HACKENSACK, N.J. - A strong first half performance was not enough for FDU men's basketball (12-10, 5-2 NEC) to contain the Stonehill Skyhawks as the newest member of the nine-team league would come back to capture their fifth Northeast Conference win of their first-ever Division I campaign Sunday, 70-59, splitting the season series with the Knights.

A common theme of the night beginning early on was the difficulty both sides had making shots with the pair of NEC teams combining to miss five field goals in the first four minutes of the tilt, though FDU would lead by five at the first scheduled break in the opening half. Sophomore forward Ansley Almonor continued to show-off his hot hand against the Skyhawks with the Spring Valley, N.Y. native producing five points in the first three and a half minutes, including his first of two three-pointers. Only fifth-year guard Grant Singleton would log a triple in the matchup with FDU shooting 3-for-27 from behind the arc.

Following the six-minute mark in the opening half, Almonor would pair up with graduate student guard Demetre Roberts for back-to-back dunks to open-up a six-point advantage for the home Knights.

With 2:05 to play in the half, junior guard Joe Munden Jr. of Harlem, N.Y. who stripped the ball from Stonehill's Isaiah Burnett for his second steal of the evening and flushed it home to extend the FDU lead to 12. The hammer drop caught the attention of the NEC's official basketball Twitter handle in what could be the league's Dunk of the Year.

Up 12 at halftime, the Knights held the Skyhawks to 19 points as Tobin Anderson's side led 31-19 after 20 minutes. Coming out of the break with two fast break layups, Munden Jr. extended the lead to 16, the largest of the game for FDU, though would claw their way back and tie things up at 40 with 11:36 to play in regulation.

The trio of Munden Jr., Roberts and Singleton, the reigning NEC Co-Player of the Week, kept FDU in the hunt to retake their lead which slipped from one team to another separated by a point.

FDU would miss four of their last five field goals in the second half, finishing with a game total 32.4 percent from the field (24-for-74). Stonehill's Shamir Johnson would lead all scorers with 23 points.

The Burgundy and Blue return to conference play on Thursday, January 26 at 7 p.m. when FDU welcomes in Saint Francis U (Pa.) live on NEC Front Row.

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