HACKENSACK, N.J. --  The No. 2 seed Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team welcomes No. 4 seed Robert Morris to the Rothman Center for a Northeast Conference Semifinal matchup on Saturday afternoon.

The Knights (18-13) will look to follow up their dominant 84-46 victory over Wagner in Wednesday's NEC Quarterfinal with another win and advance to the NEC Championship game for the first time since they took home the crown in 2015-16.

Game 32
#2 Fairleigh Dickinson (18-13, 12-6 NEC)
vs. #4 Robert Morris (17-15, 11-7 NEC)
Date: Saturday, March 9
Time: 12:04 PM
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.) 
Coverage: Live Stats | ESPN3 | NEC Front Row 
Talent: Terry O'Connor and Paul Dottino

Tickets and Fan Information
Fans! Start your Spring Break on the Banks of the Hackensack!
We will again have several on-court contests with chances to win a Fire TV Cube, an Echo Dot, 100 Flex Points from Gourmet Dining, swag bags and more!
Students, Coach Herenda has graciously offered to cover the cost of your $5 ticket to the game and provide free pizza at halftime!  All you have to do is sign up to receive a free ticket!
To sign up, please contact Danielle Ryan dryan@student.fdu.edu or visit the Rothman Center between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Friday.
 
All other attendees: Cash Only, Tickets for Saturday's game are $10 for adults and $5 for children between the ages of 5 and 18 years of age and can be purchased upon arrival.

Opening Tip

• The Knights nabbed a share of the NEC Regular Season title for the first time since 2006 by finishing with a 12-6 mark this season.
• The team is in the midst of a six-game winning streak and has won 12 of its last 14 outings.
• At home this season, the Burgundy and Blue boast a 12-4 record -- their highest home win total since the 1990-91 season.
• The Knights are 5-3 overall and 3-0 in NEC Tournament home games under head coach Greg Herenda.
• 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 19-6 record.
• FDU is 32-25 all-time in the NEC Tournament and has reached the finals ten times (5-5). The Knights are also 10-9 in NEC Semifinals.
• The Knights and Colonials split their two meetings this season with each team defending its home floor. In NEC postseason games, the teams have met eight times with RMU leading the series 5-3.
• In Wednesday's quarterfinal, the Knights blasted Wagner by 38 points, the largest margin of victory ever in an NEC Tournament game.
• The Knights lead the NEC in FG% (47.1%), 3-PT FG% (40.1%), scoring margin (2.9), assist/turnover ratio (1.1), steals (7.6) and turnover margin (1.5). Their 40.1 percent clip from behind the arc is fifth in the nation and their 47.1 percent field-goal percentage ranks 43^rd.
• All five Knights starters are averaging double figures in points this season: Darnell Edge (16.2 ppg), Jahlil Jenkins (13.2 ppg) Mike Holloway Jr. (12.6 ppg), Xzavier Malone-Key (11.4 ppg) and Kaleb Bishop (10.0 ppg).
• All-NEC First Teamer, Darnell Edge leads the NEC in both 3-pt FG% (47.4%) and FT% (88.2%). His 47.4 percent three-point clip is fifth best in the nation. In addition, the senior guard has 190 career 3-pointers and is just four away from becoming the Knights' all-time leader.
• Holloway was named All-NEC Second Team and ranks 11^th all-time on FDU's scoring list, while Edge sits 12^th. 
• This season, the Knights are 17-0 when leading with five minutes to play in regulation. 
• Jenkins, the team's second-year point guard, leads the NEC in assist/TO ratio at 2.3 and is third in assists (4.7/g).

Knights Tournament Notes

• The Knights earned a share of the NEC Regular Season title for the first time since 2006 and enter this season's conference tournament as the No. 2 seed. 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 5-3 in NEC playoff games under Herenda and 32-25 all-time in the NEC Tournament. They have reached the finals ten times (5-5).
• 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.
• 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 are 19-6 all-time as a No. 2 seed and 14-5 all-time in home NEC Tournament games.
• FDU has won its last three NEC titles and four of its five championships as the No. 2 seed.
• The Knights and Colonials have met eight times in the NEC postseason with RMU leading the series 5-3.

