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For Immediate Release March 7, 2006 Men’s Contact: Ron Ratner Phone: 732-469-0440, Ext. 6 [email protected]

Who Will Go Dancing In The Garden State? Top-Seeded Fairleigh Dickinson Hosts #3 Monmouth In Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Title Game On Wednesday

Somerset, NJ -- Only 60 miles, $1.65 in tolls and a crush of rush-hour traffic on the Garden State Parkway separate Fairleigh Dickinson University and Monmouth University. On Wednesday evening, the two schools will bridge that gap and meet for one of the most prestigious prizes in all of collegiate basketball: the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament that comes with winning the Northeast Conference championship.

The conference title tilt will be televised nationally by ESPN2 out of Fairleigh Dickinson’s Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ at 7:30 pm. Bob Wischusen and former UConn basketball star and NBA player Donny Marshall will be calling the action.

The game marks only the fourth time in NCAA history that two New Jersey schools will play each other in a conference tournament finale with an automatic bid at stake. The first time came in 1988 when FDU defeated Monmouth, 90-75, at the Rothman Center. In 1994, Rider beat Monmouth, 62-56, but the Hawks returned the favor in 1996 with a 60-59 win over the Broncs.

The championship game will feature a stark contrast in styles, with high-flying FDU (20-10) looking to push the ball upcourt at every opportunity and make use of its athleticism, while Monmouth (17-14) prefers to utilize its motion offense and take time off the clock while searching for an open look. The Knights are the top-scoring team in the NEC this season, averaging 75.1 ppg, and also ranks first in field goal shooting at 46.0 percent. Monmouth will look to counterbalance FDU’s prolific offense with its trademark matchup zone defense that leads in the NEC in points allowed (64.5 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.401). The Hawks will likely finish as the league leader in scoring defense for the 13th time in the last 18 years.

The two teams split their two regular season meetings, which included one of the best games of the conference season on February 20th when Monmouth rallied from a 12 point deficit with eight minutes to play to upend the visiting Knights, 96-89, in double overtime. In that contest, Monmouth junior forward Marques Alston (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) scored a career-high 28 points, including seven points in the final five minutes of regulation, including a fadeaway jumper with 25 seconds left on the clock to tie the score. In the rematch exactly one week later with the top seed in the NEC Tournament at stake, FDU rebounded at home to post a 79-62 victory and clinch its first regular season title since 1990- 91 with a 14-4 record in conference play. It also represented FDU’s first outright regular season championship since the 1985-86 season and fourth overall for the program. (Page 1-of-3; Who Will Go Dancing?)

Central Connecticut State University • Fairleigh Dickinson University • Long Island University Monmouth University • Mount St. Mary’s University • Quinnipiac University Robert Morris Unviersity • Sacred Heart University • St. Francis (NY) College St. Francis (PA) University • Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Tom Green has top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson back in the conference title game for the eighth time in his 23-year tenure at the school. This should come as little surprise considering he is the winningest coach in NEC history in both regular season and tournament play. Green is 244-154 (.613) in regular season tilts and 26-17 in the NEC Tournament. A year ago, the venerable tactician won his record fourth NEC crown when FDU stopped Wagner, 58-52.

Monmouth head coach Dave Calloway, whose Hawks earned the #3 seed in the tournament after finishing with a 12-6 league mark, is no stranger to pressure-packed, all-or-nothing showdowns. A four-year letterwinner and NEC all-star back in his playing days with Monmouth, Calloway will be participating in his eighth NEC Championship game with the Hawks as a player or coach. He played in two (losing in 1988 and 1990) and served as a Monmouth assistant in three more (winning in 1996; losing in 1994 and 1997), before striking gold as a head coach in 2001 and 2004.

Fairleigh Dickinson’s path to its first NEC title game was the more difficult of the two schools as the Knights squeaked by #8 seed Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals, 66-65, on senior forward Gordon Klaiber’s (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy) layup with ten ticks left on the clock, then utilized a 16-0 run midway through the second half to erase a four-point deficit and defeat #5 Robert Morris, 71-55, in the semifinals. Senior guard Chad Timberlake (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht), who recently became the second player in FDU history to claim NEC Player of the Year honors, and junior center Andrea Crosariol (Abano T., Italy/Long Island Lutheran) both posted double- doubles against Robert Morris. Crosariol has been an imposing presence in the middle for the Knights in the postseason, averaging 16.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 5.5 bpg, while shooting 61.9 percent from the field.

Monmouth’s run to the NEC finale includes a pair of double-digit victories. The Hawks hosted #6 Long Island in the quarterfinals, and after trailing by four at intermission, outscored the Blackbirds by 14 in the second stanza to win going away, 74-63. Alston, a second team all-NEC honoree, led a balanced scoring effort with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. In the semifinals, Monmouth went on the road to defeat Central Connecticut State for the seventh straight time, winning 62-48 in New Britain. The Hawks, who were paced by senior guard Chris Kenny’s (Spring Lake, NJ/CBA) 19 points and 7’2” junior center John Bunch’s (Randallstown, MD/Randallstown) 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks off the bench, have now eliminated the Blue Devils in each of the last three NEC Tournaments.

