HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team sets out for its third-straight victory on Tuesday night at Central Connecticut State.
FDU Knights (8-16, 6-7 NEC) at CCSU Blue Devils (3-24, 2-12 NEC)
Tuesday, Feb. 18 – 7:02 PM
Detrick Gymnasium – New Britain, Conn.
Watch: ESPN3
Talent: Dave Popkin & Terry O'Connor
Notes: KNIGHTS |
Blue Devils
Links: Live Stats |
Twitter
News: Jahlil Jenkins NEC Player of the Week
All-Time Series
FDU leads 27-19
at CCSU..10-12
Last Five..3-2
Streak..W2
First Meeting.. .FDU 75, CCSU 74 (12/14/88 at FDU)
Last Meeting..FDU 83, CCSU 60 (1/20/20 at FDU)
Led by redshirt junior guard
Xzavier Malone-Key's game-high 23 points, the Knights defeated CCSU on MLK Day. Donning their alternate black uniforms for the first time, the Knights registered their best shooting performance of the season, knocking down 53.4 percent overall and draining 11-of-22 from three-point range in the victory. Malone-Key notched his point total with an efficient 9-of-13 performance, which included 3-of-4 from long range. Junior guard
Jahlil Jenkins added 16 for the Knights, while sophomore
Brandon Powell extended his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to five games by netting 13 points with eight boards in the win. Junior forward
Elyjah Williams contributed to the Knights' 42-36 rebounding advantage by nabbing 13 caroms to go along with nine points, four assists and a pair of blocked shots. Xavier Wilson topped the box score for the Blue Devils with 12 points as the team shot 35 percent overall and just 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from behind the arc.
FDU Last Time Out
Senior forward Kaleb Bishop's tip-in with 1.2 seconds to go gave the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team a thrilling 72-71 victory over first-place Robert Morris at the UPMC Events Center on Saturday afternoon.
After the Colonials took a one-point lead with eight seconds remaining,
Jahlil Jenkins drove end-to-end and tossed up a floater, which caromed off of
Xzavier Malone-Key and into the hands of Bishop, who rose above a scrum of defenders and tipped-in the miss with 1.2 on the clock. Bishop's heroics followed a three-point play by Malone-Key, which had given the Knights a lead with 27 seconds to play. With the win, the Knights ended the first-place Colonials' six-game winning streak and inch to within one game of .500 in conference play. Jenkins led all scorers with 21 points and added three assists, two rebounds and two steals to his ledger in the win. Four Knights scored in double figures with
Elyjah Williams totaling 14 and seven rebounds. Malone-Key finished with 12 points and Bishop had 11 with six boards.
The Knights shot 46 percent overall and made 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. For the Colonials, A.J. Bramah scored 17, while Mendy and Charles Bain added 10 points apiece. The home team made 44 percent overall and 28 percent from deep. They also out-rebounded the Knights 33-31 and made 15-of-16 at the free throw line.
Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"We have it on the board for every game -- "every second of every possession for 40 minutes" -- and Kaleb took that literally today," said
Greg Herenda following the thrilling win. "I told him before the game that this was going to be a senior game and he made the big play. That was just a very gutty victory against a very good Robert Morris team in a beautiful building."
"This is the time to be playing good basketball and that is what we are doing right now. We just need to continue to improve and stay hungry -- that is all we are concerned with right now and it is surely paying off."
Next Up
The open up a three-game homestand on Friday, February 21 against LIU. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. inside the Rothman Center.
