FDU’s March Madness run ends, coming up short against Florida Atlantic – 5 takeaways

Fairleigh Dickinson fought, scrapped and clawed.

The Knights played with their now-trademark effort and heart.

But in the end, Tobin Anderson’s team couldn’t achieve history.

Sixteenth-seeded FDU hung with No. 9 Florida Atlantic and led in the second half, but the Owls pulled away late, handing the Knights a 78-70 loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

FAU advanced to the Sweet 16, where it will play fourth-seeded Tennessee at Madison Square Garden.

Had the Knights won, they would’ve become the first 16 seed ever to reach the Sweet 16.

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Instead, a remarkable March Madness showing came to an end.

"We went toe to toe with a top-five team in the country, and this team is a Top 25 team in the country," Anderson said. "We went toe to toe the last few days with two great teams and didn't back down, didn't go away. We're not just happy to be here. So I couldn't be more proud of our team, our players, the team, the program, the administration, the people around me, the family."

FDU reached the Round of 32 by pulling off a stunning upset of top-seeded Purdue, overwhelming the Boilermakers with quickness, effort and tenacity.

They kept it going Sunday night.

FAU went into the break up 32-25, but it could've been more had the Owls been able to make outside shots – they were just 3-of-17 from the three-point line in the opening half. Dusty May’s team at one point held an 11-point lead, but much as they did against Purdue, the Knights punched back and cut their deficit back to single digits.

Neither team shot well in the first half. FDU was just 28.6 percent from the field, FAU only slightly better at 35.1 percent.

"I didn't think we played great the first half, didn't play FDU basketball," Anderson said. "Then the second half we played really well. Had a couple of runs, got up by four a couple times, by three. And they answered."

But the Knights’ shots started falling in the second half. They went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a three from the right corner by Joe Munden Jr. that gave FDU a 33-32 lead, its first advantage of the game.

FAU later reeled off a 12-2 run to take a seven-point lead with just less than seven minutes to go. FDU made it close before the Owls pulled away for good.

A dunk by Johnell Davis, who had a game-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 12 rebounds, had a steal and dunk with 1:23 remaining to give FAU a 10-point lead.

"We made just enough plays to win," May said. "We settled in against their press and had just enough in us."

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Much faster pace

FAU plays a much more similar style to FDU – the Owls play fast, they like to get out and run. It was a total contrast to Purdue, which plays more slowly and methodically, with much of its offense going through center Zach Edey, who was limited by FDU.

Sunday night’s game against FAU had a more frenetic pace. Early on, both teams rushed some shots, and both teams missed some open looks.

The Owls had a size advantage, but that was about it.

2. Missed first-half layups

While FDU found its stride offensively after halftime, the Knights could’ve made things easier on themselves had they converted some easy layups in the first half – they missed eight of them.

FDU overcame the misses and got the lead in the second half, but the game could’ve looked very different had the Knights hit some of those inside shots.

3. FDU’s transition defense

The Knights picked a good time to play their best defense of the season. They were outstanding in the NCAA Tournament, first befuddling Purdue and then doing a great job stifling FAU’s offense in the second round.

But FDU’s transition defense, in particular, was elite Sunday night. The Knights made things difficult for FAU in the halfcourt.

4. Demetre Roberts a second-half force

Roberts gave everything he had in the second half. He went down fighting.

The Mount Vernon, New York, native, who followed Anderson from St. Thomas Aquinas to FDU, finished with 20 points, but 16 of them came in the second half.

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He made a tough layup to cut FDU’s deficit to five points – he drew the foul but missed the free throw – and later had a baseline drive for another tough bucket to cut FAU’s lead to 67-64 with three minutes left.

Roberts, who also had seven rebounds and four assists, did miss an open layup that would've made it a four-point game with 18 seconds left after FAU's Bryan Greenlee missed a pair of free throws, but by that point it might've been too late regardless.

Despite the loss, it was an impressive game and season for Roberts.

"When we look back at things, we started July 5, getting to know the new players, new culture, new coaches for the players that stayed from last year. There's learning each other," Roberts said. "Going forward, we were picked last in every poll. The practices, the hard practices, the 6 a.m. films, the 40s and 40s, 60 and 60s that we had to run, all the running we had to do, I couldn't be more proud of this team."

5. A season to remember for FDU

FDU went 4-22 last season, which ended with the firing of longtime head coach Greg Herenda.

In came Anderson, who led St. Thomas Aquinas (Sparkill, New York) to a 209-62 record in nine seasons. He brought three of his former players with him.

Anderson completely turned the program around, shocking the college basketball world with its upset of Purdue. It was a remarkable accomplishment for the small Bergen County school.

This team put FDU in a national spotlight. Its loss to FAU won't erase any of that.

"The story is four games to where we're at," Anderson said. "We were a 6-0 run away from the Sweet 16. They won four games last year. To have those kind of people around you, the kind of character we had to fight through that, be resilient."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: FDU March Madness run ends in loss to FAU in NCAA Tournament