BROOKLYN, N.Y. - When you think of adversity in basketball, you don't think of several players stuck in an elevator during warmups but that's what happened to the FDU men's basketball team (12-14, 6-5 NEC) Thursday night prior to the team's Northeast Conference matchup at LIU at the Steinberg Wellness Center. The Knights overcame the delay in action to come-from-behind in an 84-82 overtime victory against the Sharks to hand the Knights their second NEC sweep of the season.
Junior forward
Ansley Almonor hit his 1,000th career point as a Knight in the matchup, the 250th NEC player to reach the milestone in the league's 43-year history.
LIU got off to a 7-2 start early once play commenced approximately 17 minutes after the original tip time before the Knights' offense got to work. Freshman
Terrence Brown hit a three-pointer to cut the Sharks' lead to 7-5.
A 16-0 run by the Knights midway through the opening half erased a nine-point deficit with five Knights aiding the effort.
Back and forth down the stretch, the Burgundy and Blue entered the halftime locker room down one, 36-35.
The two clubs nearly went point-for-point in the final 20 minutes though a late jumper by LIU's Tana Kopa sent things to overtime, the score tied at 79-79.
Heru Bligen, Brown and Almonor scored in the overtime to secure the two-point win for FDU.
After the game, when asked to unpack the evening, head coach
Jack Castleberry quipped, "Well, it was 13 guys in there, so one at a time."
FDU returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 17, welcoming Saint Francis U to the Bogota Savings Bank Center at 1 p.m. ET on NEC Front Row and the NEC on the Run App. Ticket holders for Saturday's game can purchase a Beer Garden pass for $20 at
FDUKnights.com/BeerGarden.
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.
