FARMVILLE, Va. - FDU men's basketball (2-1, 0-0 NEC) hits the hardwood at Willett Hall in Farmville, Va. for three games in three days as part of the JK54 Classic hosted by Longwood. FDU opens with a tilt against SIUE on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. before facing the host Lancers on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. and closing things out with assistant coach Jack Castleberry's alma mater VMI on Sunday (11/20) at 3:30 p.m. All three games will air live on ESPN+, start times subject to change based on the completion of the prior game.

The three-day trip represents a homecoming for senior guard Heru Bligen who spent his first two collegiate seasons at Longwood making 52 appearances in blue and white during his time in Farmville. Bligen is the Knights' leading rebounding and earned his first start of the campaign in a three-point win for FDU over Manhattan on November 13 inside Stratis Arena. The Maryland native is coming off a season-high in minutes (33) against the Jaspers and has notched 24 boards on the young season (8.0 r.p.g.).

Bligen shines on a Knights team that has won its two games in its first week of the campaign for the first time since 2018 and has seen a change from last season's 4-22 mark with FDU halfway towards matching its win total from last season.

FDU has faced two of the three teams with SIUE in the opener being the lone exception. The Cougars come into Friday's matchup 1-2 on the year coming off a 25-point loss to Mizzou though four SIUE players would score in double-figures with Ray'Sean Taylor leading the charge as he finished second among all scorers with 17 points in the non-conference battle.

Following the trio of contests in Virginia, FDU heads to Pitt for just the second matchup between the Panthers and Knights on Tuesday, November 22 at 8:30 p.m. live on ACC Network.

The 2022-23 men's basketball season is presented by Bogota Savings Bank.