BROOKLYN, N.Y. - With junior guard Brandon Rush leading the charge with 17 points, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team was never too far from reach of St. Francis Brooklyn as the Burgundy and Blue (2-16, 3-8 NEC) fell to the Terriers by a final score of 81-64 Thursday evening at the Daniel Lynch '38 Gymnasium in an ESPN+ showdown.

How it Happened

• St. Francis Brooklyn cruised a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes before sophomore John Square Jr. landed the floater at 17:58 in the first half to cut the deficit in half. The co-captain would go on to score the Knights' next two points to bring the Knights back within three at 7-4. He finished with a Knights-leading four blocks.
• Rush would first get his name in the boxscore after earning the assist on fellow junior Devon Dunn's bucket to make it a one-point game. Dunn finished the contest with seven points, earning the start playing 27 minutes for Greg Herenda's side. The Washington, D.C. product added four boards, two assists and a steal.
• Freshman Anquan Hill did the gritty work, tallying a team-high six rebounds with all but two coming on the defensive side of the ball.
• The Knights held the lead twice in the road bout, with the largest lead for FDU being two points just before the under-16 electronic media timeout in the first half.

Inside the Box Score 

• Each side finished with a level 12 assists
• Rush finished the game shooting 6-for-13 from the field, leading the Burgundy and Blue.
• Square's four blocked shots were the most of any Knight in a game this season.
• Rush further separated himself from the pack as the junior now sits with 121 points in conference games this season. Square sits behind him with 88.

Coach Herenda's Thoughts

"Give credit to St. Francis, they are playing on all cylinders right now. We just could not stop them all-night long. They are an experienced group that plays very unselfishly and in this building they are always a handful. We need to regroup and get ready for an early Saturday afternoon start-up in Connecticut - and we will. This team is growing and learning on a daily basis and we will learn from tonight and bounce back in practice tomorrow."

What's Next

FDU continues the road trip with a return game at Central Connecticut on Saturday, February 5, at 1 p.m. live on NEC Front Row.

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