By Sheldon Gomes
Staff Writer
The Knights fell to Manhattan 78-73 in an exciting contest on Tuesday night.
FDU was without their head coach Greg Herenda, missing his second straight game due to a non-Covid illness and also their star leading scorer, Brandon Rush, who did not suit up for the team for undisclosed reasons.
It was another strong showing offensively in the first half of the game as FDU led by as many as 11 coming off of an Oscar Berry three-point make with 4:42 to go.
By the end of the half, the Knights shot a very efficient 15-29 (51.7%) overall from the floor
And 5-11 (45.4%) from three. They also added six free throws on 75% shooting from the line.
Unfortunately for the Knights the turning point came in the second half with 12:08 to play. After Sebastien Lamaute hit a three to put the Knights up by eight points Manhattan would go on a 19-6 run to put them ahead 67-62 with just 5:15 to play. The Knights made a strong comeback that consisted of a game-tying three from Devon Dunn and then a layup later from John Square Jr. to give the Knights a one point lead with just over a minute remaining. Manhattan, however, was able to take the lead back with a Warren Williams offensive rebound and layup and they would eventually hold on to come away victorious.
The second half proved to be a nightmare for FDU as they shot just 12-34 (35.3%). The Knights looked to Devon Dunn to help them on offense in the absence of Brandon Rush, but he struggled to find his rhythm as he went 4-15 in the game.
Overall FDU finished the game shooting 27-63 (42.9 %) and 9-22 (40.9 %) from three. They also went 10-15 (66.7 %) from the free throw line.
Manhattan did most of their damage inside of the three point arc as they finished shooting 26-55 (47.3 %) but just 4-14 (28.6%) from outside. A major story in the game was the free throw discrepancy as Manhattan attempted 11 more free throws on the night and went 22-26 (84.6 %)
The Knights were led in scoring by John Square Jr. who put up 19 points and seven rebounds on 8-11 shooting. Dunn was second in scoring with 11 points followed by a combined 16 points from Joe Munden Jr. and Berry Oscar.
For Manhattan scoring was balanced as they got 14 points each from Warren Williams and Samir Stewart. Not far behind was Samba Diallo with 13 points, Jose Perez with 12 points and Josh Roberts with 10 points.
Next up the Knights will face Drexel in a rescheduled game from Nov. 12. FDU will be hoping to see the return of both Greg Herenda and Brandon Rush when they head to Philadelphia on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
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The Knights lose to Manhattan, 78-73.
Art by Aurora Rifkind
