Game #21: Le Moyne (10-10, 5-2 NEC) vs. FDU (7-13, 4-3 NEC)
Info: Monday, Jan. 26 | 6:00 p.m. | Hackensack, N.J. | Bogota Savings Bank Center
Watch: NEC Front Row
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://fduknights.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
FDU links: Schedule | Roster | Stats | News
 
Hackensack, N.J. — The Le Moyne College men's basketball travels to New Jersey to take on the FDU Knights.

LAST TIME OUT
The Dolphins won their third game in a row thanks to a late game comeback (14-3 over final four minutes) over the Wagner Seahawks at home on Friday, 69-67. Redshirt junior guard Trent Mosquera provided the go-ahead and game-winning basket on a tip-in with 40.9 seconds left in the game. He recorded 23 points, five rebounds and four assists in all 40 minutes of action. Junior guard/forward Tennessee Rainwater went for a team-high and career-best 25 points and 10 rebounds, recording his first career double-double in the victory. Redshirt sophomore guard Deng Garang had 11 points, five rebounds and two steals, and sophomore guard Jakai Sanders recorded a game high five assists, while adding three rebounds and three steals. 

YEAR #3
The Dolphins are in their third year transitioning to the Division I level (as members of the NEC) and Le Moyne is the only school in the third year of the transition process. The Dolphins went 15-17 in their first season at the Division I level, including 9-7 in NEC action to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament. The Dolphins won their first game of the NEC Championship over FDU, 82-61, before falling in the semifinals at Merrimack. The program went 9-23 a year ago, including 4-12 in NEC play, and was the eighth seed in the conference tournament.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FDU holds a 3-2 advantage over Le Moyne in their all-time series history. The programs first met when Le Moyne joined the NEC during the 2023-24 season, with the Dolphins claiming the first matchup on the road, 74-63. They faced each other twice more that season, with FDU taking the next matchup at Ted Grant Court, 68-58, before the Dolphins defeated the Knights during that year's NEC men's basketball tournament at home, 82-61. FDU and Le Moyne faced off twice during the 2024-25 season, with the Knights defeating the Dolphins in double overtime, 91-86, in Syracuse, before defeating Le Moyne at Bogota Savings Bank Center, 78-74. 

COMMON OPPONENTS
The Dolphins and Knights faced two common opponents during non-conference action, Texas and Boston College. Le Moyne fell to Texas on Dec 16, 95-53, and to Boston College on Dec 28, 72-64, while FDU lost to Texas on Nov 12, 93-58, before falling to Boston College on Dec 22, 72-61. 

JESUIT CONNECTION
The Dolphins faced three fellow Jesuit institutions this season. They fell at Xavier University on November 6, 74-69, fell at home to Fairfield University on November 22, 97-83, and lost to Boston College, 72-64, on December 28.

WELCOME BACK
The Dolphins feature six returning letterwinners and two redshirts. Sam Donnelly is a second-year graduate student, Nate Fouts, Trent Mosquera and Kaelin Thomas are redshirt juniors, Deng Garang and Trevor Roe are redshirt sophomores and Jakob Blakley and Isaac Nyakundi are sophomores.

NEW FACES
The Dolphins welcomed seven new players to the program for 2025-26. Ametri Moss, who spent two years apiece at State College of Florida and North Florida, and Shilo Jackson, who joined the team following two years each at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Vincennes, are graduate students; Tennessee Rainwater, who enrolled at Le Moyne following two seasons at Utah Tech, and Samuel Hincapie, who came to Le Moyne after two years at Lake Land College, are juniors and Jakai Sanders is a sophomore after one year at Saint Peter's, while Eli Greenberg and Josiah Lee are freshmen.

NEC PRESEASON POLL
In the NEC preseason coaches' poll, the Dolphins were picked to finish ninth in the regular season standings, the same position they finished last year. LIU, which advanced to the semifinals last year, was the unanimous selection to win the league, while back-to-back regular season champion Central Connecticut State landed second in the preseason coaches poll. Stonehill College finished third and Mercyhurst University, which is eligible for the conference tournament this year, placed fourth. FDU, which fell to CCSU in the semifinals, landed fifth and Chicago State, last year's seventh seed, moved up a spot from a year ago. Defending tournament champion Saint Francis University placed seventh in the poll and Wagner College, the 2024 champion, finished eighth. Conference newcomer University of New Haven rounded out the poll in 10th.

