STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Xzavier Malone-Key finished with a career-high 24 points but the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell to Wagner 66-60 at Spiro Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Knights (6-10, 1-3 NEC) trailed by as many as 17 points in the game and closed to within four in the second half but were unable to ever capture the lead.
 
Malone-Key's career-high point total came on a 10-of-16 shooting performance as the Philadelphia native drained four shots from behind the arc.
 
Coming off of the bench for the first time since his freshman season and just the third team in his career, senior forward Mike Holloway Jr. finished with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and converted 7-of-8 at the free throw line.
 
The Knights, who entered the game with four players averaging double figures – five in NEC play – logged Malone-Key and Holloway as the lone double-digit scorers in the loss. 
 
For the Seahawks (8-7, 3-1 NEC), Romone Saunders recorded a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals, while Elijah Davis made 7-of-10 from the field and finished with 20 points.
 
Saunders' 11 boards helped the home team win the battle on the glass 38-22 and overcome 20 turnovers. The Seahawks also nabbed 14 offensive rebounds, which contributed to a 12-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Despite the loss, the Burgundy and Blue continued to force their opposition to cough up the ball as they forced 20+ turnovers for the fifth time on the campaign. The Knights have now caused double-digit miscues in all but one game this season.

"That was an old-school rivalry game today," said head coach Greg Herenda after the loss. "Both teams played very hard and competed. The difference was about three or four possessions that we were not able to capitalize on and they did. We are paying our dues now but our time will come. I just like the way we responded and fought today. It's a long haul here in the NEC and you really cannot overreact one way or the other."

On his senior forward coming off of the bench, "I brought Mike off of the bench to take the pressure off of him and he responded in a huge way. Oscar [Okeke] obviously was very active and brought a lot to the table early."

The Knights missed eight of their first 10 from the field as the Seahawks built a 10-point lead, 14-4, prior to the second media timeout.
 
After Tyler Jones canned a 3-pointer, the Seahawks continued to surge with a long ball by Davis and a bucket by Devin Liggeons, which capped an 11-0 run and resulted in a 24-7 lead for the home team. Jones made a pair of treys in the loss and finished with six points.
 
Six points from Holloway Jr. sandwiched a 3-pointer by Malone-Key as the Knights began to chip away at the deficit. Following a 3-for-15 start, the Burgundy and Blue hit four of their next five and closed to within single-digits, 28-19 with under six to play in the half.
 
Holloway came off of the bench and immediately had an impact, converting his first four shots, while totaling 11 points in his first six minutes of court time.
 
The Knights netted the last five points and held the Seahawks scoreless over the final two minutes of the half but entered the locker room trailing 40-31.

Holloway led all scorers at intermission with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while Malone-Key scored eight with a pair of trifectas.
 
Saunders scored 13 with four rebounds and two assists to lead the Seahawks, who shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
 
In the second half, the Knights sliced into the deficit and eventually trailed by four, 60-56, after a dunk by Malone-Key with 4:36 to play.
 
Davis answered the jam with a 3-pointer and the Seahawks' defense proceeded to hold the Knights scoreless over the next three minutes as they solidified the win.
 
The Knights will look to end their two-game slide when they take visit LIU Brooklyn next Saturday, January 19.