Game #30: Le Moyne (14-15, 9-7 NEC) vs. FDU (11-18, 8-8 NEC)
Info: Thursday, Feb. 26 | 7:00 p.m. | Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court
Watch: NEC Front Row
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/mbball/
FDU links: Schedule | Roster | Stats | News
 
Syracuse, N.Y.. — The Le Moyne College men's basketball team returns to Ted Grant Court to take on the FDU Knights in its final home game of the regular season.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Dolphins are coming off of a road loss to the Stonehill Skyhawks on Saturday, 77-68. Redshirt sophomore guard Deng Garang led Le Moyne with a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds, while adding two steals and a block. Graduate student forward Shilo Jackson recorded 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a team-high three blocks in 40 minutes of action. Junior guard/forward Tennessee Rainwater had 12 points, two rebounds and two assists in his first start since November 11th. Redshirt junior guard Trent Mosquera contributed five rebounds, four points, three assists and a block, and redshirt sophomore forward  Trevor Roe and freshman guard Eli Greenberg each scored six points in the setback.
 
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
Le Moyne and FDU are knotted up at 3-3 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. The Dolphins earned the victory in their most recent matchup in January of this year, 87-74. 
 
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.
 
In conference play, both teams have defeated NEC foes Saint Francis, Mercyhurst, Chicago State and Wagner, while Le Moyne has defeated LIU and New Haven and lost to CCSU and Stonehill, while FDU has defeated CCSU and Stonehill and lost to LIU and New Haven. 
 
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 five players earn Northeast Conference weekly Prime Performer honors.
Trent Mosquera – 11/10, 12/1, 12/8, 1/21, 1/27                                   Jakai Sanders – 11/17, 12/22, 2/9
Shilo Jackson – 11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 12/30, 1/6, 1/12, 1/21, 2/16        Tennessee Rainwater – 1/27
Deng Garang – 2/23
 
NET RANKINGS
Through games on February 24, Le Moyne is 289th in the latest NCAA NET rankings, fourth among NEC members, while FDU is ranked 331st, which is ranked seventh among NEC members.
 
DOLPHINS IN THE NEC STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Shilo Jackson leads the NEC in offensive rebounding (2.7) and double-doubles (8) (tied for 49th nationally, but Le Moyne student-athletes don't qualify for national rankings during the institution's transition period). He is second in field goal percentage (.635) (16th nationally), rebounding (8.1) (70th nationally), third in blocks (1.6) (66th nationally), and defensive rebounding (5.5) (82nd nationally), tied for fourth in made free throws (94), fifth in scoring (15.5), eighth in free throw percentage (.718) and 23rd in assists (2.2). Trent Mosquera is tied for first in the NEC in three-pointers per game (2.6), second in three-point percentage (.374) (79th nationally), sixth in defensive rebounding (5.0), sixth in steals (1.5), eighth in rebounding (5.7), ninth in scoring (14.0), minutes (32.0) and blocks (0.7) and 21st in assists (2.3). Deng Garang is 11th in blocks (0.6), 13th in steals (1.1), 16th in three pointers (1.4), 19th in minutes (23.0) and 21st in scoring (11.2). Jakai Sanders is second in assists per game (4.3), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.8), tied for fourth in made free throws (94), sixth in free throw percentage (.740) and 21st in minutes (29.9).
 
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 first five seasons of games leading the Dolphins, Champion has posted a 70-79 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 39-55 record overall, including 25-23 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 an 8-8 record in NEC play so far.
 
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 is second on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game, while his 2.6 three pointers made per game is 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. Neisman leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game, while Jackson leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game.
 
Jackson led the Knights with 15 points in their loss to the Dolphins earlier this season, 87-74. Neisman, Parnell and freshman guard David Jevtic each contributed 14 points. Jevtic also tallied a team-high 10 rebounds to give him his first career double-double. Senior center Cyril Martynov tallied eight points, seven rebounds and a team-high six assists in the setback. He is shooting 52.6% from the field this season, which is best on the squad.
 
Neisman scored a season-high and team-high 24 points in the Knights loss to New Haven on Saturday, 84-77. Martynov added 14 points, five rebounds and two assists. Graduate student forward Arthur Cox had nine points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in his first start of the season. He is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.1 points per game.
 
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
Le Moyne will travel to Connecticut to close out its regular season against New Haven on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.