Jan. 30, 2007

Final Stats

FAIRFIELD, CT - Michael Peeples hit the go-ahead layup with :47 left and Tyler Cameron put Fairleigh Dickinson up three with a layup off a steal with :30 left to lift the Knights to a 91-88 win over Sacred Heart University in a Northeast Conference men's basketball game Tuesday night.

Eight points by junior Manny Ubilla in the first seven minutes helped FDU build a 17-12 lead. A 10-4 burst by the Pioneers, capped by a three-pointer by junior Drew Shubik put SHU on top 22-21 midway through the period. A jumper by freshman Ryan Litke with 5:47 left in the first half put the Pioneers ahead 32-26.

FDU, 10-10 overall and 5-4 in the conference, used a 10-0 run to take a 36-32 advantage. The see-saw continued to rock, however, and a Litke three for SHU with :47 left tied the score at 40-40. The Pioneers had a chance for the last shot of the half, but freshman Chauncey Hardy launched a three that missed with :17 left. Ubilla nailed a trey for the Knights as the horn sounded to end the half and give FDU a 43-40 lead at the intermission. Ubilla scored all of his game-high 21 points in the first half.

The two teams combined to shoot 15-22 (68%) from three-point range in the half. FDU shot 57% from the field overall in the period (16-28).

The Knights started the second half quickly and an Andre Harris jumper seven minutes in gave FDU its biggest lead of the game at 63-55. Again the Pioneers clawed back and a Gene Pettway dunk off an offensive rebound got SHU back within a point at 63-62 with 10:32 left in the game. A three-pointer from senior Tavio Hobson, his only bucket of the game, put the Pioneers ahead 72-70 with 7:28 remaining.

The lead continued to change hands, but a Shubik three with 4:24 left put the Pioneers ahead by four. Eric Hazard, who came in averaging just five points per game for FDU, drained a pair of threes in :31 to tie the score at 83-83 with 3:23 to play. Tyler put the Knights ahead with a layup with 2:11 to go, 85-83.

Hardy tied the score again with a basket with 1:50 left and the Pioneers made a defensive stop at the other end. Junior forward Joey Henley was fouled by Harris but made just one of two free throws to put SHU up by a point with 1:06 left.

Peeples gave FDU lead with his layup and Shubik, who finished with a career-high ten assists for the Pioneers, committed a rare turnover that Tyler converted to put FDU ahead 89-86 with :30 to play. Senior Jarrid Frye nailed a layup for SHU that cut the gap to one with :21 left and the Pioneers fouled FDU's Sean Baptiste on the inbound play. Baptiste hit both free throws, and a three-point attempt by Litke from the top of the circle over two FDU defenders clanged off the rim to allow the Knights to escape.

"I'm very happy to come out of here with a win," said FDU coach Tom Greene. "We'd lost two in a row and four of five so we really needed this."

Tyler finished with 19 points for FDU, while Harris and Peeples had 16 each. The win snapped a two-game slide for the Knights.

"It's tough to outscore the other team when they are putting up numbers like they did," said head coach Dave Bike. "We have to try to figure out how to get a little better on defense."

The loss dropped SHU to 10-10 overall and 6-3 in the NEC. Hardy led the offense with 21 points, shooting 8 of 11 from the field.

"It's been a point of emphasis at practice to improve defense and we see that we give up too much," said Henley, who finished with 16 points and four rebounds. "We've been outscoring people and the past two games, we have come up on the short end of the stick. We need to stay more committed to team defense."