LORETTO, Pa. – Led by the clutch shooting of guards Jahlil Jenkins and Darnell Edge along with sophomore forward Kaleb Bishop's career-high 21 points, the sixth-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team topped third-seed Saint Francis U 84-75 at DeGol Arena on Wednesday night to advance to the Northeast Conference Semifinals.
 
The Knights (13-17) will travel to No. 4 seed LIU Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon for the semifinal matchup, which tips at 12:00 p.m.
 
Trailing 72-69 with three minutes to go, the Knights closed the game on a 15-3 run to complete the victory. Edge hit the game-tying 3-pointer, which sparked the run and then freshman forward Noah Morgan dropped in a layup for the go-ahead basket.
 
In the win, Bishop finished with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go along with five rebounds and Jenkins scored 16 with six assists and five boards. Jenkins also connected on all four of his 3-point attempts on the night.
 
Five Knights logged double-figures with all five players contributing with timely baskets down the stretch. Morgan logged his second career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while the junior guard Edge finished with 18 points and hit a game-tying 3-pointer in the final minutes. Mike Holloway Jr. scored 11 with six boards as the Knights out-rebounded SFU 37-29.
 
Following the win, head coach Greg Herenda said, "I really do not know where to start but I can say that I am so very proud of this group. Saint Francis is a good basketball team and very well-coached but we answered every run that they made. Kaleb was awesome, Noah, Darnell, Jahlil – you can go down the list but that again was all about team."
 
Herenda continued, "I think the game was eventually decided by our ability to get on the offensive glass and get more shots than Saint Francis and we capitalized a great deal on those opportunities. I just love our grit on the road. That makes our team 5-5 on the road and that speaks volumes about the character of our team."
 
The Knights held a double-digit lead, 18-7, after junior forward Nadi Beciri buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key just under seven minutes into play.
 
With FDU leading by eight, a 12-2 run by the Red Flash gave them their first lead of the game with 4:47 to play in the opening half. A pair of 3-pointers by Scott Meredith spurred the run for the home team.  After a Bishop layup, the momentum resumed for the Red Flash, who immediately answered with three-straight buckets, including a pair of 3-pointers by Braxton and Andre Wolford.
 
Trailing by seven, the Knights closed the stanza with a flurry by scoring the final eight points -- aided by back-to-back 3-pointers by Edge and Jenkins -- and entered the locker room with a 40-39 lead.
 
In the opening half, the Knights connected on 6-of-11 from behind the arc and 51.7 percent overall, while the Red Flash shot 54.2 percent and 9-of-10 at the free throw line.
 
Three Knights eclipsed 10 points in the first half as Edge scored 12, Jenkins 11 and Bishop 10. The home team was led by Braxton's 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, while no other SFU player scored more than six. Braxton finished with a game-high 24 points with 10 rebounds and five helpers.
 
An 8-0 burst, highlighted by an Edge 3-pointer, gave the Knights a 57-54 lead with under 12 to play. The Red Flash had built a five-point edge prior to the run.
 
Bishop's aggressiveness and work on the glass helped the Knights establish a 69-60 lead with 7:17 to play in regulation. Four of the sophomore forward's five rebounds in the win came on the offensive glass.
 
After a timeout, the Red Flash (18-12) blitzed the Knights with a 12-0 run that spanned less than three minutes of game time to take a 72-69 edge. Jamaal King hit a 3-pointer over the course of the run and finished with 17 points and six assists in the contest.
 
Despite the surge by the home team, the Knights remained unfettered as Edge calmly splashed a corner 3-pointer to even the score. The Saugerties, New York native's long ball sparked the game-altering run as the Knights proceeded to score 15 of the next 18 points, including the game's final seven.
 
Herenda concluded, "I cannot thank enough Crystal Simmons and our cheerleaders and our loyal fans that came on the fan bus to cheer us on. Loretto is a tough place to get to and the group that made the trek was a huge help in that victory. Now we have another really tough opponent in LIU on Saturday. We have to travel home now, get rest and start preparing for a very good and physical LIU club."
 
The Knights will now take on the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn in Saturday's semifinal matchup. The two teams split their season series with each team winning on the road.