HACKENSACK, N.J. - In front of a packed Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team (2-15, 3-7 NEC) picked up its first home win of the season, a 75-55 romp of Central Connecticut on Sunday, snapping a seven-game skid (including COVID-19 forfeit losses). The game pitted FDU head coach Greg Herenda against former assistant coach Patrick Sellers who is in his first season at the helm of the Blue Devils' program. Sellers previously served as a member of Herenda's staff from 2016-19.

How it Happened

• All In, Ball Out: All 16 Knights on the roster saw at least one minute of action on the Hackensack Sunday with the Knights subbing in almost hockey line changes.
• Taking a 12-point lead into the half, FDU was paced by junior Brandon Rush's eight points in just under 16 minutes of work in the opening period. Rush would finish with a team-high 16 points on the afternoon, joined by John Square Jr.
• Hold the Lead: FDU held the lead for 35:53 against Central Connecticut, with the Blue Devils in front for just under two minutes the entire game.
• Navigating foul trouble for most of the second half, Square Jr. managed to shot .700 from the field, a perfect 100 percent from deep. The North Bethesda, Md. product also logged a Knights-leading seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals and one assist.
• Freshman walk-on Robby Phillips saw a career-high 12 minutes of action Sunday. The local Ridgewood, N.J. native finished with three points and two rebounds.
• Junior co-captain Devon Dunn looked unstoppable in his 31 minutes of play at the Rothman. Hailing from D.C., the 6'1 Dunn shot .500 from the field, .444 from deep for 16 points off the bench. Dunn also contributed four rebounds and a team-leading five assists.

Inside the Box Score 

• FDU's bench outperformed Central Connecticut by 16 points as the Knights tallied 35 points from non-starters as opposed to CCSU's 19.
• For the game the Burgundy and Blue shot .508 from the field (31-61)
• Dribbling out the final seconds before victory was officially declared was senior Sal Xheraj. A walk-on who joined the team last season, Xheraj previously served as Knightro, the Knights' mascot, and later a team manager before earning jersey No. 15 as a member of the squad.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts

"I am just so happy for all of our players. We played a very efficient defensive game from start to finish and we beat a really good young team coached by a great guy. The quiet difference in the game was playing our walk-on Robby Phillips early who jump-started our team with a few rebounds and a bucket but more importantly his presence lifted the entire building. It was great to see Devon and Brandon play so well together as they scored 30 points, 10 assists with only two turnovers; that is the kind of production we need from those guys for us to be successful. This year has been filled with a really tough schedule, numerous COVID-19 episodes, but hopefully now we can head into February on a high note and continue to defend, score and compete at this level through the end of the regular season and into the conference tournament."

What's Next

After playing the previous four NEC games in the friendly confines of the Rothman Center, the Knights hit the road for two games in the upcoming week, first stopping at St. Francis Brooklyn for an ESPN+ contest on Thursday, February 3, at 7 p.m., before heading to New Britain, Conn. for the return game against the Blue Devils on Saturday, February 5, with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m. live on NEC Front Row.

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