HACKENSACK, N.J. – For the first time in 30 days, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team returns to the floor on Thursday night when they face Merrimack in North Andover, Mass.
 
The Knights will square off with the Warriors on Thursday and Friday after a pause caused by positive COVID-19 results within the program.

Game Info
FDU (2-6, 1-1 NEC) at Merrimack (1-3, 1-3 NEC)
Hammel Court - North Andover, Mass.
Game 1: Jan. 21 - 7:00 p.m.
Game 2: Jan. 22 - 4:00 p.m. 

Coverage: NEC Front Row | Live Stats
In-game updates: @FDUKnightsMBB

Game Notes
FDU | Merrimack
 
All-Time Series
FDU trails 0-2
at Merrimack..0-1
Streak...L2
First Meeting..Merrimack 74, FDU 71 (2OT) (1/23/20 at Merrimack)
Last Meeting..Merrimack 57, FDU 53 (2/6/20 at FDU)

Scouting the Warriors
The Warriors did not play a non-conference game this season and currently sit at 1-3 in NEC action. After defeating Sacred Heart in their season opener on January 7, the Warriors have dropped three straight including a pair of road games at Mount St. Mary's last week. The defending NEC Regular Season Champions feature three players averaging double figures led by junior guard Mikey Williams' 13.5 points per contest. True to form, the Warriors, who forced 17.4 turnovers per game last season, own a 6.2 edge in turnover margin this season.
More on Merrimack
 
Scouting the Knights
The Knights return to the floor after the long break on Thursday at Merrimack, beginning a four-game road trip that concludes with a pair of games at Saint Francis U on January 26-27. Coming off of the four-point win at Fairfield, the Knights look to pick up where they left off as they knocked down 58.8 percent from three-point range in the win led by sophomore guard Brandon Rush's career-best performance. Rush scored 28 points and made 7-of-10 from behind the arc in the victory as the team hit 10-of-17 overall.

Head Coach Greg Herenda returns to his alma mater as a coach for the second time in his career. Herenda still holds the Warriors' single-game record with 22 assists. In addition, the Knights' leader spent four seasons as an assistant (1985-89) with the Warriors.

As a team, the Knights rank second in the NEC in both field goal percentage (44.6 percent) and three-point shooting (35.7 percent). The Knights' front court has been the key as senior forward Elyjah Williams and freshmen John Square Jr. and Pier-Olivier Racine are all shooting over 57 percent from the field.
 
Last Time Out for FDU
Led by a career-high 28 points from sophomore guard Brandon Rush the Knights defeated Fairfield 69-65 at Alumni Hall on December 22. The Knights led by as many as 12 points in the contest before the Stags rallied back to close to within one in the final minute.
 
Rush exploded from long range, burying 7-of-10 three-pointers, while adding seven rebounds to his ledger in the win. Senior guard Jahlil Jenkins joined Rush in double figures with 13 points, while senior forward Elyjah Williams enjoyed a full stat line with seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
More on the Knights
 
Coach Herenda's Thoughts Following the Win at Fairfield
"You are a better team and better coach when the ball goes in the basket and Brandon Rush showed us all how to do that today. He really opened our offense up early and I thought we played well defensively and made it difficult for Fairfield to score throughout the game."
 
"I just love the fact that we received contributions from everyone today. We had eight active players and everyone did things on both ends of the floor to lead us to our first road win of the season."

Next Up
The Knights close out their season series with Merrimack tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at Hammel Court.