BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The defending Northeast Conference Champion Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team dropped its first league contest of the season, falling 79-63 at St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday night.
In the loss, junior guard
Jahlil Jenkins became the 29
th Knight to eclipse 1,000 career points. Jenkins would finish with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Redshirt junior
Xzavier Malone-Key led all scorers with 19 points and added five rebounds, while classmate
Elyjah Williams recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 boards.
The Terriers (7-6, 1-0 NEC) featured five players in double figures with Chauncey Hawkins spearheading the attack. Hawkins scored 16 points with five assists, four rebounds and three steals, while Deniz Celen contributed 14 points and Unique McLean netted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Knights (2-10, 0-1 NEC) struggled from both distance and the free throw line, converting just 3-of-15 from three-point range and 10-of-20 at the line in the loss. The Terriers, who shot 45 percent overall, made nine 3-pointers and 16-of-20 at the charity stripe.
"This is always a very difficult place to come in and leave with a victory," said
Greg Herenda following the loss. "We came out and played well early but St. Francis answered our run. Give credit to St. Francis they made it difficult to run offense and obviously our turnovers really hurt us. We just have to figure out how to play for 40 minutes on the road and we will. Now we have a quick turnaround to play in Rhode Island for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday. Conference play is upon us."
A 3-pointer from the wing by Malone-Key gave the Knights their first double-digit lead of the contest, 23-11 midway through the opening stanza. The Knights would hit a cold stretch as the Terriers heated up and used an 18-2 run to take the lead 29-25 with under five to play.
The momentum continued for the Terriers who carried a 38-32 lead into the locker room. Malone-Key paced the Burgundy and Blue with nine first-half points, while Jenkins scored seven and Williams scored six with six boards.
The Knights shot 43 percent in the stanza and hit 2-of-8 (25 percent) from behind the arc, while the Terriers converted 5-of-12 from distance and 45 percent overall. Celen and Hawkins scored eight points apiece for the host Terriers.
Jenkins' milestone bucket came on a running floater in the lane with 12:30 to play in the contest but it would be the Knights' final highlight as the Terriers maintained control for the duration of the night. A 3-pointer by Hawkins with 8:05 to go extended the home team's lead to 15 points and the Terrier lead would grow as large as 19 points before the final horn sounded.
The Knights remain on the road for their next contest as they travel to Smithfield, Rhode Island to take on Bryant this Saturday, January 4 at 1:00 p.m.
