FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Louis Montes notched 15 points with 11 rebounds and Sacred Heart edged Fairleigh Dickinson 71-67 on Saturday in a Northeast Conference meeting.

Sacred Heart shot only 34 percent from the floor but won the free throw battle hitting 24 of 27 while limiting the Knights to 15 points on 20 attempts.

Fairleigh Dickinson (5-11, 1-1) took the lead from the opening tip and carried a 40-34 advantage into the break.

The Knights extended the spread to 53-44 at 13:49 in the second before Sacred Heart hit stride on a 14-4 run to go ahead 58-57. A Montes trey put the Pioneers (4-13, 1-1) up 69-63 with 4:41 to go.

The Knights recouped and trailed 69-67 at 2:44 but failed to score the remainder of the game. Sacred Heart iced it with two free throws from Chris Evans in the final seconds.

Sydney Sanders Jr. led the knights, scoring 19 points.