HACKENSACK, N.J. – Having won eight of their last 10 games, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team hosts Wagner on Saturday afternoon at the Rothman Center in their home regular-season finale.

Prior to tip-off, the Knights will recognize seniors Nadi Beciri, Darnell Edge, and Mike Holloway Jr. along with team manager Nick Tucci in the annual Senior Day ceremony.

Game 28
Fairleigh Dickinson (14-13, 9-6 NEC)
vs. Wagner (13-13, 8-7 NEC)
Date: Saturday, February 23
Time: 4:30 PM
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
Coverage: Live Stats
Video Stream: NEC Front Row (Sitesh Shah and Darryl Jacobs)

Opening Tip

• The Burgundy and Blue, have secured their fourth straight NEC postseason bid and currently occupy the second spot in the NEC standings by way of a tiebreaker over Robert Morris, while holding a one-game lead over Wagner.
• The Knights lead the NEC in field goal percentage (47.2%), 3-point FG% (39.4%), Assist/Turnover ratio (1.1), Steals (7.9) and Turnover Margin (1.6). Their 39.4 percent clip from behind the arc is 14th-best in the nation. In addition, their steal total ranks 31^st, they have forced the 51^st-most turnovers and the field goal percentage is 50^th.
• At home this season, the Knights boast a 10-4 mark and are averaging 83.1 points per contest on 49.9% shooting. They have won six of their last seven at home and the 10 home victories are the most in the Greg Herenda era.
• Mike Holloway Jr. is coming off his best offensive performance of his career. The senior amassed 35 points (14-of-18 FG) in the win over Sacred Heart. The 35 points are the most by a Knight since Sean Baptisted scored 37 against Quinnipiac on January 3, 2009.
• Herenda enters Thursday's game with 199 career victories and has the Knights back in the NEC tournament field for the fifth time in his six seasons.
• Darnell Edge leads the NEC in both 3-pt FG% (47.0%) and FT% (87.5%). His 47 percent 3-point clip is seventh best in the nation.
• Edge and Holloway have each recorded career-high point totals in the last two games. Prior to Holloway's 35, Edge netted 32 points in last Saturday's win over Bryant
• The Knights are 13-0 when leading with five minutes to play in regulation.
• This is the second meeting between the Knights and Seahawks this season. Wagner prevailed 66-60 back on 1/12 in Staten Island.

The Series
All-Time Series...53-56
at FDU..31-26
Last Five..1-4
Streak..L1
Last Meeting...Wagner 66, Fairleigh Dickinson 60 (1/12/19 at Wagner)
Xzavier Malone-Key finished with a career-high 24 points but the Knights fell by six at Wagner earlier this season.

The Knights trailed by as many as 17 points in the game and closed to within four in the second half but were unable to ever capture the lead. Malone-Key's career-high point total came on a 10-of-16 shooting performance as the Philadelphia native drained four shots from behind the arc. Coming off of the bench for the first time since his freshman season and just the third team in his career, senior forward Mike Holloway Jr. finished with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and converted 7-of-8 at the free throw line.

The Knights, who entered the game with four players averaging double figures – five in NEC play – logged Malone-Key and Holloway as the lone double-digit scorers in the loss.

For the Seahawks, Romone Saunders recorded a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals, while Elijah Davis made 7-of-10 from the field and finished with 20 points. Saunders' 11 boards helped the home team win the battle on the glass 38-22 and overcome 20 turnovers. The Seahawks also nabbed 14 offensive rebounds, which contributed to a 12-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Despite the loss, the Burgundy and Blue continued to force their opposition to cough up the ball as they forced 20+ turnovers for the fifth time on the campaign. The Knights have now caused double-digit miscues in all but one game this season.

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.
• Seventh-year head coach Bashir Mason has a earned a pair of NEC Coach of the Year honors during his tenure. Like Herenda, Mason hails from Jersey City. A 2007 graduate of Drexel, Mason concluded his college career second on the Dragons' all-time steals list (226) and fourth on its all-time assists list (471). Mason arrived at Wagner from Marist College, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach, under Dan Hurley.

Scouting Wagner
The defensive minded Seahawks enter Saturday's game coming off of a two-point loss at Bryant on Saturday. The Seahawks nearly erased a 13-point halftime deficit to take the lead but Bryant held on for the win in a game that was televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Defense is the key to Wagner's success as they lead the NEC in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 66.7 points per game, however, at the offensive end the team is last in the conference averaging 66.5 points per contest. Romone Saunders is the focal point of the team's offensive attack as he leads the Seahawks in points per game (16.9), assists per game (3.7) and rebounds per game (7.1). The defensive performance by the Seahawks this season can be traced to its ability to force difficult shots. They are holding teams to just 41.9 percent from the field, which is the lowest rate in the NEC this season. Next up for Wagner closes out the regular season next week with home games against Robert Morris and first-place Saint Francis U.

Knights Last Time Out
Mike Holloway Jr. was unstoppable as he rolled to a career-high 35 points in the Knights' 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.

The Pittsgrove, N.J. product also moved into 11th 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 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.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"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. 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. "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 left."

Next Up
The Knights will look to solidify their postseason spot and earn an NEC Tournament home game when they close out the regular season on the road next week. First up is a date with Mount St. Mary's on Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m.