HAMDEN, Conn. – Sophomore guard
Brandon Rush registered a career-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, but the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team (0-1) fell 84-66 to Quinnipiac (1-0) in the 2020-21 season opener on Wednesday afternoon at the People's United Center.
Senior forward
Elyjah Williams matched his career-high with 21 points, shooting 9-17 from the floor and recorded a team-leading four steals.
Earning the start in his collegiate debut, freshman forward
Pier-Olivier Racine scored six points with eight rebounds and five blocked shots. The five blocked shots are the most by a Knight in a game since Scooter Gillette swatted five on January 18, 2014.
"First and foremost, it was an accomplishment just getting back on the court and playing together for the first time," remarked eighth-year Knights head coach
Greg Herenda following the contest. "I was so happy for our players to get the chance to put on a uniform and compete. All of our players deserve a ton of credit for persevering through a great deal just to get to this point."
"As far as our performance is concerned, I thought we came out ready to play and got off to a very solid start but we just did not finish the first half well and that gave Quinnipiac a ton of confidence. B-Rush brought it all night long and he benefited from all of the attention that they gave Jahlil tonight. Everywhere Jahlil went, there seemed to be three yellow jerseys. I know that both Elyjah and Jahlil will bounce back but I just love how well our freshmen played in their first college outing. They all brought great energy and were not afraid to make things happen on both sides of the ball. I am very happy for all three of them.
The Knights led 17-11 in the early going with Rush tallying 11 of the team's first 13 points – including a pair of ferocious one-handed slams – but the Bobcats answered with a 15-9 run to tie the game at 26-26 with 6:59 to play in the half.
The teams exchanged the lead over the final 6:59 of the stanza, with the Knights gaining a 35-33 edge after a layup by Williams but Quinnipiac connected on three unanswered three-pointers to carry a 42-35 lead into the half.
Out of the break, the Burgundy and Blue quickly cut the deficit to five with a layup from Racine before the Bobcats used an 18-4 run over a seven-minute stretch to extend the lead to 19 with 12:16 to go. The Knights were unable to get closer than 18 points the rest of the way as the Bobcats held onto their cushion and claimed the season-opening victory
Inside The Box Score
- Senior guard Jahlil Jenkins became the 14th Knight in program history to reach 1,300 career points, as the senior netted six points.
- Williams has now matched his career-high point total in consecutive games as poured in 21 points in the Knights' NEC Tournament Semifinal contest last season.
- In addition to Racine, freshman Joe Munden Jr. (six points) and John Square Jr. (four points) also made their collegiate debuts.
- The Burgundy and Blue shot 39.7 percent overall and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from three-point range in the loss.
- Despite losing the battle on the glass 39-33, the Knights grabbed 15 offensive rebounds resulting in 16 second-chance points.
- The Bobcats had five players score in double figures, led by 12 points from both Seth Pinkney and Savion Lewis.
- The Knights are now 17-16 all-time against Quinnipiac.
What's Next
The Knights' next contest will be on Friday, November 27 at 7:00 PM when they travel to Piscataway, N.J. to face No. 24 Rutgers in the 2020 New Jersey Hoop Group Classic. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network.