3/5/14 :#1 Robert Morris 60, #8 Fairleigh Dickinson 53 (at RMU)
3/5/06: #1 Fairleigh Dickinson 71, #5 Robert Morris 55 (at FDU)
2/26/98: #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 89, #7 Robert Morris 73 (at CCSU)
2/28/96: #10 Robert Morris 87, #7 Fairleigh Dickinson 80 (at FDU)
3/2/90: #1 Robert Morris 78, #6 Fairleigh Dickinson 58 (at RMU)
3/4/89 #1 Robert Morris 67, #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 66 (at RMU)
3/2/85: #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 65, #7 Robert Morris 49 (at Loyola (Md.))
3/9/84: #2 Robert Morris 62, #3 Fairleigh Dickinson 58 (at Marist)

• Fairleigh Dickinson is 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).
• This is the Knights' 31^st NEC Tournament appearance and fifth in Greg Herenda's six seasons. Herenda is 5-3 in NEC postseason games.
• 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, 10-9 in the semifinals, and 5-5 in championship games. The Knights are 14-5 at home in the NEC Tournament and 3-0 under Herenda.
• FDU owns the longest consecutive NEC Tournament qualification streak with 18 straight appearances from 1984-01.
• FDU 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. RMU: The Series
All-Time Series...33-46
at FDU..21-21
Last Five..3-2
Streak..W1
Last Meeting... Fairleigh Dickinson 97, Robert Morris 94 (2 OT - at FDU)
The Knights outlasted the Colonials in the double-overtime affair at the Rothman Center. At the forefront of a total team effort by the Knights was Darnell Edge who poured in 28 points and stepped up and made four crucial free throws in the final overtime to help seal the win.

With the Knights leading by three in the final seconds, Robert Morris' 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.

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.

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.
• Andrew Toole is in his ninth season as head coach of the Colonials and boasts a 166-138 (.548) overall record, including a mark of 102-58 (.638) against Northeast Conference opponents. Toole played collegiately at both Elon and University of Pennsylvania and was an All-Ivy League First Team honoree in 2001-02. Toole, who spent one season as an assistant at Lafayette prior to three seasons as an assistant at RMU, is a New Jersey native and attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, N.J.

Scouting Robert Morris
The Colonials opened the 2019 NEC Tournament on Wednesday with a 69-65 victory over No. 5 seed St. Francis Brooklyn at the North Athletic Complex. The Colonials secured their first winning season since 2014-15, improving to 17-15 overall in 2018-19. Trailing by 10 with 4:08 to play in the game, the Colonials rallied to tie the game before winning in overtime. "We had incredible efforts from a number of guys," said Toole. "It was really an incredible comeback. Tribute to our defense in the second half, holding them to 19 points. We just didn't give up. Our guys rallied each other and continued to stay positive, and that's why I think things turned in our favor." Robert Morris, is making its 11^th NEC Semifinal appearance in the last 12 years. The team's eight NEC titles are the most by any team. As has been the case throughout the Toole era, defense is the key to the Colonials' success this season. The team has limited opponents to an NEC-best 67.8 points per game this season and control the defensive glass permitting a conference-low 33.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Matty McConnell leads the NEC with 1.8 steals per game, while the team ranks second trailing FDU for the top spot at 7.2 steals per contest. McConnell's classmate, Josh Williams propels the offense with his three-point shooting. Williams has made an NEC-best 94 3-pointers this season and averages 14.2 points per game. 

Knights Last Time Out
On Wednesday night, the Knights dominated Wagner 84-46 in the NEC Quarterfinals. In front of a raucous Burgundy and Blue crowd, the NEC Regular Season Champion Knights made an opening-game statement and held the Seahawks to just 14 first-half points.

The Knights' 38-point margin of victory is the largest ever in an NEC Tournament game.

For the 10^th time this season, all five starters scored in double figures led by All-NEC Second Team honoree, Mike Holloway Jr.'s 18 points. All-NEC First Teamer, Darnell Edge scored 15 points with a career-high seven steals, while Elyjah Williams added 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting and six rebounds and Kaleb Bishop totaled 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.

The Knights held their conference foe to a 27.9 percent field-goal percentage -- the lowest by an FDU opponent this season --  and forced 21 turnovers in the victory. In addition to the defensive effort, the Burgundy and Blue shot 54.9 percent for the game and made 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from three-point range.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"What can I say  -- we just played really good basketball for 40 minutes against a very good basketball team. It is really that plain and simple. I have so much respect for Bashir and his program but tonight other than rebounding early, we were on point in everything that we did."

"Darnell really set the tone offensively and it opened things up for Elyjah, Mike, and Kaleb. What we did best tonight was guard – we were all over the place defensively and that really got things going for the team and the crowd. Now we need to get ready to play another really hard playing team in Robert Morris. We just need to get some rest and start preparing for Saturday."

Up Next
The winner of Saturday's contest will advance to play the victor of the No. 1 Saint Francis U and No. 6 LIU Brooklyn semifinal. The highest remaining seed will host the NEC Championship game on Tuesday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2.