Hackensack, N.J. (January 9, 2014)—Julian Norfleet and Rashad Whack combined to score 47 points, but it was not enough as Mount St. Mary's fell to Fairleigh Dickinson, 85-79, on Thursday night in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams.

Norfleet, who had a career-best 31 points and 10 assists in his last game at Norfolk State, finished with 24 points and nine assists for the Mount in the loss.  Whack added 23 points for the second game in a row for the Mount (4-10, 0-1 NEC) in the game. Sam Prescott had 10 points and five rebounds while Gregory Graves tallied seven points and a career-high 10 boards for the Mountaineers.

Sidney Sanders, Jr., led the Knights with a game-high 32 points while Matt MacDonald chipped in 21 points.  Matthias Seilund added 16 points and eight rebounds for FDU.

The Mount led 43-41 at the half, but Fairleigh Dickinson (5-10, 1-0 NEC) opened the second half with an 8-2 run to grab a 49-45 advantage before Taylor Danaher and Whack each scored on the fast break to tie the score. 

Seilund's putback with 10:08 left in the game gave FDU its biggest lead of the game up to that point, 61-56.  Whack answered with a traditional three-point play to pull the Mount within two on the next possession.

The Mount regained the lead on back-to-back baskets from Prescott and Graves and a Whack free throw, but Sanders answered on the other end with a fast-break bucket to give FDU a 65-64 lead.  Freshman Byron Ashe, however, drilled a three from the left corner to give the Mount a 67-65 lead.  Sanders responded again, with a three-pointer from the left wing to give FDU a 68-67 lead with 4:45 on the clock.

MacDonald then hit a pair of free throws, and then hit a three-pointer from the left corner after a steal, to push the FDU advantage to 73-67, with 3:31 remaining.

Whack hit a three-pointer with 2:25 left to cut the deficit to 75-72, and the Mount had a couple of chances to tie, but missed a three-pointer and had a travel call.  Seilund then hit a pair of free throws with 49.1 seconds to push the FDU lead to 77-72.  After FDU took an 81-73 advantage, Norfleet hit a pair of long three-pointers in the final 30 seconds, but the comeback came up short.

The Mount finished the game shooting 43.3 percent from the field and was 11-of-25 (.440) from three-point range.  Fairleigh Dickinson shot 43.1 percent from the field, and was 29-of-36 (.806) at the foul line.

The Mountaineers, behind the hot shooting of Whack, pulled out to a 17-10 lead in the opening five minutes.  Whack was 5-for-5 from the field, including three three-pointers, in the opening scoring run. 

FDU fought back, taking a 26-24 advantage after a Sanders three-pointer midway through the half, but the Mount responded with a Prescott trifecta to regain the advantage.  From there, the Mount was able to maintain a slim advantage the remainder of the half.

The Mount shot 46.4 percent in the opening half, and was 7-of-13 (.538) from beyond the three-point arc.  Whack led the Mount with 13 first-half points, Norfleet added 11 and Prescott had eight.  Sanders led all scorers with 18 points in the opening frame.

The Mount will host St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, January 11, at 2:00 p.m.  It will be the Mount's first home game since defeating rival Loyola on December 7.

Game Notes:  Fairleigh Dickinson holds a 26-22 lead in the all-time series…The Mountaineers have won eight of the past 10 meetings…This was the Mount's first loss at FDU since 2006, snapping a five-game road win streak against the Knights…The Mount lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in the NEC opener at home last season.