HACKENSACK, N.J. – With the 2019 Northeast Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth at stake, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team takes on Saint Francis U Tuesday night on ESPN2.

The second seed Knights (19-13) are seeking their second NEC Championship since 2016 when they take on the top seed Saint Francis Red Flash (18-13) at DeGol Arena on Tuesday night. The two NEC preseason favorites finished tied atop the conference standings at 12-6 with the Red Flash earning the top spot by way of a tiebreaker.

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Game 33
#2 Fairleigh Dickinson (19-13, 12-6 NEC)
at #1 Saint Francis U (18-13, 12-6 NEC)
Date: Tuesday, March 12
Time: 7:01 p.m.
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
Coverage: Live Stats | ESPN2 
Talent: Mike Couzens and Chris Spatola

Opening Tip

• The Knights captured a share of the NEC regular season title for the first time since 2006 and are set to take on SFU in a battle of the conference's top teams. The Red Flash and Knights were also picked No.1 and No. 2 in the conference preseason poll.
• With 12 NEC wins the Knights have their highest total since the 2005-06 season. The team is also in the midst of a seven-game winning streak and has won 13 of its last 15 outings. The Knights are 6-3 in NEC postseason games under sixth-year head coach Greg Herenda.
• FDU is 33-25 all-time in the NEC Tournament and has reached the finals ten times (5-5). The Knights are 4-1 in the postseason against the Red Flash, however, SFU's lone win came in the 1991 NEC Final. SFU was also the No. 1 seed that season and FDU was No. 2 after the teams finished the season deadlocked atop the conference standings. Last season, the sixth-seeded Knights topped third-seed SFU 84-75 in the NEC Quarterfinals.
• The Knights and Red Flash split their two meetings this season with each team winning by double-digits on the opposition's home floor. 
• The Knights lead the NEC in field goal percentage (47.3%), three-point field goal percentage (40.0%), scoring margin (4.0), assist/turnover ratio (1.1), steals (7.8) and turnover margin (1.3). Their 40 percent clip from behind the arc is fifth in the nation and their 47.1 percent field-goal percentage is 43^rd.
• All-NEC First Teamer, Darnell Edge leads the NEC in both three-point field goal percentage (46.9%) and free throw percentage (88.5%). His 46.9 percent three-point clip is sixth best in the nation and he needs just three 3-pointers to become the Knights' all-time leader.
• The Knights have been the No. 2 seed in four of their five NEC championships.
• Edge and Mike Holloway are looking to bookend their careers with a second NEC title after winning the championship as freshmen.
• Holloway, an All-NEC Second Team honoree, is squaring off with his cousin, reigning NEC Player of the Year Keith Braxton for the final time in their careers.
• This season, the Knights are 17-0 when leading with five minutes to play in regulation.

Knights Tournament Notes

• The Knights earned a share of the NEC regular-season title for the first time since 2006.
• The Burgundy and Blue have now qualified for the NEC's postseason in five of head coach Greg Herenda's six seasons.
• Fairleigh Dickinson is 6-3 in NEC playoff games under Herenda and 33-25 all-time in the NEC Tournament. They have reached the finals ten times (5-5).
• In their lopsided, 84-46 NEC Quarterfinal win over Wagner, the Knights held the Seahawks to just 14 first-half points. The 38-point margin of victory is an NEC Tournament record.
• The Knights have won their last three NEC titles and four of their five championships as the No. 2 seed. As a two-seed, they have a 20-6 record.
• SFU hosted FDU in the 1991 Championship game after the teams shared the regular-season crown. SFU won the tiebreak, just as it did this season. The Red Flash defeated the Knights 97-82 in that title game.
• This is the sixth all-time postseason meeting between the Knights and Red Flash. FDU leads the series 4-1.

2/27/18 :#6 Fairleigh Dickinson 84, #3 Saint Francis 75 (at SFU)
3/2/16: #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 74, #7 Saint Francis 72 (at FDU)
3/2/91: #1 Saint Francis 97, #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 82 (at SFU)
2/27/90: #5 Fairleigh Dickinson 65, #4 Saint Francis 62 (at SFU)
3/3/89: #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 74 , #6 Saint Francis 64 (at Robert Morris)

• Fairleigh Dickinson ranks second with 31 appearances across the 38 NEC postseason tournaments. Robert Morris has qualified for the most in league history, 35, since the inception of the conference in 1982.
• In 2016, Fairleigh Dickinson became the first school to win the NEC crown after failing to qualify for the tourney the previous year (when eligible).
• FDU has won NEC Tournaments in 1985, 1988, 1998, 2005 and 2016. The five NEC Tournament championships are tied for third all-time behind Robert Morris' eight titles and LIU Brooklyn's six titles.
• FDU is 17-10 all-time in NEC quarterfinal/first round games, 11-9 in the semifinals, and 5-5 in championship games. The Knights are 15-5 at home in the NEC Tournament and 4-0 under Herenda.
• In last season's 78-77 NEC Semifinal loss at LIU Brooklyn, junior forward Kaleb Bishop scored 19 points with an FDU single-game record 22 rebounds. The 22 caroms also tied the NEC Tournament's single-game mark.
• Fairleigh Dickinson owns the longest consecutive NEC Tournament qualification streak with 18 straight appearances from 1984-01.
• Fairleigh Dickinson also holds the league record for consecutive NEC semifinal appearances with nine in a row from 1983-91. FDU qualified for a league record 18 straight NEC Tournaments from 1984-01.

