Box Score
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Sean Baptiste scored a team-high 23 points, and Manny Ubilla scored 19 points and led a first-half 3-point shooting barrage as Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Norfolk State 80-64 on Monday night at Stratis Arena.
Ubilla hit all four of his 3-pointers in the first half for the Knights (2-5), who were 8-of-18 (44 percent) from behind the arc in taking a 43-12 halftime lead. The Spartans (2-5) shot just 25 percent (6-of-24) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while FDU shot 52 percent (16-of-31).
A Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) jumper cut the Knights' lead to 8-4 five minutes into the game. But FDU went on a 15-0 run to blow the game open and take a 23-4 lead. Ubilla hit two treys in the spurt, and Eric Hazard hit one. Jordan Stasyszyn capped the first-half binge with a 3-pointer of his own with six seconds left before the half, giving FDU its largest lead of the period, 43-12.
The Spartans played much better in the second half, shooting 53 percent (20-of-38) while holding FDU to 32 percent (6-of-19). NSU got as close as 11 points, 70-59, on a 3-pointer by New Jersey native Tony Murphy (Paterson, N.J.) with 2:27 left. But FDU went 10-of-10 from the foul line down the stretch, with Ubilla and Baptiste both going 4-of-4.
Murphy, playing about 10 minutes from his childhood home, scored a game-high 26 points, all in the second half. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season. Murphy was 9-of-22 from the floor, 9-of-17 in the second half, and made 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He also tied for team-high honors with six rebounds.
Deloach had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Larry Vickers (Virginia Beach, Va.) added 10 points and six rebounds for the Spartans. Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) had a career-high six boards of his own of the bench.
John Galvin added nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds for FDU, which outscored NSU 26-10 from the free throw line. The Knights made 23-of-34 from the charity stripe in the second half.
NSU continues its five-game road swing away from home on Thursday at the Air Force Academy. Tip-off time is 9 p.m. ET in Colorado Springs, Colo.
