HACKENSACK, N.J. - Up at the half for the third time this season, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball (1-14, 2-6 NEC) stepped-up in a major way in a tightly-contested Northeast Conference loss to LIU (8-10, 5-3 NEC) Sunday, 79-75.

How it Happened 

• Junior Brandon Rush heated up right from the jump for head coach Greg Herenda, booking the first points of the contest in the paint on a driving layup, assisted by freshman Anquan Hill who picked up his 15th assist of the season on the bucket. The Warrensville, Ohio product would finish with 21 points as the guard averages 14.4 points per game towards the middle of NEC action.
• Staying with Hill, the Philadelphia native would deliver the dagger on a jumper after the under-eight media timeout to extend the Knights' lead to six with just over seven minutes to play in the first. FDU would go into the break with a 38-34 lead over the Sharks. Hill logged the Knights' second double-double (Sébastien Lamaute at Saint Francis U (Pa.) 12/31/21) of the season with 12 points and 11 boards.
• Freshman Oscar Berry continued to be a difference-maker for the Burgundy and Blue, contributing a career-best two steals to go along with five points and an assist.
• FDU would hold the lead for 24:43 of the 40-minute battle with the game tied at four moments.

Inside the Box Score 

• Herenda's bench got the job done with 18 points coming from six players who subbed into the game. Freshman Ibrahim Wattara led all bench players with eight points, six rebounds and an assist.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts

"This team is right there but finishing games is a whole different animal in Division I basketball. We played really good basketball for long stretches but Ty Flowers was a big problem for us all-night long and eventually their size did us in. Our team is growing up by the day but we are not seeing it in the win column; that will soon change. I hope that it will happen sooner than later but it will happen. I will keep saying the same thing over and over, I love this team and this team will win big once we grow up."

What's Next

FDU welcomes in Mount St. Mary's at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, live on NEC Front Row from Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center. Tickets are on-sale now at FDUKnights.com/Tickets.

The 2021-22 men's basketball season is presented by Bogota Savings Bank.