FDU charges back, wins in First Four
Hillsdale resident leads Knights to first ever NCAA Tournament win
FDU coach Greg Herenda waves to the fans that came to support his team on Sunday. Herenda is a resident of Hillsdale, New Jersey.
At halftime of last night’s First Four matchup featuring No. 16 seeds Fairleigh Dickinson and Prairie View A&M, the Knights found themseleves down by 7, with little offensive production coming from anyone outside of Darnell Edge, who scored 18.
Then, in the final 20 minutes, FDU sophomore guard Jahlil Jenkins got going, Edge kept knocking down shots, and Hillsdale resident Greg Herenda’s team stormed back. The Knights outscored the Panthers 48-35 in the second half, leading to an 82-76 win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night from Dayton, Ohio. Prior to last night, FDU had never won an NCAA Tournament game, and will now go on to face top seeded Gonzaga on Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“It’s history,” Herenda said to Dana Jacobson of truTV following the win.”It’s amazing. All the glory goes to my players and my staff.”
Edge finished with a career high 33 points, Jenkins scored 22, including 20 in the second half, while Kaleb Bishop and Mike Holloway Jr. tacked on double-doubles. As a team, the Knights (21-13) shot nearly 55% from the field, 43% from three, and blocked 8 shots.
After the game, Jenkins told Jacobson, “I just kept my game. I knew in the second half, there would be more spacing for me to get in the lane, and fight for my teammates.”
Prairie View A&M was led by Gary Blackston, who scored 26 points, while Devonte Patterson pitched in 17.
Herenda and his team will look to be the second ever No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the round of 64, following last year’s upset by UMBC over Virginia. The game is set to tip off from Utah at 7:27 p.m., and will be nationally televised on truTV.
