November 30, 2014

Lafayette at Fairleigh Dickinson Sunday, Nov. 30 | 2 p.m. Teaneck, N.J. | Stratis Arena Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT
Senior Dan Trist recorded his 1,000th career point in the Maroon and White as the Leopards fell at Yale on Wednesday evening, 82-60.

Sophomore Nick Lindner and senior captain Seth Hinrichs led the way in scoring for Lafayette with 11 points apiece, while junior Bryce Scott chipped in with 10. Rebounding was the story in the game as Yale won the battle on the glass with a 47-20 edge.

For Yale, Justin Sears was the game's leading scorer with 17 points on the night, while Javier Duren added 15 and Armani Cotton and Makai Mason chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Bulldogs got 19 of their points via second-chance opportunities and controlled the paint, winning the points inside battle, 36-26.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson, looking to improve upon a 10-21 record a season ago, is eyeing a return to winning form after dropping its last two contests to Rutgers (61-44) and Columbia (57-47) to move to 2-2 on the early season. The Knights are led by a pair of double-figure scorers in Mustafaa Jones (14.3 ppg) and Matt MacDonald (11.0 ppg). Xavier Harris paces FDU on the glass with 5.8 boards per game. The Knights, averaging just 62.8 points per game to start the year, rely on the defensive end of the floor to shut down opponents, allowing just 59.0 points per contest this season.

MR. 1,000
With five points in the loss at Yale, senior Dan Trist reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Trist now sits at exactly 1,000 points over his four years on College Hill and joins Seth Hinrichs as the second active Leopard with over 1,000 points in his career. Classmate Joey Ptasinski will likely be the third to join the 1,000-point club this season, currently sitting at 854 total points.

LAST MEETING
Sidney Sanders Jr.'s tip-in as time expired broke the game's only tie as Fairleigh Dickinson held off Lafayette's comeback bid, with an 82-80 victory at Stratis Arena. The Leopards fell, despite a 27-point effort from Seth Hinrichs.

Hinrichs scored 15 of his 27 in the second half, and was joined in double figures by Dan Trist, who added 17 in the game. Mustafa Jones scored 18 points on six threes to lead FDU, while Lonnie Robinson netted 17 and Kinu Rochford had a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds).

ALL DECIDED BUT THE FINAL STATS
Against Penn, the Leopards played their only game this season that wasn't essentially decided coming out of the final media timeout. In its first three contests of the year, Lafayette pulled out a 27-point win over Robert Morris in the opener and West Virginia pulled away for an 83-56 win over the Maroon and White in game two. Lafayette returned home and routed Princeton by 17 in the home opener and fell by 22 at Yale on Wednesday.

MANNING THE BENCH
Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon has posted 272 wins in his career in his 20th season on the sideline for the Leopards, while Fairleigh Dickinson's Greg Herenda is in his eighth year, holding a career overall mark of 119-93, going 12-23 in his second year with the Knights.

LAFAYETTE VS. THE NEC
Fairleigh Dickinson is the second of four Northeast Conference opponents Lafayette will face this season. The Leopards defeated Robert Morris in the opener, 77-50, and play host to Wagner on Dec. 6 and Sacred Heart on Dec. 8. Lafayette is 22-19 all-time against NEC opponents, including a 2-2 mark a year ago, defeating Wagner (77-65 - Dec. 3) and Sacred Heart (86-79 - Dec. 7), and falling to Robert Morris (90-81 - Nov. 12) and St. Francis Brooklyn (65-62 -Dec. 19).