LORETTO, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team led by as many as 28 points and earned their first NEC win of the season, 79-61, at Saint Francis U on Saturday night.
 
Senior guard Darnell Edge led the balanced attack with 17 points as the Knights (6-8, 1-1 NEC) registered five scorers in double figures for the sixth time this season.
 
Xzavier Malone-Key tallied 14 points and five assists, Jahlil Jenkins and Mike Holloway Jr. each netted 13 points and Elyjah Williams totaled 10 points, five boards and four assists in the victory.
 
The team's balance spread to the glass, where Holloway, Williams and Kaleb Bishop each nabbed five rebounds. After leaving the game at Robert Morris with an injury, Bishop returned to action on Saturday and scored nine points on 4-of-5 from the field.
 
The 18-point margin of victory is the most by the Knights in an NEC game since they defeated Central Connecticut by 19 two seasons ago.
 
At 57.9 percent from the field, the Knights logged their highest field goal percentage of the season and continued their defensive pressure by forcing the Red Flash (5-9, 1-1 NEC) to commit 18 turnovers.
 
Senior guard Jamaal King topped the box score for the home team with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

"I am so happy for every player on our team," said head coach Greg Herenda following the win. "We just went through a gauntlet on the road and didn't have much to show for it and we came into a very difficult building and beat a very very good team. We played very hard and we guarded and shared the ball from start to finish. We just about had six guys in double figures and what Kaleb did on a sprained ankle was special. It was all about team tonight and on both ends of the floor we were very solid. We need to continue to improve because every night in this conference you have to bring it and tonight we did."
 
Tied at 17, the Knights rattled off six straight points. The run started with a Tyler Jones 3-pointer and concluded with an Elyjah Williams layup as the Knights led 23-17 with 8:38 to play in the half.
 
With 23 seconds left, Malone-Key splashed a floater and provided the Knights with a 40-24 halftime lead. The sophomore's jumper concluded the first-half scoring as the Knights out-scored the Red Flash 17-7 over the final eight minutes.
 
The Burgundy and Blue shot 57.1 percent from the field and racked up 22 points inside the paint through the first 20 minutes of action. Defensively, the Knights' propensity for steals was at the forefront of 10 first-half Red Flash turnovers.
 
Seven Knights scored in the opening stanza led by Jenkins' nine points and Malone-Key's eight.
 
Malone-Key drained a 3-pointer to make it a 23-point game and forced an SFU timeout with 18:14 remaining.
 
After closing the first half on a 17-7 run, the Knights opened the second with a matching outburst as they knocked down seven of their first eight and established a 57-31 cushion. Edge was the catalyst over that span as he tallied 10 points to help the Knights build their comfortable lead.
 
The lead would eventually grow to 28 points, 64-36, after Jenkins converted a layup with 9:44 remaining.
 
The victory snaps the Knights' five-game road skid and is their second straight victory at Saint Francis U.
 
Next up for the Burgundy and Blue is a home date with Central Connecticut on Thursday, January 10 at 7:00 p.m.