Game 29
Fairleigh Dickinson (11-17, 8-9 NEC) vs Bryant Bulldogs (3-27, 2-15 NEC)
Date: Saturday, February 24, 2018
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Rothman Center
Coverage: NEC Front Row

The Knights close out regular season action on Saturday afternoon when they host the Bryant Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. With playoff seeding up for grabs, the Knights will await the results of Thursday's other NEC games to find out their first-round opponent for next Wednesday's NEC Tournament Quarterfinal.

The Series...The all-time series is tied at 8-8
at FDU..FDU 3, BRY 4
Last Five...FDU 3, BRY 2
Streak... W1
Last Meeting...FDU 89, Bryant 78 (1/27/18 at BRY)
Opening Tip: Today's contest marks the conclusion of regular-season play for the Knights and the Bulldogs.
<> Prior to tip-off the team will honor seniors Darian Anderson and Mike Schroback for their hardwork and dedication to the program.
<> The Knights have locked up one of the eight seeds in the NEC Tournament, which begins next Wednesday. Their seed and opponent is still to be determined based on Saturday's results but they will be on the road for the opening round.
<> Junior guard Darnell Edge enters Saturday's contest as the nation's leader in free throw percentage at 93.8 percent on the season. Edge has only missed two free throws in conference play (54-of-56).
<> FDU is 7-5 at the Rothman Center this season, while the Bulldogs are 2-16 away from the Chace Athletic Center.
<> Tonight's game marks the end of Bryant head coach Tim O'Shea's  34-year career. O'Shea, who announced his retirement earlier this month, has led the Bulldogs for 10 seasons and worked as a Division I coach at Ohio and made stops at URI and Boston College.
<> Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba scored 20 points and had five steals in the team's 94-84 loss on Thursday night to Sacred Heart.
<> Bryant has used 17 different starting lineup combinations this season, which is tied with Siena and UT Martin for the most nationally entering the week. The Bulldogs have started 12 different players this season, with only Ikenna Ndugba (29) and Adam Grant (26) starting in at least two-thirds of Bryant's 30 games.

Knights vs Bulldogs
Last Five Meetings:
1/27/18: FDU 89, BRY 78 (at BRY)
1/28/17: FDU 72, BRY 73 - OT (at BRY)
1/7/17: FDU 87, BRY 84 (at FDU)
2/11/16: FDU 91, BRY 77 (at BRY)
1/4/16: FDU 80, BRY 85 - (at FDU)

Last Meeting Recap:
Freshman forward Elyjah Williams delivered his best game as a Knight to propel the team over Bryant 89-78. Williams recorded his first collegiate double-double and enjoyed a full stat line of 16 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in the victory. Starting in place of classmate Noah Morgan, the Evanston, Illinois native made his first start since November 26 and connected on all seven of his field goal attempts as the Knights shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) as a team. Five Knights scored in double figures led by junior guard Darnell Edge's 21 points. Edge drained a career-high five 3-pointers on 10 tries in the win. Freshman guard Jahlil Jenkins also notched his career-best with 20 points to go along with six assists and five boards, Holloway Jr. had 16 points and eight rebounds and sophomore forward Kaleb Bishop tallied 13 points and grabbed six caroms. Bryant sophomore guard Adam Grant led all scorers with 25 points but shot just 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) on the afternoon. After draining six first-half 3-pointers, sophomore guard Tanner Johnson missed all four of his attempts in the second stanza and finished with 19 points and six rebounds.

Knights Last Time Out
The Knights fell 90-82 to Saint Francis U at the Rothman Center on Thursday night. They 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.

Herenda Postgame:
"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."

"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."

"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."

Next Up: The Knights will compete in the NEC Tournament Quarterfinals next Wednesday, February 28 with time and opponent to be determined.