HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team carries its five-game winning streak to Fairfield, Connecticut as it prepares for battle with the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Thursday night.

The Knights and Pioneers currently find themselves in a three-way tie along with Saint Francis U for second place in the Northeast Conference standings.

Game 23
Fairleigh Dickinson (11-11, 6-4 NEC)
at Sacred Heart (10-13, 6-4 NEC)
Date: Thursday, February 7
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Pitt Center (Fairfield, Conn.)
Coverage: NEC Front Row | Live Stats
Talent: Allison Gaskins

The Series
All-Time Series...13-19
at Sacred Heart..7-10
Last Five..2-3
Streak..W1
Last Meeting...Fairleigh Dickinson 77, Sacred Heart 67 (2/8/18 at FDU)
All five Fairleigh Dickinson starters scored in double figures in the win. Noah Morgan led the charge by matching his career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while sophomore forward Kaleb Bishop amassed his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 boards.

The Knights shot 51.7 percent from the field and turned 13 Sacred Heart turnovers into 22 points. Jahlil Jenkins nabbed two of the Knights' seven steals and scored 15 with five assists and three rebounds, while junior guard Darnell Edge scored 17 in the victory. The four aforementioned starters along with Mike Holloway Jr.'s 12-point, five-rebound performance amounted to all 77 points scored by the Knights in the contest. Sacred Heart redshirt senior forward Mario Matasovic led all scorers with 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss.

Opening Tip

• The Knights extended their win streak to five with a pair of wins last week including a thrilling double-overtime triumph over Robert Morris. With the win, the Knights improved to 8-3 at home this season where they are averaging 84 points per game and out-scoring teams by 8.2 ppg.
• This is the first meeting this season between the Pioneers and Knights, who each defended their home court in last year's meetings. The Pioneers enter Thursday's game with a 7-1 home record.
• The Knights lead the NEC in FG% (46.9%), 3-PT FG% (38.0%), Assist/Turnover ratio (1.1), Steals (8.0) and Turnover Margin (2.0).
• Over the course of the Knights' five-game winning streak, they are +8.2 in scoring margin and shooting 48.9% from the field. Darnell Edge is averaging 18.9 points and 5.6 rebounds on 54.2% FG and 56.3% 3-FG (18-of-32).
• Jahlil Jenkins (36.9 mpg) and Darnell Edge (36.8 mpg) rank first and second in the NEC in minutes played, while Elyjah Williams is the NEC's leader in field goal percentage at 64.8%. Jenkins is also tops in Assist/Turnover ratio at 2.1.
• Mike Holloway Jr.'s next rebound will be the 700^th of his career. He is seventh all-time at FDU in rebounding.
• 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 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.
• Anthony Latina is in his sixth season as head basketball coach for Sacred Heart. He is just the third head coach in the program's history, succeeding Dave Bike who retired in 2013 after 35 seasons at the helm. Latina took over the reins of the program after spending eight seasons as an assistant under Bike. He joined Bike's staff in 2005-06 after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State. Prior to joining CCSU, Latina worked for four years as an assistant coach at UMass Lowell. During his playing career, Latina was a four-year starter and two-year captain as a point guard at Brandeis University.

Scouting Sacred Heart
Averaging 80.0 points per game, the Pioneers enter the weekend as the NEC's top scoring team. The team has won its past two games, defeating St. Francis Brooklyn (71-62) and Mount St. Mary's (87-79) last week. In the win over St. Francis Brooklyn, E.J. Anosike recorded a career-high 27 points and knocked down four 3-pointers. Anosike's work on the glass this season has contributed to the Pioneers' NEC-leading 39.3 rebounds per game. Jare'l Spellman and Anosike rank second and third, respectively in the NEC in rebounds per game. Offensively, the team is led by senior guard Sean Hoehn, who averages 17.4 points per contest -- fourth most in the NEC. Following their tilt with the Knights, the Pioneers will host Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.

Knights Last Time Out
The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team extended its win streak to five in thrilling fashion, as they outlasted Robert Morris 97-94 in double overtime at the Rothman Center on Saturday afternoon.

At the forefront of a total team effort by the Knights (11-11, 6-4 NEC) was senior guard Darnell Edge, who matched his career-high with 28 points and defended his title of NCAA free-throw percentage champion but draining all six of his shots from the line. Edge stepped up and made four crucial free throws in the final overtime to help seal the win. At 6-4, the Knights are now part of a three-way tie for second place in the NEC standings with Saint Francis U and their next opponent, Sacred Heart.

With the Knights leading by three in the final seconds, Robert Morris' (12-11, 7-3 NEC) Josh Williams' 3-pointer rattled out and Edge secured the rebound and the win for the home team. Williams poured in 34 points in the loss, while draining seven 3-pointers for the Colonials. The charity stripe proved to be the difference in the game as the Knights drew a season-high 28 fouls and made 31-of-40 at the line. The 31 made free throws are the most in a game since they made the same amount against Princeton back in 2014.

Following the victory, the team hoisted FDU Hall of Famer, Lee Shulman on to its shoulders and celebrated with the contingent of alumni who were in attendance. Shulman's No. 10 jersey was retired during the game in a halftime ceremony.

Edge played a game-high 49 minutes and made 8-of-15 overall and 6-of-9 from behind the arc, while nabbing seven rebounds. Jahlil Jenkins tallied 19 points, while Mike Holloway Jr. and Elyjah Williams each scored 17 in the win. Against the conference's top defense, the Knights shot 48.3 percent overall and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from behind the arc. They also logged 47 first-half points, the most surrendered in a half by the Colonials this season.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"That game was 100 percent for Lee Shulman and all of our alums that came out today. Darnell and Mike were our senior captains today and they led us to an extremely hard-fought victory. Our entire team gutted that one out and I am so proud of each and every player in our locker room. It truly was a great day to be a Knight."

Next Up
The Knights travel to Brooklyn to face-off with St. Francis Brooklyn this Saturday, February 9 at 4:00 p.m.