HACKENSACK, N.J. – Playing in front of their home fans for the first time this season, FDU men's basketball got off to a 27-point halftime lead and didn't look back Wednesday as the Knights toppled Penn State Brandywine (0-1, 0-0 PSUAC) Wednesday, 107-63.
"To start off, I can't thank the community enough for the support they gave us. I was shocked at how many fans and students turned out for this game. It makes a difference and I know our guys get excited for that" said head coach
Jack Castleberry after his first home game as the Knights' leader.
"As far as the game goes, it was a solid showing, we weren't consistent at times but we didn't make excuses with the quick turnaround from Buffalo [Nov. 6] and show flashes," he continued.
"Offensively we did a great job sharing the basketball; I mean 25 assists is a high number and that's something we're proud of."
Leading the charge for the Knights (2-0, 0-0 NEC) en route to their second victory of the young campaign was junior forward
Ansley Almonor (Spring Valley, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional [Mont.]) who finished his evening with 24 points. The six-foot-seven Almonor led all scorers with 16 first-half points.
After trading buckets with the Nittany Lions in the early minutes of the contest, FDU jumped out to their first secure lead, 15-10, with 14:48 to go in the first and never looked back as the Knights would out-score Penn State Brandywine by a 41-16 margin in the remaining first half. Almonor was responsible for 16 points during the run.
The Knights earned five trips to the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes, making all but one of their nine shots from the charity stripe.
Coming out of halftime, the Burgundy and Blue continued their stellar shooting from the field, sinking 57.6 percent of their second half tries (19-for-33). Tallying 19 three-pointers, FDU also set a new high mark for most triples in a game, surpassing the previous high-water mark of 16.
Sophomore
Jo'el Emanuel finished his out with 13 points and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line. All available Knights played in Wednesday's tilt with
Davin Francis,
Tyler Jamison and
Thomas Sutter Jr. making their FDU debuts.
Fifth-year guard
Sébastien Lamaute came off the bench late and exploded for a near double-double, posting 10 points and eight rebounds in eight minutes on the floor.
"Séb [Lamate] played great tonight coming off the bench," added Castleberry. "He had 10 points and eight boards in eight minutes. Those are insane numbers."
As Casltberry mentioned above, Burgundy and Blue players combined for 25 assists on the night with only 11 turnovers over the 40-minute bout.
With Wednesday's victory in the books, Castleberry's squad turns their attention to Saturday's (Nov. 11) matchup against in-state BIG EAST foe Seton Hall live on FS2 at 4 p.m. from Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, N.J. FDU last faced the Pirates in 2021.
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.
- Almonor's 24 points was one shy of his career-high [25]
- FDU starts the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season
- The Knights' 19 threes sets a new program record by three triples, surpassing the previous mark of 16 (set twice vs. Wagner on 2/13/20 and 2/13/21)
- FDU's 107 points were the most in a game since 2015 (111 points vs. FDU-Florham [11/16/15])
- Most points in a home opener since 2017 (111 points vs. FDU-Florham [11/16/15])
