HACKENSACK, N.J. – The #4 FDU Knights (13-19, 8-8) earned a quarterfinal victory over #5 Stonehill (15-17, 7-9) at home on Wednesday night. The Burgundy and Blue scored 41 points in the second half en route to their 71-56 victory.

FDU now advances to face #1 Central Connecticut in Saturday's NEC Championship semifinal. The Knights will make the trip to New Britian for the second time this season.

Terrence Brown posted another 23-point performance against Stonehill. The NEC's Most Improved Player averaged 23.6 points per game in three matchups with Stonehill this season.

However, Brown did not do all the scoring by himself. FDU's big men Jo'el Emanuel and Bismark Nsiah combined for an efficient 23 points on 8/14 field goal attempts. Emanuel knocked down three triples. The Knights scored 36 points in the paint.

Neither team built a lead larger than three in the game's opening 16 minutes. At that point, FDU possessed a slim 21-20 lead. Then the Knights pulled out the clamps defensively and held Stonehill scoreless in the final 4:35 of the first half. In this stretch, FDU scored nine unanswered and led 30-20 at halftime. These nine points were scored by four different Knights.

FDU stretched their lead to 11 early in the second half. However, by the midway point, Stonehill had cut the lead to two. The Knights moved back in front by four, leading 55-51 with 6:26 left to play. From there FDU ended the game on a 16-5 run. This included an 11-0 spurt that served as the game's exclamation point.

WHAT'S NEXT
FDU and Central Connecticut are set to tipoff at 2 p.m. from Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday. The game will air on the YES Network, ESPN+ and NEC Front Row. Read Full Article