HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell 84-70 to LIU at Steinberg Wellness Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
All five starters scored in double figures for the Knights (3-12, 1-3 NEC), led by senior forward Kaleb Bishop's 17 points. With 14 points, sophomore guard Brandon Powell set his career-high for the second time in the last three outings. Xzavier Malone-Key added 12 points in the loss and Elyjah Williams scored 11 with nine rebounds and four assists. Jahlil Jenkins also finished with 11 to go along with a season-high six assists and six rebounds.
 
Jashaun Agosto paced the Sharks (7-9, 2-1 NEC) with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while Raiquan Clark scored 19 points with eight rebounds. The Sharks shot 50 percent overall and made 11-of-29 from behind the arc, while the Knights hit 45 percent from the field and 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from deep.
 
Although they won the battle on the glass 35-34, the Knights failed to net five or more steals for just the third time this season, logging three in the loss.

"Give LIU the credit -- they were clicking on all cylinders tonight," said Greg Herenda after the game. "They are very experienced and whenever we made a run they made a big play of a big shot to distance themselves. We just started with three of our first four on the road and we are now 1-1 on the road. The difference is you just have to take care of business at home. Now, we have an ESPNU home game with Saint Francis on Wednesday and we will have our hands full again but we have to find a way to beat another very good basketball team in our building."
 
The Burgundy and Blue connected on just one of their first 10 from the field and trailed 16-4 seven minutes into the game. The cold start included a 0-for-7 start from behind the arc.
 
Freshman guard Brandon Rush would end the three-point drought but the Knights trailed 28-11 with just under nine to play in the half. While the Knights struggled to make shots, the Sharks thrived and posted a 57 percent clip from the field and led 46-30 at the break.
 
Williams filled up the box score in the first half with nine points, five rebounds and three assists, while Powell added seven points for the Burgundy and Blue. The Knights shot 41 percent overall and connected on 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from behind the arc. Clark made 7-of-10 in the half for LIU and led all scorers with 14 points and six rebounds.
 
The Knights would pick up the pace offensively in the second half led by Bishop, who aided a 9-2 run and helped slice the deficit to single digits, 58-49 with 10:30 to go.
 
A 3-pointer by Jenkins with 9:25 to play brought the Knights to within six points but they would not get any closer before the final horn.

"This is my seventh year in this conference and this is as good as it has been from top to bottom by far," Herenda concluded. "You just have to keep on grinding and our team will."
 
The Knights are back in action next Wednesday, January 15 when they host Saint Francis U at the Rothman Center. The game, which tips at 5:00 p.m., will air nationally on ESPNU.