FDU Htitles Men's Basketball's Win Streak, 85-65

(boxscore)

1/31/05 -- Sophomore James Williams (DeSoto, Texas) scored 20 points but it was not enough as Long Island University dropped an 85-65 decision to Fairleigh Dickinson University on Monday evening at Schwartz Athletic Center.

The loss ended a two-game win streak for the Blackbirds (8-11, 5-5 NEC). The victory gave FDU Head Coach Tom Green his 350th career victory in 22 seasons.

For the Blackbirds, junior Aubin Scott (Hempstead, N.Y.) and sophomore Evan Meekins (E. Providence, R.I.) finished with nine points apiece.

Guard Chad Timberlake closed with 22 points for the Knights (12-9, 8-2 NEC). Tamien Trent added 20 points and 10 assists. Gadi Buch and Bernell Murray scored 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Meekins drilled a 3-pointer to give the Blackbirds a 24-19 cushion at the 6:19 mark before the Knights pulled even on a tip-in from Trent two plays later. Tied at 24-24, FDU rolled out a 10-2 run to close the half and post a 34-31 advantage at intermission. Murray, coming off the bench, scored eight of FDU’s final 10 points of the half.

The Blackbirds responded at the start of the second stanza, erupting on a 10-2 run to lead 41-36 with 17:21 remaining. Williams scored six of the ten points during the spurt. The Knights, however, countered with a run of their own. FDU exploded on a 20-4 tear capped off by a Timberlake layup to lead 56-45 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

LIU closed to nine with 9:51 showing on a pair of free throws from Meekins but it would be as close as the Blackbirds would get.

The Knights shot 71.4 percent (20-of-28) from the field in the second half and 60.3 percent overall. LIU closed with a 34.4 clip, making just 9-of-23 attempts (28.1 percent) in the second frame. The Knights posted a 44-27 rebounding advantage.

LIU travels to Monmouth (8-9, 7-1 NEC) on Thursday, February 3 beginning at 7:00 pm.