COLUMBUS — Sean Moore's 19 points — coupled with Fairleigh Dickinson's relentless, hustling defense — helped the Knights stun the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers 63-58 on Friday night and become the second 16 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game.
Fairleigh Dickinson was shortest team — based on their team's average height — coming into the tourney, but the Knights (21-15) showed no fear in swarming 7-foot-4 All-American center Zach Edey all night.
To make their win even more remarkable, the Knights didn't even win the Northeast Conference Tournament. They came up one point short in the title game to Merrimack, which couldn't participate in the NCAA Tournament this season because of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason because it's still completing its four-year transition from Division II.
The Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6) struggled from the field, shooting 19 of 53 from the field, including 5 of 26 from the 3-point line.
FDU held Purdue scoreless for a span of around 5 1/2 minutes down the stretch and moved ahead by five on a 3-pointer by Moore with 1:03 left.
Fletcher Loyer's three-point attempt with eight seconds remaining would have tied the game at 61, but his shot missed the mark.
During a timeout prior to Loyer's attempt, coach Matt Painter showed his displeasure with the officials — who missed a blocking call in front of the Purdue bench — that would've put the Boilermakers at the foul line and trailing 61-58 with just over 20 seconds remaining in the game.
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