By ADAM ZAGORIA
Coach Greg Herenda and the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights are going dancing.
No. 2 seed FDU earned the Northeast Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with an 85-76 win at No. 1 St. Francis (PA) on Tuesday.
Darnell Edge went for 21 points, Jahlil Jenkins had 20 points and 3 assists and Paterson, N.J. native Kaleb Bishop tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Knights (20-13) to their sixth NCAA Tournament and first since 2016. Jenkins had gone for 18 in the semifinal win over Robert Morris.
The Knights figure to play in the “First Four” in Dayton, Ohio next week.
Top-seeded St. Francis fell to 18-14.
FDU took a 40-31 halftime lead by shooting 63 percent from the field and committing just 4 turnovers. Bishop had 12 points and 7 boards at the break.
FDU started 1-4 in the NEC and ended up 12-6.
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