HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team looks to build on its MLK Day win when St. Francis Brooklyn arrives at the Rothman Center on Thursday night.

Game 19
Fairleigh Dickinson (7-11, 2-4 NEC)
vs St. Francis Brooklyn (12-7, 4-2 NEC)
Date: Thursday, January 24
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
Coverage: NEC Front Row | Live Stats

The Series
All-Time Series...55-42
at FDU...33-20
Last Five..2-3
Streak..L2
Last Meeting...St. Francis Brooklyn 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 74 (2/17/18 at St. Francis)
Last season, the Knights saw their four-game win streak come to an end as they fell 87-74 to St. Francis Brooklyn at the Pope P.E. Center. The Knights shot 49.1 percent from the field but were unable to overcome 16 turnovers, which led to 17 points for the Terriers. In addition, the Knights were just
2-of-11 from behind the arc in the second half and finished 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) for the game. Jahlil Jenkins led the Knights with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting but failed to record an assist for just the second time in his young career. Jenkins' backcourt mate Darnell Edge scored 17, while Noah Morgan scored 12 with six rebounds and Kaleb Bishop had 11 points and eight boards. St. Francis sophomore guard Rasheem Dunn led all scorers with 21 points on 5-of-17 shooting but did most of his work at the free throw line where he connected on 10-of-12 attempts. As a team, the Terriers shot 27-of-34 (79.4 percent) at the line and 26-of-56 overall (46.4 percent).

Opening Tip

• Last time out, the Knights rolled to an 18-point victory over Mount St. Mary's
• The Knights have dished out a season-high 21 assists in each of the last two outings. The 42 assists are the most in consecutive games by the team since 2006.
• Inside the Rothman this year, the Knights are averaging 85.9 points per game and have scored at least 80 points in all but one game.
• The Knights are 5-3 at home this season, while the Terriers are 5-5 on the road.
• Senior guard Darnell Edge rebounded from a rare scoreless performance at Wagner last week to average 21.5 points on 65 percent shooting over the last two outings.
• Five Knights are averaging double figures in points for FDU this season: Darnell Edge, Xzavier Malone-Key, Jahlil Jenkins and Mike Holloway Jr. and Kaleb Bishop. The Knights are the only team in the NEC and one of only 25 in the nation currently in the exclusive group.
• The key to the Knights' defense this season has been their 8.5 steals per game average, which leads the NEC and ranks 23^rd in the nation. They also are 59^th in the country in turnover margin (+2.8).
• The Burgundy and Blue currently lead the NEC in field goal percentage (46.7%), 3-point field goal percentage (36.7%), steals (8.5), turnover margin (+2.8) and assist/turnover ratio (1.04), while the Terriers feature the conference's top field goal defense (42.4%) and 3-point field goal defense (27.8%).

Suits and Sneakers Week
The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball coaching staff will be participating in the Suits and Sneakers week as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer program. The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. This initiative leverages the personal experiences, community leadership, and professional excellence of coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities, and advocacy programs. Since 1993, coaches have raised over $100 million for the American Cancer Society.

The Coaches

• Head Coach Greg Herenda is in his sixth season at the helm of the Knights. Last season, the Knights enjoyed their third consecutive .500 or better season in NEC play as Herenda led the team to a 9-9 conference mark. Under Herenda, the Knights have qualified for the NEC Tournament in four of his five seasons, including a 2016 NEC Championship when the team earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament featuring the third-youngest team in the nation.
• Glenn Braica, now in his ninth season, was named the 17th head coach in 2010. In eight seasons at the helm of the Terriers, Braica has recorded 115 wins, which are the fourth-most by a head coach in program history. Braica has a stellar 77-65 (.543) mark in NEC action and has guided the Terriers to the NEC Tournament seven times. Braica has made coaching stops as an assistant at N.Y. Tech (1989-90), St. Francis Brooklyn (1990-04), and St. John's (2004-10). The 1989 Queens College graduate is a native of Brooklyn.

Scouting St. Francis Brooklyn
At 4-2 in NEC play, the Terriers enter Thursday night's game in second place in the conference standings. The team has won its last three games by defeating Saint Francis U (72-68) and Sacred Heart (92-85) at home and LIU Brooklyn (79-70) on the road last time out. The NEC Player of the Week, sophomore guard Jalen Jordan leads the attack and averaged 24.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists, while shooting 53.8 percent from three-point territory last week. On the season, Jordan ranks fourth in the conference with 16.5 points per game and is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers per contest, which ranks second. The Terriers feature the conference's top field goal defense by limiting opponents to 42.4 percent this season overall and just 27.8 percent from behind the arc. Thursday's game begins a stretch of four straight road games for the Terriers, who travel to Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.

Knights Last Time Out
Led by a pair of 20-point games from Darnell Edge and Kaleb Bishop, the Knights defeated Mount St. Mary's 87-69 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Rothman Center.

The senior guard Edge finished with 23 points and junior forward Bishop added 21 as the two combined to make 10 3-pointers in the victory. Bishop's 21 points match a career-high for the Paterson, New Jersey native, who added five rebounds to his ledger and made 5-of-8 from three-point range.

In addition to the high-scoring duo, sophomore guard Xzavier Malone-Key chipped in 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting with six rebounds and three assists, while second-year point guard Jahlil Jenkins added 10 points with four assists and three steals.

As a team, the Knights (7-11, 2-4 NEC), who led wire-to-wire, shot 51.7 percent for the game and made 12-of-26 from three-point range. The Burgundy and Blue forced 13 turnovers in the win and converted those Mount miscues into 20 points at the offensive end.

In the loss, Omar Habwe paced the Mountaineers (4-15, 1-5 NEC) with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"That is exactly what the doctor ordered -- a home win and a great second half of defense to finish the game. Kaleb, Xzavier, and Darnell were tremendous all day offensively but it was about our team defense that sealed the deal today. Today was a big step back in the right direction for our team. Now the students are back and we have a really good St. Francis team in here on Thursday night. Today was a great day and crowd to honor Martin Luther King Day and hopefully we can back it up with another big crowd on Thursday."

Next Up
The Knights travel up to Smithfield, Rhode Island to square off with the Bryant Bulldogs this Saturday, January 26 at 4:00 p.m.