Hackensack, N.J. (January 21, 2019)—Mount St. Mary's fell at Fairleigh Dickinson, 87-69, in Northeast Conference action on Monday afternoon at the Rothman Center.  Omar Habwe paced the Mountaineers with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Habwe was 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range in the game en route to his team-high 16 points.  Vado Morse chipped in 12 points and four assists while Malik Jefferson added 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Mountaineers (4-15, 1-5 NEC).

Darnell Edge led the Knights with 23 points while Kaleb Bishop adding 21 points and five rebounds, hitting 5-of-8 from beyond the arc in the game.  Xzavier Malone-Key tallied 16 points and six rebounds with Jahlil Jenkins chipping in 10 points and four assists for FDU as well.

FDU (7-11, 2-4 NEC) broke open a close game with a 12-to-2 run early in the second half.  Morse converted a traditional three-point play to cut FDU's advantage to 46-42, but the Knights countered with a pair of free throws and a lay-up from Edge.  After a Jalen Gibbs bucket, Malone-Key hit consecutive three-pointers and Edge scored in the paint to make it 58-44.  The Knights continued to surge, taking a 69-50 at the midway point of the second half.  From there, Fairleigh Dickinson was able to close out the game.

FDU shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the field and 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from three-point range in the game.  The Mount shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) overall and was 7-of-20 (.350) from beyond the arc.  FDU held a 32-to-27 advantage on the boards.

After Fairleigh Dickinson opened the game on a 10-4 run, the Mount responded with a Habwe three-pointer and a Jefferson bucket in the paint to cut the deficit to one.  FDU pushed the advantage to eight points after a 7-0 run, but the Mount countered again on a Morse three-pointer and a Collin Nnamene dunk to make it 24-21 with 9:35 left in the opening half.

After Edge hit a three-pointer for the Knights, Habwe connected on back-to-back triples to even the score at 27-27.  FDU pushed the lead back to 36-31, but a Jefferson basket and a Nnamene free throw made it a two-point game at the two-minute mark of the opening half.  The Knights rattled off a quick 8-0 run that was capped by back-to-back three-pointers by Edge to take its biggest lead of the half at 44-34.  The Mount's Nana Opoku hit a corner three-pointer on a nice feed from Damian Chong Qui to make it 44-37 at the break.

Both teams were on fire from the field in the opening 20 minutes.  FDU shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the field, including 8-of-13 (.615) from three-point range in the first half.  The Mount kept pace, shooting 60.9 percent (14-of-23) overall and 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from three-point range.

Mount St. Mary's returns home to play its next four games at Knott Arena, beginning with a matchup against LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, January 24, at 7:00 p.m.