HACKENSACK, N.J. - FDU men's basketball returns home looking to shake-off the first loss of the season as the Knights (2-1, 0-0 NEC) welcome Saint Peter's (1-1, 0-0 MAAC) in the Battle of Bracket Busters live on the YES Network and the YES App on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. ET. While the two sides have faced three times in the last five seasons, Wednesday's game marks the first time both programs hold the distinction of being an NCAA tournament Cinderella as Saint Peter's advanced to the Elite Eight in 2022 and FDU, a 16-seed in 2023, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
 

About FDU

Looking to shake off the first loss of the campaign, suffered Saturday at Seton Hall, the Knights look to defend home hardwood against the Peacocks in the Battle of Bracket Busters Wednesday night. 

Unable to get the three-ball heated up in the opening minutes, the story of the opening period was FDU's 1-for-12 three-point shooting. Jack Castleberry's Knights showed several promising flashes around the midway point of the first half with back-to-back buckets by senior forward Sean Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) and sophomore forward Jo'el Emanuel (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern), seeking to spark the FDU offense.

"We got out of character tonight," said Castleberry in his postgame comments. "I didn't think we were very good at executing the things we were trying to execute in the first half. We continued to fight, which I'm proud of obviously. I thought it was good our young guys got a lot of reps and I think Terrence Brown can be a really good player for us and he had a good night tonight. He looked comfortable out there."
 
While the Knights' press was able to force eight Pirate turnovers in the first period, the Burgundy and Blue were only able to convert four points off those turnovers by the home BIG EAST team.
 
The Pirates' 24-point halftime advantage was the first of any of the Knights' opening opponents this season.
 
Coming out of the gate in the second half, the Knights got the shots from downtown to fall with two triples in the first 90 seconds of the period, though the effort would fall short as FDU would go on to record a final three-point shooting mark of 5-for-31(16 percent) after breaking the program single-game record against Penn State Brandywine (Nov. 8).

FDU freshman Terrence Brown was the lone Knight in the plus column as the Minneapolis, Minn. product (Columbia Heights/Golden State) sank eight free throws and picked up a field goal for an FDU high 10 points. Brown dished one assist and picked up a board off the defensive glass while also nabbing a steal.

Knights' sophomore Jo'el Emanuel was named the NEC Player of the Week after he shot 64.3 percent from the field in three starts in week one, sinking 18-of-28 of his field goal tries. The 6-foot-6 forward hit 50 percent of his three points tries, combing for five, over three games at Buffalo, home against Penn State Brandywine and at Seton Hall to close out the start of the campaign.

In the season opener, Emanuel had 18 points in the first 18 minutes of the first half alone, doubling his previous game-high. He would go on to finish the game with a career-best 24 points.

Scoring 13 points against Penn State Brandywine, Emanuel dished out three assists in each of the first two games while picking up a quartet of defensive boards against The Hall.

His double-double against Buffalo on Nov. 6 was the first of his career.
 

About the Opponent

Coming off a win at NJIT to move to 1-1 on the young season, Saint Peter's enters Wednesday's on a high after four Peacocks finished in double-figures, led by Corey Washington's career-high 23 point outing against the Highlanders. Like FDU, the Peacocks have a story to tell involving Purdue which, as a three-seed in 2022, was toppled by Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16 after the Jersey City school rolled by #2 Kentucky and #7 Murray State. Saint Peter's would eventually fall to Final Four team North Carolina in the Elite Eight.
 

About the Series

62nd all-time meeting between FDU and Saint Peter's...Series commenced on 2/25/52... Peacocks lead 45-16 all-time... Most recent meeting was one by the Peacocks on 11/27/22 (77-63)... FDU last won on 12/19/18 (83-74)... SPU has won each of the last two meetings (both in Jersey City)... First trip to Hackensack for Saint Peter's since 12/19/18... game scheduled for 12/22/21 at Stratis Arena was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

 

What a Win Would Mean

• Be the fifth-straight home win for the Knights dating back to last season
• First win over Saint Peter's since 12/19/18

 

Headlines

• First-ever linear-televised home non-conference game in FDU history
• Now in his second season as the Saint Peter's head coach, Bashir Mason is no stranger to the Knights and Stratis Arena as the 2007 Drexel graduate spent a decade as the head men's basketball coach at Wagner. Mason is 1-0 against the Knights with the Peacocks.

 

What's Next

Following the Battle of Bracket Busters, FDU welcomes Penn State Schulykill on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. live on NEC Front Row and streaming on the NEC on the Run app. Tickets are on-sale now at FDUKnights.com/Tickets.

Connect with FDU men's basketball on X and Instagram, @FDUKnightsMBB.

Bogota Savings Bank is the presenting sponsor for the 2023-24 FDU men's basketball season.