Greg Herenda reflects on FDU's win Wednesday night, as Knights throttled Wagner to advance to NEC tournament semifinal. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)
TEANECK, NJ -- Anything can happen in the Northeast Conference. Given that assumption, you would believe a No. 2 seed hosting a No. 7 seed would feel good about their chances.
Don’t bet on it.
FDU entertained Wagner in the opening round of the Northeast Conference tournament. For head coach Greg Herenda, there was no chance of feeling comfortable or looking past this one. Entering Rothman Center was a Wagner team the Knights had split with this season. The pair have also had a few memorable battles. One can’t forget FDU invading Wagner’s home court to score an upset and the NEC championship back in March of 2016.
Anything can happen? Tonight it did. On this chilly evening, everything fell in place for the Knights, who thoroughly dismantled Wagner, 84-46, to advance to the semifinals against Robert Morris on Saturday.
FDU (18-13) began the night by needing just over four minutes to enter the scorebook, trailing 6-0. However, the encouraging start by the visiting Seahawks quickly saw a reversal of fortune. FDU continued to trap the perimeter, get in the passing lanes and force Wagner out of a fluid half-court offense. The Knights also showed some three-quarter and full-court pressure in their defensive arsenal. On the offensive end, FDU pushed the ball, often winding up with wide open three-pointers or dunks. The offense ran on all cylinders. A steal by Darnell Edge turned into a transition three with seconds left in the half, boosting the Knight advantage to a virtually insurmountable 44-14 lead at halftime.
“In my six years here, that had to be the best defensive half I have witnessed us play,” Herenda noted.
The Knights kept their foot on the accelerator as the second half started, and ultimately posted five players with 11 or more points, led by Mike Holloway, Jr.'s 18.
“This was one of those nights for us and one of those nights in the other way for them,” Herenda said. “I have the utmost respect for Bashir (Mason, Wagner's head coach). I recruited him when I was an associate head coach at East Carolina. He’s an outstanding coach and runs a great program. We’ve built a nice rivalry in the past few years.”
FDU started this season 1-4 in the NEC, ultimately finishing 12-6 and earning a share of the NEC's regular season crown. The Knights are now on a six-game win streak and have captured 12 of their last 14.
“We had UMass beat and lost the last minute,” Herenda said. “We went to South Florida and had a good team tied with a minute left. In conference, we played four of our first five on the road. That’s a tough way to start, but I think in the long run, that might have helped us.”
The point taken by Herenda is not only starting on the road gives you the chance to finish at home. You also have the toughness factor, as your players -- by handling the adversity of multiple road games early -- are ultimately better prepared for the stretch. Through it all -- challenging games, road trips, etc., Herenda keeps his team running with a simple formula: Run, rebound, defend. There is also a simple but effective mantra.
“It’s not who we play,” he said. “It’s how we play.”
On this quarterfinal night -- and the latter part of the season for that matter -- FDU has played quite well.
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