STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team's four-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday night as the Knights fell 76-72 to Wagner at Spiro Sports Center.
 
Sophomore guard Brandon Rush led all scorers with 20 points and added four rebounds and four steals to his ledger, while senior guard Jahlil Jenkins scored 15 points with four assists and sophomore forward Daniel Rodriguez chipped in a career-high 12 points for the Knights (7-10, 6-5 NEC).
 
Coach Herenda Postgame (Video)

How it Happened:

• A 14-0 run in the early going catapulted the Seahawks to an 23-9 lead over the first eight minutes of action.
• Brandon Powell ended a five-minute scoreless drought by connecting on a corner three-pointer.
• The Seahawks started 10-of-14 from the field and forced five FDU turnovers over the course their early run.
• A quick 7-0 run by the Knights cut the deficit to single-digits, 26-18, with just under 10 minutes to play in the half. The spurt was highlighted by a corner three-pointer from Rush.
• The Knights entered halftime trailing 37-32 led by 11 points from Rush and a career-high 10 from Rodriguez.
• The Burgundy and Blue shot 42 percent and were able to weather a 55 percent shooting performance from the host Seahawks in the opening stanza.
• A pair of buckets by Jenkins sparked the Knights out of the break as they scored the first nine points of the second half to take their first lead of the contest 41-37 with 17:10 to go.
• The game remained tight with the teams exchanging leads before Will Martinez made a pull-up jumper with 4:39 to go, which put the Seahawks on top 67-65.
• The home team maintained their edge until the final whistle as DeLonnie Hunt made all four of his free throws in the final minute to seal the win. 

Inside the Box Score:

• The neck-and-neck game featured 12 lead changes and seven ties.
• Rodriguez's career-best output came on an efficient 4-for-5 shooting effort.
• The Knights shot 48 percent overall, while the Seahawks (5-5, 5-4 NEC) hit 54.7 percent including a red-hot 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from behind the arc.
• In the loss, the Knights held the league's top offensive rebounding team to just five offensive boards and won the battle on the glass 27-24.
• Senior forward Elyjah Williams joined the Knights' trio in double figures, finishing with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
• Williams now sits 38 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
• In addition to their four straight wins entering the night, the Knights' also saw their four-game winning streak over the Seahawks snapped.
• Head Coach Greg Herenda entered the contest with 99 victories at FDU.

 
Next Up:
The Knights and Seahawks close out their home-and-home series this Saturday, February 13. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in Hackensack.