Men’s Basketball Falls to San Jose State in Season Opener, 65-57
Knights to face Prairie View in round two.

Box Score

Raleigh, N.C. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University men’s basketball team (0-1) dropped a 65-57 decision at the hands of San Jose State University (1-0) in the first round of the BCA Invitational hosted by N.C. State.  Sophomore guard Marcus Whitaker (Trenton, N.J.) set a career-high with 20 points for the Knights.  Phil Calvert of San Jose State led all players with 21 points.

Fairleigh Dickinson raced out to a 15-5 lead after the first 9:16.  Whitaker scored the Knights’ first eight points of the game.  The Spartans chipped away to cut the deficit to 31-24 at the half.

Fairleigh Dickinson stretched the lead back to 41-28 midway through the second half as junior guard Lionel Bomayako (Paris, France) opened up the frame with all five of his points for the game.  The Spartans heated up from that point going on a 18-3 run to take a 46-44 lead with 7:10 to go and held the Knights without a point over a span of 7:01. The Knights stayed within striking distance, but San Jose State hit a string of free throws down the stretch to hold on.

Whitaker hit on 6-of-11 from the field for the Knights, including 5-of-9 from three-point distance.  Whitaker also dished out five assists and had two steals.  Junior guard Iman Mattox (Hayward, Calif.) also scored in double-digits for the Knights, netting 12 points and adding a team-high seven rebounds.

“We let down in the second half tonight and they delivered a knock out punch,” said Whitaker.  He added, “This is what we play these games for though.  We learned a lot and we’ll be a better team after tonight.”

The Knights will now play Prairie View A & M in the consolation bracket at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.  The Panthers fell to N.C. State in the first round, 95-51.