HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team closes out its regular-season series with St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon at the Pope P.E. Center.

The Knights and Terriers are tied for fourth in the NEC standings with FDU currently owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Game 24
Fairleigh Dickinson (11-12, 6-5 NEC)
at St. Francis Brooklyn (14-10, 6-5 NEC)
Date: Saturday, February 9
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Pope P.E. Center (Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.)
Coverage: NEC Front Row | Live Stats

The Series
All-Time Series...56-42
at St. Francis Brooklyn..22-22
Last Five..3-2
Streak..W1
Last Meeting...Fairleigh Dickinson 60, St. Francis Brooklyn 58 (1/24/19)
A spirited defensive effort propelled the Knights to the 60-58 victory. The Knights who held the Terriers (12-8, 4-3 NEC), to just 21 first-half points, needed to make four stops in the final minute to sustain their two-point edge and their \defense came through. The 21 points are the fewest permitted by the Knights in a half this season.

Darnell Edge led the way for the Burgundy and Blue with 18 points and matched his career-high eight rebounds on 7-of-12 from the field, while second-year point guard Jahlil Jenkins amassed 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting performance.

For the Terriers, Rosel Hurley scored a game-high 19 points and Deniz Celen and Jalen Jordan each chipped in with 16. Celen netted a double-double by corralling 10 rebounds for the Terriers, who grabbed 14 offensive boards and won the battle on the glass 35-31. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for St. Francis Brooklyn.

The Knights' stingy defense held the Terriers to just 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) from behind the arc and 38.1 percent overall.

Opening Tip

• The Knights saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday night as they fell by six points at Sacred Heart. In the loss, the Knights were held to just 34 percent from the field -- their second-lowest output of the season.
• This is the second meeting between the Knights and Terriers this season. FDU prevailed by two points back on January 24 in Hackensack. The Terriers are 8-1 overall at home this season, including a 3-1 mark in NEC play.
• The Knights lead the NEC in FG% (46.3%), 3-PT FG% (38.3%), Assist/Turnover ratio (1.1), Steals (8.1) and Turnover Margin (2.0).
• In their Jan. 24 win over St. Francis BK, the Knights held the Terriers to just 21 first-half points -- the fewest they have permitted this season. They also held the Terriers to just 4-of-26 (15.3%) from downtown.
• Jahlil Jenkins (36.9 mpg) and Darnell Edge (36.7 mpg) rank first and second in the NEC in minutes played, while Elyjah Williams is the NEC's leader in field goal percentage at 63.6%. Jenkins is also tops in the NEC in Assist/TO ratio at 2.1.
• Mike Holloway Jr. grabbed career rebound No. 700 in the loss at Sacred Heart. He now ranks seventh all-time in rebounding at FDU and 12th in points (1,317).
• 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 21 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.
• Glenn Braica, now in his ninth season, is the 17th head coach in SFBK history. In eight seasons at the helm of the Terriers, Braica has recorded 115 wins, which are the fourth-most by a head coach in program history. Braica has a stellar 77-65 (.543) mark in NEC action and has guided the Terriers to the NEC Tournament seven times.​​Braica has made coaching stops as an assistant at NY Tech (1989-90), St. Francis Brook- lyn (1990-04), and St. John's (2004-10). The 1989 Queens College graduate is a native of Brooklyn.

Scouting St. Francis Brooklyn
The Terriers have dropped two of their last three but defeated Wagner 51-44 on Thursday night at the Pope Center. In the win, Rosel Hurley scored a game-high 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, recorded four rebounds, and two steals. The Terriers feature the NEC's top defensive field-goal unit at 42 percent and also 3-point field goal defense as they are holding teams to just 29.3 percent from behind the arc. Sophomore guard Jalen Jordan propels the Terrier offense at 16.6 points per game (sixth in the NEC) and makes 3.0 3-pointers per game, which is second most in the conference.

Knights Last Time Out
The Knights' five-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday night as they fell to Sacred Heart 69-63 at the Pitt Center. For just the fourth time this season, the Knights were held to two scorers in double figures. Mike Holloway Jr., who grabbed his 700^th career rebound in the loss, finished with a team-high 13 points and went 6-for-6 at the line. Xzavier Malone-Key tallied 11 points, while junior forward Kaleb Bishop scored nine points with eight rebounds.

The Knights trailed by just two points in the final minute but the Pioneers (11-13, 7-4 NEC) were able to close the game out at the free throw line.

With the win, the Pioneers improved to 6-0 at home in NEC play and 8-1 overall inside the Pitt Center. Kinnon LaRose's 16 points led the way, while Koreem Ozier scored 14 points with nine rebounds and E.J. Anosike added 12 points and seven boards for the home team.

In the loss, the Knights, who lead the NEC in field goal percentage, were held to 34.4 percent overall but connected on 9-of-20 (45 percent) from behind the arc. Freshman guard Brandon Powell drained 2-of-3 from long range and set his career-high with six points in the loss, while senior guard Darnell Edge filled up the box score with seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"We were just not in sync offensively the entire night. For the most part, I was very happy with our defensive intensity and execution but we need to execute on both ends of the floor. To win conference road games, you need to do a number of things on the offensive end -- we needed to get better shots and be aggressive taking those shots and tonight we were not. The difference between winning and losing in this league is minimal and tonight we just did not do the little things well enough to win on the road."

Next Up
The Knights begin a four-game homestand next Thursday, February 14 when they welcome Saint Francis U to the Rothman Center. The game will air on CBS Sports Network and the Knights will host Love and Basketball night as part of the NEC's promotional schedule.