mount, while Bobby Planutis chipped in 12 points and eight boards on 4-of-5 shooting. The home team committed 11 turnovers in the game as the Knights snagged seven steals.
Holloway's work in the post resulted in a 36-10 advantage for the Knights in points in the paint.
"We now need to just get home and start preparing to play a very well-coached and tough St. Francis club." Herenda concluded,
Next up for the Knights is a trip to St. Francis Brooklyn this Saturday, February 17. The game tips off at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN3.