Finally, in the battle of who will falter first, the Knights are 11-2 on their home court this season - including a 10-1 mark against league opponents - and 44-10 since the start of the 2002-03 season. Monmouth, however, has posted a respectable 8-8 mark on the road this season, including the convincing win over CCSU on Sunday.

FDU Quick Hits • FDU has posted the NEC’s first back-to-back 20-win seasons since Long Island won 21 in 1996-97 and 23 in 1997-98. • If FDU wins the NEC title, the Knights will become the first conference team to repeat as champions since Rider turned the trick in 1993 and 1994. Other league teams to repeat include Marist (1986 & 87) and Robert Morris (1989 & 90). • FDU is the first defending NEC champion to reach the title game the following season since Long Island did it in 1997 and 1998. • FDU is 4-4 in NEC championship games. The Knights defeated Wagner (2005), Long Island (1998), Monmouth (1988) and Loyola (1985), and lost to St. Francis (PA) (1991), Robert Morris (1989) and Marist twice (1986 & 87). • The Knights are 11-3 all-time when hosting NEC Tournament games. In the two previous title games contested on FDU’s home floor, the Knights defeated Monmouth, 90-75, for the league crown in 1988, and stopped Wagner, 58-52, in 2005. • FDU’s four NEC titles (1985, 1988, 1998 and 2004) rank second in league history behind Robert Morris’ five. • FDU has won a league record 27 NEC Tournament games, including 26 under Tom Green, the winningest coach in postseason play in league history. • Senior forward Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, MD/National Christian Academy) is a three-time all-NEC performer.

Monmouth Quick Hits • A victory at FDU would earn Monmouth a place in history as the only NEC program to win both semifinal and title games on the road. • Monmouth has posted six straight winning seasons in NEC play, the longest current stretch in the conference. The Hawks have also guaranteed their sixth straight winning year overall, the most since moving to Division I in 1983. • Monmouth is 3-4 in NEC championship games. The Hawks defeated CCSU (2004), St. Francis (NY) (2001) and Rider (1996), and lost to Long Island (1997), Rider (1994), Robert Morris (1993) and FDU (1988). • The only other league team seeded #3 to win the NEC championship was - ironically enough - Monmouth, which defeated #4 Rider in 1996. • Senior guard Chris Kenny (Spring Lake, NJ/CBA) needs three points to reach 1,000 for his career. • Freshman guard Whitney Coleman (Salem, CT/East Lynne) was tabbed to the all-Rookie team and is hitting 44.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. (Page 2-of-3; Who Will Go Dancing?) FDU vs. Monmouth In NEC Tournament Play The two squads have previously met six times in NEC Tournament play with FDU winning four of them. One of the matchups came in the 1988 conference title game with the Knights claiming a 90-75 victory for their second league crown.

Year Final Score Round 2003 FDU 63, Monmouth 61 NEC Quarterfinals 2001 Monmouth 71, FDU 59 NEC First Round 1997 Monmouth 73, FDU 72 (2 OT) NEC Semifinals 1995 FDU 73, Monmouth 71 NEC Quarterfinals 1991 FDU 78, Monmouth 67 (OT) NEC Semifinals 1988 FDU 90, Monmouth 75 NEC Championship

NEC Championship Game Tale of the Tape:

Fairleigh Dickinson Monmouth (Hackensack, NJ) (West Long Branch, NJ)

20-102005-06 Record 17-14 #1NEC Tournament Seed #3 Tom GreenHead Coach Dave Calloway 4 (1982, 1985, 1998, 2004)# of NEC Titles 3 (1996, 2001 & 2004) 43# of NCAA Appearances 265All-Time NEC Wins 216 27All-Time NEC Tournament Wins 20

5,080School Enrollment 4,501 Seth Greenberg, Notable Alumni Christie Rampone, Head MBB Coach, Virginia Tech Former Member of U.S. Soccer Team Peggy Noonan, Ed Halicki, Former Speechwriter for Ronald Reagan Former Major League Pitcher

Prime Time Matchup Andrea CrosariolName John Bunch JuniorClass Junior CenterPosition Center Abano T., Italy/Long Island LutheranHometown/High School Randallstown, MD/Randallstown 7’ 0”, 260 lbs.Height/Weight 7’ 2”, 320 lbs. 11.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.0 bpg2005-06 Stats 8.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 bpg 16.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 5.5 bpg2005-06 Tourney Stats 10.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 bpg Ranks first in NEC and 13th nationallyNotable Achievement Despite playing just 22 games, Bunch with 3.0 bpg ranks second in NEC with a Monmouth single-season record of 62 blocks

(Page 3-of-3; Who Will Go Dancing?)