NEW YORK (Interstat) — In a game decided at the free-throw line in the final second, the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights escaped Draddy Gymnasium with a narrow 65-63 victory over the Manhattan Lady Jaspers in a non-conference women’s basketball game Wednesday night.

The contest, played before an intimate crowd of 274, was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Knights build an early lead, surrender it, and then mount a final-quarter surge to secure the win. The outcome was not decided until Fairleigh Dickinson’s Ava Renninger sank two free throws with one second remaining and Manhattan’s Brianna Davis missed one of her three subsequent attempts from the line.

Fairleigh Dickinson established control from the opening tip, racing out to an 18-9 lead after the first quarter. The Knights’ defense stifled the Lady Jaspers early, while Madlena Gerke and Kailee McDonald connected from beyond the arc to build the advantage.

Manhattan responded in the second quarter, outscoring the Knights 15-13 behind a more assertive offensive effort. The Lady Jaspers began to find their rhythm, chipping away at the deficit to trail by just seven points, 31-24, at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to the home team, as Manhattan erupted for 18 points while holding Fairleigh Dickinson to 12. The Lady Jaspers’ Agar Farres Garcia and Brianna Davis led the charge, with Davis’s pull-up jumper giving Manhattan its first lead of the game. The Knights’ offense grew stagnant, and they entered the final period clinging to a precarious 43-42 lead.

A thrilling fourth quarter saw both teams trade baskets and the lead change hands multiple times. Fairleigh Dickinson’s offense, which had cooled in the middle periods, reignited to score 22 points in the final frame. Gerke, a guard from Riga, Latvia, was instrumental, hitting a crucial three-pointer to keep the Knights in front down the stretch.

With the game on the line in the final 14 seconds, Manhattan’s Hana Mühl hit a floating jumper to tie the game at 61. On the ensuing possession, Renninger was fouled on a three-point attempt with one second left. The sophomore from Yardley, Pennsylvania, calmly sank the first two free throws to put the Knights ahead. After a Manhattan timeout, she missed the third, but the Lady Jaspers’ last-gasp opportunity came when Davis was fouled on a desperation three-point heave.

Davis, a Bronx native who led all scorers with 19 points, made her first two free throws to tie the game at 63 but missed the third attempt, sealing the victory for Fairleigh Dickinson.

Gerke led the Knights with 21 points, including three shots from long range. Renninger filled the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists while playing the entire 40 minutes. McDonald also went the distance, adding 14 points. Leah Crosby, from Plainfield, New Jersey, contributed 10 points and eight rebounds for Fairleigh Dickinson.

For Manhattan, Davis’s 19 points were complemented by four rebounds and four assists. Farres Garcia was a force inside, recording a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Mühl, from Zagreb, Croatia, dished out six assists to go with 10 points.

Statistically, the game was remarkably even. Both teams had 69 possessions, with Fairleigh Dickinson posting a slightly more efficient offensive rating of 93.6 to Manhattan’s 91.8. The Knights shot 40.4 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from three-point range, while the Lady Jaspers shot 39.7 percent overall but a stellar 50 percent from deep. Fairleigh Dickinson attempted and made more free throws, going 15 for 22 compared to Manhattan’s 10 for 14.

The Knights improved their season record to 2-2, while the Lady Jaspers fell to 0-3. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Fairleigh Dickinson entered the game with a 62 percent probability to win.

Fairleigh Dickinson travels to face Rutgers on Sunday. Manhattan looks for its first win on the road at Air Force on Saturday.