Fairleigh Dickinson basketball (11-14) underwent a mishap on Thursday ahead of its road matchup with Long Island (6-17), which perfectly encapsulates how their 2023-24 season has gone to this point. The NCAA Tournament darling was unable to make it for the scheduled opening tip-off because it was trapped in an elevator, per John Fanta of Fox College Hoops.
Firemen sprung into action and ultimately freed the Knights from this stressful predicament. To the credit of the players and head coach Jack Castleberry, Fairleigh Dickinson did not appear to be overly rattled. The team won 84-82 in overtime with Ansley Almonor leading all scorers with 19 points.
The Knights have experienced all the emotions college basketball has to offer in just the last 11 months. They stunned No. 1 seed Purdue in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, surviving Naismith National Player of the Year Zach Edey to earn the biggest win in program history. This unfathomable upset launched the university and then-HC Tobin Anderson into the limelight.
The hysteria was short-lived, however. Fairleigh Dickinson basketball lost its Round of 32 matchup to Florida Atlantic, who quickly replaced the Northeast champions as the most captivating underdog story of the Tournament. Anderson left to become the new head coach of Iona and key players Grant Singleton and Demetre Roberts ended their college careers.
A 4-1 start to the 2023-24 campaign gave fans ample confidence that their team could plow through the hardship, but multiple losing streaks of four or more games have plunged FDU to the middle of the league standings. A defeat at the hands of Long Island could have hurt its seeding for the Northeast Conference Tournament this March.
Though, it would have been tough to blame the team after its pregame ordeal. If only Purdue considered paying off the elevator operator.
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