Fairleigh Dickinson Men’s Basketball Downs Ravens 96-83 in Exhibition
Knights hit 15 threes, five players score in double-digits.

Teaneck, N.J. – Five players scored in double-digits and Fairleigh Dickinson hit 15-of-30 three pointers en route to a 96-83 exhibition victory over the visiting New York Ravens.  Matt Hammond (Burlington, N.J.) and Lionel Bomayako (Paris, France) led the offense with 19 points apiece.  Senior center James Felton (Jersey City, N.J.) netted 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds.  Former Seton Hall player Duane Jordan paced the Ravens with 16 points and former Fairleigh Dickinson standout Chris Ekwe scored 15 points.

            The Ravens jumped out to an early 17-11 lead in the opening minutes, but the Knights turned the tide with a 19-6 run over a span of 6:39 to pull ahead 30-23.  Felton sparked the run with seven points including one of the Knights’ three-pointers.  New York came back with their own run to take a 39-37 lead with under a minute left in the half, a spurt capped by one of Ekwe’s thunderous dunks.  After a Felton layup tied it up at 39-39, Jordan gave the Ravens a 42-39 lead at the break as he scored on a layup and converted a free throw after he was fouled.

            The two teams traded baskets for the better part of the first seven minutes of the second half.  With the contest tied at 55-55 with 12:04 remaining, the Knights picked up the tempo and stretched out a lead to 74-66 with 7:59 to go.  The Ravens pulled within four points at 77-73 with six minutes left, but would pull no closer.  The Knights got seven of Iman Mattox’s (Hayward, Calif.) 15 points over the final burst to seal the win.

            The Knights hit 51.5% from the field for the game and forced the Ravens to make 26 turnovers.  They also got a double-digit performance from Doug Whitler (Detroit, Mich.) who netted 11 points.  Sophomore Marcus Whitaker (Trenton, N.J.) dished out six assists for the Knights while freshman Richard Chavez (Wichita, Kan.) netted five points and also handed out six assists.

            The Knights will play one more exhibition game on Tuesday, November 6, when they host the World All-Stars at 7:00 p.m.  They will open the regular season on November 14, at the BCA Invitational hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.