PRIME PERFORMERS
The Dolphins have had three players earn Northeast Conference weekly Prime Performer honors.
Trent Mosquera – 11/10, 12/1, 12/8, 1/21                              Jakai Sanders – 11/17, 12/22
Shilo Jackson – 11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 12/30, 1/6, 1/12, 1/21

NET RANKINGS
Through games on January 24, Le Moyne is 267th in the latest NCAA NET rankings, second among NEC members, while FDU is ranked 328th, which is sixth among NEC members.

DOLPHINS IN THE NEC STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Shilo Jackson leads the NEC in field goal percentage (.656) (9th nationally, but Le Moyne student-athletes don't qualify for national rankings during the institution's transition period), rebounding (8.3) (59th nationally), offensive rebounding (2.8) (tied for 86th nationally), and double-doubles (8) (tied for 24th nationally). He is second made free throws (74), third in blocks (1.7) (tied for 64th nationally), fourth in defensive rebounding (5.5) (tied for 87th nationally), eighth in scoring (14.8), and free throw percentage (.725) and 19th in assists (2.2). Trent Mosquera is second in the NEC with a 39.1 three-point percentage (68th nationally), third in three-pointers per game (2.7), fifth in defensive rebounding (4.9), sixth in steals (1.5), ninth in minutes (31.9), blocks (0.8) and scoring (14.3), 10th in rebounding (5.7) and 21st in assists (2.1). Deng Garang is 13th in blocks (0.7), 15th in three pointers (1.5), 16th in minutes (30.2), 17th in steals (1.1) and 23rd in scoring (11.2). Jakai Sanders is second in assists per game (4.1), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.8), fourth in made free throws (67), ninth in free throw percentage (.720), and 18th in minutes (29.8).

COACH CHAMP
Le Moyne head coach Nate Champion '14 is the sixth-youngest head coach in Division I this season following back-to-back years as the second-youngest, celebrating his 34th birthday in early December. Tevon Saddler (30) at Nicholls is the youngest, while Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern), John Andrzejek (Campbell) and Zach Chu (Radford) are all 32 and Ronnie Thomas (Longwood) is 33. In his five-plus seasons of games leading the Dolphins, Champion has posted an 80-89 record and led the Dolphins to the conference tournament each season and the 2020 NCAA Tournament (canceled prior to first game due to COVID pandemic). Champion served as an assistant coach at fellow NEC member Stonehill during the 2016-17 season.

FIRST WINS
The Dolphins earned their first win as a Division I program on November 13, 2023 over Division III SUNY Canton, 105-46. They claimed their first victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on November 21, 2023 at CSUN, 80-70, during the first game of the Golden State Hoops Jam. They collected their first home victory as a Division I program over a Division I program on December 16, 2023 over Dartmouth College, 80-54. The 'Phins earned their first NEC victory on January 6, 2024 at FDU, 74-63.

SCOUTING FDU
The Knights are led by third-year head coach Jack Castleberry. FDU has posted a 35-50 record overall, including 21-18 in NEC play, under his direction. Castleberry came to FDU following a six-year stint as an assistant coach for The Citadel men's basketball team. 
 
FDU returned three players, including starting guard Raysean Johnson, from its 2024-25 team that went 13-20 and 8-8 in NEC play, while adding seven transfers and five freshmen.
 
The Knights went 3-10 in non-conference action, and has opened NEC play 4-3, riding a two-game win streak heading into their meeting with the Dolphins.

Senior guard Eric Parnell scored a team-high 19 points, while shooting 5-10 from three-point range, in the Knights conference opening victory over Mercyhurst, 74-67. He leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game, while his 36.8 three-point percentage on 3.0 makes per contest is also best on the squad. Graduate student guard Joey Neisman and senior forward Taeshaud Jackson each tallied 16 points in the win, with Jackson adding 12 rebounds to give him his second double-double of the season. He leads the Knights this season with 8.3 rebounds per game.  
 
Parnell recorded a season-high 29 points and seven made threes in the Knights victory over CCSU on Friday, 76-66. Neisman added 18 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes played.  His 3.4 assists per game leads the team. Freshman center Cyril Martynov added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in the win. He is shooting a team-best 48% from the field this season. 


DEDICATED DUO
Le Moyne's Chris Granozio and Don Familo are in their 34th season calling men's basketball games. They are currently the third-longest tenured Division I radio broadcast duo. They trail only Wichita State's Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl (46th) and Providence's John Rooke and Joe Hassett (37th). Baylor's John Morris and Pat Nunley (31st) and BYU's Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant (29th) round out the top five.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Dolphins are back on the road to take on the LIU Sharks in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.