HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team closes out the regular season this week with two crucial games at Sacred Heart on Thursday and Friday.

For the Knights (8-14, 7-9 NEC) to make their sixth-straight NEC Tournament appearance, they will need to win both games against the Pioneers (8-7, 8-6 NEC) and have several other NEC results work in their favor.

Series Info
FDU (8-14, 7-9 NEC) at Sacred Heart (8-7, 8-6 NEC)
Pitt Center - Fairfield, Conn.

Game 1: Thursday, Feb. 25 - 7 p.m.
Coverage: NEC Front Row | Live Stats
Game 2: Friday, Feb. 26 - 7 p.m.
Coverage: NEC Front Row | Live Stats

Game Notes
FDU | SHU | NEC

All-Time Series
FDU trails 14-22
at SHU..7-12
Last five..2-3
Streak..L2
First Meeting..FDU 67, Sacred Heart 48 (1/15/00 at SHU)
Last Meeting.. Sacred Heart 77, FDU 60 (1/25/20 at SHU) - Recap

Scouting the Pioneers
Sacred Heart has won four of its last six games including an 88-82 road win at St. Francis Brooklyn last time out. The Pioneers have split all six of their back-to-back NEC series this season, while sweeping their two games against Central Connecticut State. Sophomore guard Tyler Thomas leads the charge for the Pioneers and is the top scorer in the NEC at 19.7 points per game. Thomas has a 36-point effort against Merrimack to his credit this season and recently poured in 29 points in the Pioneers' loss to St. Francis Brooklyn last Saturday. 

As a team, the Pioneers rank in the middle of the pack in most NEC categories with the exception of free throw percentage where they are second in the league at 74.3 percent. Their success at the charity stripe has helped them overcome the league's lowest field goal percentage (41.5 percent) and rank fifth in scoring with 71.4 points per contest. The Pioneers have won the last four meetings against the Knights in Fairfield, with their last loss occurring back in 2016.
More on Sacred Heart

Scouting the Knights
FDU is on the outside looking in at the NEC postseason but can still punch their ticket to the conference tournament with a sweep of the Pioneers and some help from the rest of the league. After winning four in a row, the team has dropped five of its last six including a two-game split with Mount St. Mary's last weekend at the Rothman Center. The Knights have finished .500 or better in league play in each of the last seasons but will need two wins in Fairfield to reach the mark again this season. The team continues to shoot the ball well from behind the arc, ranking 20^th in the nation at 38.3 percent from three-point range -- the second-best mark in the NEC. In addition, the Knights rank second in field goal percentage at 45 percent and third in the NEC in scoring with 75.4 points per game. 

The senior duo of Jahlil Jenkins and Elyjah Williams are hoping to reach the NEC tournament again and have continued their rise up the program's all-time ranks. Jenkins moved into fourth-place on the team's scoring list last week and now has 1,669 points across his four seasons on the Hackensack. The senior guard enters the final week of the regular season with: 476 assists (2^nd), 180 steals (3^rd), 175 three-pointers (4^th), 570 field goals (T-6^th) and 354 free throws (T-6^th). He is also set to lead the NEC in minutes per game for the third-straight season.

Williams, who recently became the 31^st Knight to eclipse 1,000 career points had moved into 11th on the Knights' all-time list in rebounds (669) and steals (116), while sitting seventh in blocked shots with 118. The Evanston, Illinois native is 35^th in the nation in field goal percentage at 57.8 percent this season and ranks second in the NEC in three-point shooting at 44.4 percent.

Last Time Out for the Knights
Full Recap | Coach Herenda Postgame

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team was unable to protect a 10-point halftime lead as Mount St. Mary's rallied for a 74-61 win on Sunday afternoon at the Rothman Center. Prior to tip-off the Knights honored their three seniors Jahlil Jenkins, Elyjah Williams and Oscar Okeke. Jenkins paced the Knights with 13 points, while Williams scored 12 with four rebounds.

With the loss, the Knights' seven-game win streak over the Mount (9-10, 8-7 NEC) comes to an end. The 22 points allowed by the Knights in the first half are the fewest this season. Their previous low was 29 surrendered to LIU. Mezie Offurum and Damian Chong Qui each recorded a double-double for the Mountaineers, who after struggling mightily in the first half, shot 64 percent in the second half.