HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell 90-82 to Saint Francis U at the Rothman Center on Thursday night.
 
The Knights (11-17, 8-9 NEC) led by 12 points in the first half but could not hold off the explosive offense of the Red Flash (17-11, 11-6 NEC), who took control of the contest and finished at 51.7 percent from the field in the win.
 
Junior guard Darnell Edge topped four Knights in double figures with 21 points and freshman guard Jahlil Jenkins matched his career-high point total of 20 as the two players combined to convert all 11 of their free throws.
 
As a team, the Knights took care of business at the charity stripe by connecting on 21-of-23 (91.3 percent). Freshman forward Noah Morgan made all four of his chances at the line and scored 19 to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
 
Sophomore guard Keith Braxton filled up the box score with a game-high 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks to pace the Red Flash. Braxton knocked down 8-of-14 from the field and 11-of-13 at the line. Junior guard Andre Wolford hurt the Knights from behind the arc by connecting on five of the team's eight 3-pointers and finished with 21 points on 8-of-14 from the floor.
 
The Knights won the turnover battle 12-9 but were unable to keep up with the Northeast Conference's top scoring team in the second half. After hitting 50 percent of their first-half shots, the home team connected on just 38.7 percent in the second stanza.

"Tonight we just didn't have anything in the tank from the get go," said head coach Greg Herenda following the loss. "We actually played well early and had an early lead but it was deceiving -- we were never able to stop them for any length of time all night long. Our top six guys have to get some rest and get ready for Saturday."

Herenda continued, "We have played all of the top tier teams in our league recently but tonight Saint Francis looked to me to be the best of the bunch. They are very talented offensively and they can score in so many ways."
 
With FDU leading 15-14 in the early going, a 3-pointer by Mike Holloway Jr. set off a 10-0 spurt for the Knights. Holloway, who prior to the game was honored for reaching 1,000 career points, finished with 11 tallies and six boards in the loss.
 
After Holloway drained a three from the top of the key, Jenkins delivered a perfect alley-oop to Elyjah Williams who threw down the jam as the Knights led 27-15 with 11:30 in the half.
 
The Red Flash chipped away with a 14-5 run highlighted by a 3-pointer from Wolford to pull to within three, 37-34 with five minutes to play in the stanza.
 
After an FDU bucket, the momentum continued for Saint Francis, who closed the half on a 20-6 run and led 47-43 at the break.
 
Both teams were efficient in the half as the Knights shot 50 percent (14-of-28) and 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from behind the arc, while the Red Flash 17-of-33 (51.5 percent) overall and 4-of-10 from deep. The two squads both took care of business at the line too with FDU boasting a 10-of-11 performance and Saint Francis 9-of-11 at the charity stripe in the half.
 
Wolford was the catalyst for Saint Francis in the opening half as he knocked down four 3-pointers en route to a half-high 16 points at intermission.  
 
Out of the locker room, the Red Flash continued their surge.  Leading 57-54, a three-point play by Braxton spurred an 11-2 burst by SFU, which built a double-digit lead.
 
The Red Flash lead would grow to as large as 15, 86-71, after a jumper by Jamaal King with 3:28 to play. King finished with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
 
The Knights would score 11 of the game's final 15 points but would not get any closer than six the rest of the way as SFU secured its fourth straight win.
 
Ten offensive rebounds helped SFU outscore the Knights 12-3 in second-chance points and they out-rebounded the home team 37-29 in the contest.
 
The Knights close out the regular season on Saturday when they host Bryant at 4:30 p.m. Seniors Mike Schroback and Darian Anderson will be honored before the game with the annual senior day ceremony.

On the emotions of Saturday's senior day Herenda added, "I am going to have a very difficult time on Saturday saying goodbye to Mike and Darian. These guys have meant so much to the resurrection of our program and have been the best of friends and the best representatives of Fairleigh Dickinson University. I really want to send those guys out in style on Saturday."