FDU vs. SFU: The Series
All-Time Series...48-45
at SFU..17-32
Last Five..3-2
Streak..L1
Last Meeting... Saint Francis 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 62 (2/14/19 at FDU)
The Knights fell 87-62 at the Rothman Center on Valentine's Day. The Knights were unable to slow the first-place Red Flash, who led from wire-to-wire and extended their win streak to six with the victory.

Senior forward Mike Holloway Jr. was the lone Knight to reach double figures as he finished with a season-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Holloway added six rebounds to his ledger, while junior forward Kaleb Bishop finished with nine points, six rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots in the loss.

Keith Braxton paced the Red Flash with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Jamaal King scored 15 points with four assists and four steals. The Red Flash shot 50 percent from the field and made 12 3-pointers in the win. The Burgundy and Blue lost the battle on the boards 40-31, shot 42.4 percent from the field and 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from three-point range.

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.
• Rob Krimmel is in his seventh season as head coach of the Red Flash and his his 18^th season on the Red Flash bench following a successful playing career at Saint Francis. Krimmel amassed 79 wins in his first six seasons, ranking fourth in program history. In NEC play, Krimmel is 54-53 and has guided the Red Flash to five straight NEC Tournament appearances. Krimmel received his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and History with a Pre-Law Concentration from Saint Francis in 2000. He then earned his Masters of Education-Leadership from SFU in 2003.

Scouting Saint Francis U
The Red Flash captured the top seed in this year's NEC Tournament by edging the Knights in a tiebreaker. The team then defended its home court by defeating eighth-seed Bryant (67-63) and sixth-seeded LIU Brooklyn (72-64) to advance to Tuesday's final. SFU went 12-3 at home and is 23-6 at home since the start of last season but two of their losses have come to the Knights. Reigning NEC Player of the Year, junior Keith Braxton leads the conference with 9.7 rebounds per game and ranks fifth in scoring at 16.4 points per contest. In addition to Braxton, senior point guard Jamaal King garnered All-NEC First Team honors and ranks second on the team at 15.2 points per contest to go along with a team-high 3.9 assists per outing. As a team, the Red Flash rank second in the NEC with 76.4 points per contest and lead the league in offensive rebound by grabbing 13.1 boards per game. The team is hosting its first NEC Championship game since it defeated the Knights 28 years ago. 

Knights Last Time Out
The Knights advanced to Tuesday's championship game with a 66-62 victory over No. 4 seed Robert Morris at the Rothman Center on Saturday afternoon.

In the victory, the Knights shot 50 percent from the field and featured four players in double figures led by senior guard Darnell Edge's 20-point effort. Edge made 8-of-12 overall including a season-high seven two-point field goals. Also in the win, sophomore Jahlil Jenkins finished with 18 points, freshman Brandon Powell netted a career-high 11 and senior Mike Holloway Jr. added 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Senior guard Matty McConnell's 17 points topped the box score for the Colonials (17-16), who led by as many as 10 points in the second half. Charles Bain added 10 in the loss as the team shot 42.9 percent overall and 8-of-21 from behind the arc.

The Burgundy and Blue were able to overcome 17 turnovers by out-rebounding the Colonials 29-23 and making 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) free throws. The win marks the seventh in a row for the Knights, who have also won 13 of their last 15 outings. In addition, the team improved to 13-4 at home this season -- their most wins since 1990-91 -- and 4-0 in home NEC postseason games under Greg Herenda.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"That was a great college basketball game and we were very fortunate to be on the winning side today. Robert Morris played so hard and so well but my guys just hung in there and somehow found a way. You can go down the list but Darnell Edge had the toughest 20 points that he has ever scored and Jahlil just came up huge down the stretch. On top of all of that, the hustle and heart plays that Elyjah and Brandon made were immense. It was all about not giving up today and making winning plays down the stretch. I cannot say enough about the crowd and the atmosphere -- the Rothman was rocking. Now we play for a championship -- there is nothing better."

Next Up
The winner of Tuesday's contest will punch their ticket to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The team will find out its opponent and location on the annual Selection Sunday special on March 17.