Dayton, Ohio – Playing in the NCAA tournament for the seventh time, #16 FDU (20-15, 10-6 NEC) took down fellow-#16 seed Texas Southern (14-21, 7-11 OVC) 84-61 in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship First Four Tuesday.
With tonight's victory, the Knights reached the 20-win plateau for the 11th time overall and the first since 2019 when they earned their first-ever NCAA tournament victory with an 82-76 triumph over Prairie View A&M. The 23-point win by FDU marks the largest by a Northeast Conference team ever in the NCAA tournament as the Knights improve to 2-6 all-time in the Big Dance. FDU advances to the NCAA tournament First Round, where they will face #1 Purdue on Friday, March 17, in Columbus, Ohio, at 6:50 p,m. on TNT.
The Knights wasted no time, racing out to a 14-2 lead 3:29 into the contest. Juniors Sean Moore and Joe Munden Jr. scored five points each during the opening rally. Texas Southern got within five on a 13-6 spurt. Rookie Brayden Reynolds extended the lead to nine thanks to two free throws, but the Tigers used a 6-0 run to pull to 26-23, forcing FDU into a 30-second timeout.
The timeout paid dividends as the Knights reeled off the following eight markers, including consecutive three-pointers from sophomore Ansley Almonor. TSU stopped the 10-0 spurt with a jumper, but the Knights stretched the advantage to double-figures for the remainder of the period. FDU finished the first stanza on a 19-6 run, taking a 45-29 edge into halftime. The Knights' 45 points were also the most first-half points by FDU in a First Four game.
Munden Jr. and Roberts led FDU with nine first-half points, with Almonor and Moore adding eight. As a unit, the Knight shot 53.8% from the floor, including 7-of-15 from behind the arc.
The Knights lead swelled to 19 on an Almonor jumper early in the second half, but the Tigers continued to fight, getting within 14 entering the under-16 media timeout. The Knights' stingy defense was displayed in the second half, holding Texas Southern without a basket for nearly six minutes. During the basket-less drought, FDU pushed their lead to 16 at 54-38.
Texas Southern trimmed the deficit to 10 midway through the second stanza thanks to a 6-0 run. The Knights halted the run as Almonor sank a pair from the charity stripe. FDU continued to stay hot at the free-throw line, with Munden Jr. and graduate student Grant Singleton dropping two each to give FDU a 16-point cushion.
The Knights brought the lead to over 20 points late in the game as freshman Jo'el Emanuel knocked down a pull-up jumper. After holding the Tigers without a triple for the first 35:04, TSU hit their first with 4:54. Singleton answered back after a timeout, hitting a three-pointer.
Almonor once again drained consecutive three-pointers, and a Moore driving layup off a Singleton steal. Graduate student Demetre Roberts polished off the scoring for FDU, knocking down a mid-range jumper with 1:18 left.
The Spring Valley, N.Y. native Almonor tallied a team-high 23 points, two off his career-high set against Merrimack on December 29. Joining Almonor in double-figures was Munden Jr. (17 points), Roberts (15 points), Singleton (13 points), and Moore (10 points). Singleton added seven rebounds and six assists, with Almonor hitting five three-pointers. The Knights made a season-high 27 free throws, the most since hitting 31 against Robert Morris on February 2, 2019.
