TEANECK, N.J. – For the FDU basketball team it has been a week of exams. Mostly, they have come in the classroom, while Wednesday evening posed one on the court. Following a ten-day layoff there was concern on the part of coach Greg Herenda regarding how sharp his team might be. They were facing a test of their own on the court.
Consider the ‘blue book’ filled par excellence. FDU ‘passed’ the test in convincing fashion with a 93-84 victory over Army at the Rothman Center. FDU is now 4-4, while Army fell to 5-7.
The points of emphasis:
Army is tough to defend. The Black Knights have a good inside presence in 6’9” Matt Wilson (a team-high 21 points) and an uptempo offense. In transition, Army will actively look for and shoot the three. They shot 11 of 28 for a 39 percent showing. Alex King (15 points) and Jordan Fox (13 points) each knocked down three treys. Army also had a good lead guard in Junior Tommy Funk, who had 12 points and a game-high eight assists. “Army poses a lot of problems for you defensively,” Herenda said. “(Coach) Jimmy Allen is an excellent offensive coach and his teams always play hard and never quit. This was a very good win for us tonight.”
Transition. FDU’s pressure defense was effective, forcing Army into 17 turnovers. “We are at our best when we turn teams over,” Herenda said. “A lot of those turnovers turned into fast breaks.” And in points in transition, FDU had a decisive 30-10 advantage.
Balance. Herenda was pleased with his team having five in double figures. Senor guard Darnell Edge led all scorers with 24 points. Sophomore guard Jhalil Jenkins added 19 and seven assists. Inside, Elyjah Williams, a 6’7” sophomore, had an impressive 22-point, eight-rebound outing. “God bless Elyjah Williams,” Herenda said. “He had 22 points but missed seven (1 of 8) free throws. As a team we need improvement from the foul line and that will come.”
Responding. On several occasions FDU built a double-digit lead, only to have Army get it within two possessions. Each time, FDU maintained poise and handled the Army run. Herenda was especially satisfied with how his team competed following an 18-point loss at Holy Cross ten days prior. “The second half at Holy Cross, we were flat and played tired,” he said. “We had time off and I was concerned how we would play our first game back. Overall this was a really nice team effort.”
Tempo free: in a 78 possession game the offensive efficiency:
FDU 119
Army 108
Allen’s Black Knights had a very good offensive showing, but not good enough considering the performance FDU turned in.
