HACKENSACK, N.J. – Senior forward
Mike Holloway Jr. was unstoppable as he rolled to a career-high 35 points in the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team's 81-63 triumph over Sacred Heart at the Rothman Center on Thursday night.
Holloway converted 14-of-18 from the field, 3-for-3 from downtown and scored 21 points in the opening half, while finishing with eight rebounds. The 21 first-half points by Holloway are a season-high by a Knight, while the three trifectas are a career-best for the senior forward. In addition, the 35 points are the most by a Knight in a game since Sean Baptiste scored 37 back on January 3, 2009 against Quinnipiac.
The Pittsgrove, N.J. product also moved into 11
th on the Knights' all-time scoring list, passing Chad Timberlake and now has 1,397 career points. Holloway's 30-point outing is the second consecutive by a Knight as his fellow senior captain
Darnell Edge tallied a career-best 32 points against Bryant this past Saturday.
The Knights (14-13, 9-6 NEC) earn a season split with the Pioneers (12-16, 8-7 NEC), who featured two players in double figures including E.J. Anosike, who amassed a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double.
In addition to Holloway, sophomore
Jahlil Jenkins chipped in 12 points, four assists and three rebounds, while junior
Kaleb Bishop added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Defensively, the Burgundy and Blue held the Pioneers to 35.8 percent shooting overall and a stingy 6-of-27 (22.2 percent) from three-point range.
With the win, the Knights, who have won eight of their last 10, currently occupy second place in the NEC standings and hold the tiebreaker over Robert Morris, who is also 9-6 in NEC action. They also clinch their fourth consecutive .500 or better NEC season and their fifth NEC postseason berth in six seasons under head coach
Greg Herenda.
"Simply put, Mike was our Superman tonight. I have no words to describe Mike's performance -- offensively he was as good as it gets tonight," said Herenda following the win. "I am just so happy for him -- all of his hours working on his perimeter shooting paid off in a huge way tonight. To have back-to-back seniors have career nights says alot about the state of our program and that's exactly what Darnell and Mike Holloway have just done."
Herenda added, "On top of everything, giving Brad Hurlbut the game ball was a special moment for me and my team. These are exciting times at Fairleigh Dickinson and we still have alot of basketball in February and March."
After the Knights fell behind 15-7 in the early going they found the touch offensively, with Holloway leading the charge. The senior forward netted 10 of the team's first 19 points as they trailed 22-19 at the eight-minute media timeout.
The Knights took their first lead since the 2-0 when Jenkins drove past his defender for a right-handed layup and gave his team a 23-22 edge with 5:08 to play in the half.
Holloway continued his surge and finished a perfect 9-for-9 in the half en route to 21 points as the Knights carried a 36-30 lead into the locker room.
As a team, the Knights shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the half, while holding the Pioneers to 29.7 percent. Ozier paced the Pioneers in the half with 15 points and finished with 22 in the game.
In the second half, a jumper by Jare'l Spellman eventually closed the gap to four, before the Knights pulled away for good. A 14-4 run was highlighted by Holloway's third 3-pointer of the game and the Knights never looked back.
The lead would eventually grow to 18 for the first time after Jenkins glided to the rim for a layup with 4:23 to go. Jenkins was the key man down the stretch for the Knights as eight of his 10 points came in the second stanza.
The Pioneers were never able to get back within single-digits as the Knights rolled to the final horn.
Next up for the Burgundy and Blue is senior day this Saturday, February 23 against Wagner. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Rothman Center.
