Delaware State Handles Fairleigh Dickinson Men’s Basketball, 79-73
Whitaker Nets 19 for Knights

Box Score/Play-by-Play

Hackensack, N.J. – Andre Matthews (Seaford, Del.) scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and Sergey Stephanenkov (St. Petersburg, Russia) poured in a game-high 23 points to lead Delaware State over the Fairleigh Dickinson men’s basketball team, 79-73, in what was a tight game from wire-to-wire.  Marcus Whitaker (Trenton, N.J.) paced Fairleigh Dickinson with 19 points.  The Knights fell to 0-10 on the year, while the Hornets improved to 4-5.

            Matthews led a Hornet offense that connected on 61.5 percent from the field in the second half and 55.2 percent for the game.  The junior forward hit 9-of-12 field goals and also dished out five assists and grabbed eight rebounds.  Stephanenkov connected 8-fo-12 from the field, including 6-of-10 from beyond the three-point arc.  As a team, the Hornets shot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from three-point range.

            With the game tied at 49-49, with 13:03 left, Matthews and Stephanenkov each scored six points to key a 14-4 run over the next four minutes.  The Knights pulled back within five at 63-58, with 8:01 remaining, but could pull no closer.

            Fairleigh Dickinson turned the ball over just nine times in the contest and only once in the second frame, but the Knights were out-rebounded 39-23.

            Whitaker hit 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.  Four other Knights scored in double-digits, including Mensah Peterson (North Brunswick, N.J.) who netted 16 points in 26 minutes off the bench.

            “We’re staying hungry,” said Brandon Edwards (Southfield, Mich.) who narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Knights.  “Everyone on this team is a winner.  We just have to keep going at.”

            Fairleigh Dickinson returns to action on Saturday, December 22, at Kansas State.  That contest is set for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off (EST).