HACKENSACK, N.J. – With five players in double figures, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team extended its win streak to four by topping LIU Brooklyn 80-77 at the Rothman Center on Thursday night.
In a game that was nationally-televised on ESPNU and in front of a raucous Burgundy and Blue crowd, the Knights (10-11, 5-4 NEC) delivered the victory and earned a season series split with the Blackbirds (10-11, 4-5 NEC).
Senior guard
Darnell Edge spearheaded the Knights attack with 20 points and came through with a pair of big 3-pointers in the second half to help solidify the win. Second-year point guard
Jahlil Jenkins tallied 15 points with nine assists and five rebounds, while junior
Kaleb Bishop scored 16 points with eight boards.
The Knights made nine 3-pointers and shot 56.3 percent from behind the arc in the win. Senior forward
Mike Holloway Jr. chipped in 11 points and sophomore
Xzavier Malone-Key added 10 points in the win.
Four Blackbirds registered double figures in the loss led by Julian Batts' 17 points. Raul Frias and Ty Flowers each scored 16, while the NEC's leading scorer Raiquan Clark finished with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
In the win, the Knights blocked six shots -- their second most against a Division I opponent this season -- with Holloway swatting three and
Elyjah Williams turning away a pair. This is the eighth time this season that the Burgundy and Blue have notched five players in double figures.
After the game, head coach
Greg Herenda said, "That was a university victory from top to bottom. Our crowd was awesome -- I cannot thank our students, fans and alumni enough for making the Rothman Center the sixth man tonight."
"LIU is a very talented and well-coached team and tonight we just could never run away and hide from them," Herenda continued. "They just kept coming back and coming back but the combination of Jahlil, Darnell and Xzavier responded time and time again tonight. That was an exciting competitive NEC game and we had to fight to the end to secure that victory."
Herenda concluded, "On top of all of that, the announcement of our new athletic director, Brad Hurlbut was the cherry on top of the cake. We are very excited to have Brad here as our leader and to show him the potential of our crowd and the pride that FDU possesses was special."
A 7-for-11 start for the Blackbirds helped them capture a 17-10 lead before Edge struck from downtown for the Knights.
After the Blackbirds extended their lead to double-digits for the first time, the Knights answered back with a pair of trifectas from Edge and Malone-Key to make it a 25-21 game with under nine minutes to play in the half.
Edge splashed another 3-pointer at the 6:30 mark, which officially erased the deficit and provided the Burgundy and Blue with a 31-30 lead.
As a team the Knights connected on seven of their first eight from behind the arc and led 41-33 at the under-four media timeout. The long ball proved vital as the Knights rattled off 15-3 run to establish their lead.
The Burgundy and Blue shot 50 percent in the opening stanza and ultimately carried a 45-38 lead into halftime. Edge paced the Knights with 11 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting, while Bishop added 10 points with three boards and a pair of steals.
Frias made all five of his first-half shots and finished with 13 points to pace the Blackbirds, who shot 51.7 percent from the field.
The Blackbirds opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt, highlighted by an alley-oop to Flowers before Bishop canned a 3-pointer to net the Knights first points.
Bishop's bucket propelled the Knights on a 7-0 run of their own, which resulted in a 52-44 lead with 17:11 to go. Malone-Key brought the crowd to its feet with a breakaway dunk, which forced an LIU timeout.
With 13:19 to play in regulation, Edge gave the Knights their biggest lead of the game, 60-49, by converting a nifty three-point play. From the baseline, Edge pivoted and lured the defender into the air, leaned in for the contact and sank the basket for the and-one opportunity.
A 1-for-7 offensive stretch by the Knights allowed the Blackbirds to chip away and close to within three, 62-59 with just under eight minutes remaining.
Each time the Knights appeared to pull away, the Blackbirds would answer and the game headed into the final three minutes with FDU on top 68-64.
The game entered the final minute with the Knights on top by three. On the ensuing possession, Jenkins penetrated into the lane and dished off to Holloway for a layup.
After the teams each made a pair of free throws, Batts knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the FDU lead to two, 76-74, with 30.6 seconds to play. From that point on, the Knights were able to close out the game as Edge and Jenkins made all six of their free throws to seal the victory.
Next up for the Knights is a home game against Robert Morris this Saturday, February 2 at 4:30 p.m. The team will honor FDU Hall of Famer, Lee Shulman with a halftime jersey retirement ceremony.
