HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team welcomes LIU Brooklyn to the Rothman Center on Thursday night in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPNU. 

Thursday also marks "Crime Stoppers Knight" inside the Rothman Center as the University honors local community law enforcement and FDU Public Safety. Admission for the game is FREE to all who reside in the following Crime Stoppers communities – Bergenfield, Bogota, Englewood, Teaneck and Hackensack (ID required). 

In addition to Crime Stoppers, the Fairleigh Dickinson students will take part in a #LevelUp video-gamed theme night hosted by FDU Student Life.

Game 21
Fairleigh Dickinson (9-11, 4-4 NEC)
vs. LIU Brooklyn (10-10, 4-4 NEC)
Date: Thursday, January 31
Time: 5:01 PM
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.) 
Coverage: ESPNU | Live Stats
Talent: Kevin Brown and Seth Greenberg

The Series
All-Time Series...53-53
at FDU..27-25
Last Five..1-4
Streak..L3
Last Meeting...LIU Brooklyn 79, Fairleigh Dickinson 77 (1/19/19 at LIU)

The Knights held a double-digit advantage in the first half and led by nine with 11 minutes to go but were unable to slow the Blackbirds, who shot 61.3 percent in the second half and eventually took the lead they would not relinquish. Darnell Edge led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Elyjah Williams filled up the statsheet with 18 points (6-for-8), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Kaleb Bishop joined the duo in double figures with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Four Blackbirds scored double figures paced by Raiquan Clark's 20 points. Clark finished with a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds and helped his team pull down 17 offensive boards to win the battle on the glass 40-25. The 17 offensive caroms led to 18 second-chance points for the Blackbirds. In the loss, the Knights dished out a season-high 21 assists.

Opening Tip

• The Knights extended their win streak to three on Saturday with a 15-point victory at Bryant. In the win over the Bulldogs, junior forward Kaleb Bishop led four Knights in double figures with his second 20-point game of the season.
• Inside the Rothman Center this season, the Knights are averaging 83 points per game and hold a 6-3 record.
• Thursday's contest marks the return of one of the great Burgundy and Blue alums, ESPN College Basketball Analyst and longtime coach, Seth Greenberg. Greenberg played for the Knights from 1974-78.
• The last three games between the Knights and Blackbirds have been separated by a total of eight points -- with LIU prevailing in all three, including a 79-77 edge back on January 19.
• The Knights lead the NEC in FG% (46.8%), 3-PT FG% (36.5%), Assist/Turnover ratio (1.1), Steals (8.3) and Turnover Margin (2.5).
• Five Knights are averaging double figures in points 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 in that class.
• The key to the Knights' defense this season has been their 8.3 steals per game average, which leads the NEC and ranks 28^th in the nation. They also are 60^th in the country in turnover margin (+2.5).
   

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.
• In his first season with the Blackbirds, Derek Kellogg led the team to a NEC Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Prior to his arrival in Brooklyn, Kellogg served for nine seasons as the head coach at UMass. Before that, he served for eight seasons as an assistant under head coach John Calipari at Memphis. Kellogg graduated from UMass in 1995 and was named a 1995 Atlantic 10 All-Conference selection. His teams won all four A10 titles, while playing under coach Calipari.

Scouting LIU Brooklyn
LIU is coming off a dominant win over Central Connecticut State last time out. The Blackbirds led by as many as 30 points Saturday afternoon in Detrick Gymnasium before finalizing an 84-71 over the Blue Devils. Five Blackbird players scored in double digits in the win, led by Raiquan Clark, who had a game-high 21 points. The Blackbirds, who are the last team to defeat FDU, are part of a six-team NEC tie at 4-4. Prior to their win over CCSU, the Blackbirds suffered back-to-back losses to St. Francis Brooklyn (79-70) and at Mount St. Mary's (74-72). LIU has taken care of business on the defensive glass this seasons where they pull down 27.2 boards per (second in the NEC). Defensively, they lead the conference in blocked shots averaging 4.65 per contest. At the offensive end, the Blackbirds rank third in the NEC at 75.4 points per game, while Clark leads all NEC players with 21.4 points per contest. Following Thursday's tilt with the Knights, the Blackbirds travel to Wagner to face the Seahawks this Saturday.

Knights Last Time Out
The Knights extended their win streak to three by defeating Bryant 78-63 at Chace Athletics Center on Saturday afternoon.

Four Knights scored in double figures led by junior forward Kaleb Bishop, who finished with 20 points and four rebounds on 7-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

In addition to Bishop's second career 20-point game, Mike Holloway Jr. scored 16 with seven boards, Xzavier Malone-Key tallied 12 with eight rebounds and Darnell Edge scored 10 with seven rebounds. The Knights outrebounded the Bulldogs (7-12, 4-4 NEC) 38-32 and held them to 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from behind the arc.

For Bryant, SaBastian Townes scored 18 points, while Joe Kasperzyk finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the loss.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"That was a very solid road conference win and it started with Mike and Kaleb in the paint on both sides of the ball. When our bigs play that way we can be a very special team. We just beat a team that has been playing really good basketball. I'm very proud of how this team took care of business after a tough battle on Thursday night. It is not an easy turnaround game, especially traveling up here and preparing within 43 hours -- it's a testament to our conditioning and toughness. Now we need to rest and get ready for another week in the NEC."

Next Up
The Knights host Robert Morris this Saturday, February 2 at 4:30 p.m. At halftime, the team will retire FDU basketball hall of famer, Lee Shulman's No. 10 jersey as part of a ceremony honoring the standout Knight.