By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)
TEANECK, NJ -- On the way out of Rothman Center Wednesday, FDU assistant coach Bruce Hamburger was asked if he would like to bottle the Knights' quarterfinal performance against Wagner.
“Wish we could,” he answered with a smile, knowing that impressive as it was, the 84-46 victory carried no weight into Saturday’s meeting with Robert Morris.
How accurate he was.
In a classic tournament game featuring nine ties and eleven lead changes, FDU rallied for a 66-62 victory to set up a showdown with Saint Francis University Tuesday night in Pennsylvania for the Northeast Conference championship.
From the earliest minute, you were given a hint this might not be a wide-open, high-scoring affair. FDU did not hit a field goal until Darnell Edge’s three pointer found the bottom of the net over five minutes into the contest. Man-to-man defenses on both sides were dominant in those early minutes.
“Robert Morris is a great defensive team,” head coach Greg Herenda said. “Andy (Toole) had a great game plan, take away Darnell and Mike (Holloway Jr.), and make the guards beat you.”
Trailing by two at halftime, Robert Morris came out utilizing the three-point game and making those shots. On the opposite side, FDU, hindered by turnovers, struggled to gain offensive continuity. With 14 minutes left, the Colonials held a 43-33 lead.
“Don’t give up,” Edge said, regarding the Knights’ mindset looking at a double-digit deficit. “We knew we would make our run, just concentrate on defensive assignments and stay confident.”
The Knights began getting stops. They disallowed any chance for the visiting Colonials to gain further separation. Turnovers, the bane of FDU’s first half existence, were now its ally. Defensively, the Knights forced them, creating offense to chip away at the lead. Edge’s layup, fueled by a Jahlil Jenkins steal, tied it at 54 with just under six minutes remaining. With the season on the line, the respective teams battled for the duration. The final minute did not tell the whole story, but provided enough drama.
FDU led 62-60 with under 30 seconds remaining. Holloway missed a short jumper, but Elyjah Williams came up with the rebound, lost it and won a scramble with the ball going out of bounds. With 7.1 seconds left and the Knights still leading by two, Edge was fouled on the inbound. The senior guard calmly hit two free throws to seal the victory.
“Credit FDU and their resilience to come back,” Andy Toole said. “I think their threes killed us. We wanted to get them off the three-point arc.”
“I sit here to again credit our opponent,” said Herenda. “We were fortunate. Andy had them so ready. When I came here, Robert Morris was the champion and best team in the league, six years later we are equal with them and going to the championship. This was just another total team effort.”
Now the Knights return to the championship game the second time in four years. They captured the 2016 title, upsetting Wagner on the road. Herenda sees a definite difference three years removed.
“The first year, we wanted to win it,” he said. “We were the third-youngest team in America, this year we know we are capable of winning it. We have pressure but embrace it. If you don’t enjoy this pressure this time of year you are in the wrong business. We’re having fun right now.”
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