The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team (8-7, 3-1 NEC) fell to visiting Robert Morris (11-4, 3-3 NEC), 70-66, at the Rothman Center on Saturday evening.
The Colonials started the game on an 11-1 run. Andre Harris (Detroit, MI/Robichaud) (Detroit, MI) and Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) (Freehold, NJ) netted back-to-back field goals and a steal by Harris resulted in another Ubilla jumper to put the Knights in the game, 11-7.
RMU scored the next five-straight for a 16-7 lead with 12:37 remaining. Harris muscled his way into the paint for a bucket but Derek Coleman came right back with a quick three to make it 19-11 for Robert Morris.
Ubilla found Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) (North Brunswick, NJ), who put one in from the baseline in the corner to cut it to a six-point game, 23-17.
The Knights propelled themselves back into the game with a dominating 16-6 run. The Knights' defense was able to hold Robert Morris scoreless from the floor for a stretch of six minutes until the 3:44 mark.
After a three from Eric Hazard (Long Branch, NJ), Baptiste drove in for a lay up and on the ensuing possession, Ubilla netted a three from the top of the key to make it 27-25.
Baptiste then stole the ball and drove it down the court to the other end and laid it in to tie up the score at 27-27. The Colonials reclaimed the lead when Jeremy Chappell converted a three-point play with just under four minutes remaining in the first half.
In the first half, the Knights had 13 points off turnovers, while allowing the Colonials only three, and had 10 second-chance points, not giving RMU any. Robert Morris led entering the break, 37-31.
Tyler drove down the middle and his lay up rolled around the rim and then fell in and Harris took a defensive steal to the other end and sank it to give FDU a 44-43 lead.
Two free throws from Tyler knotted the score again at 46-46 with 12:18 remaining and the Knights took the lead on Tyler's fast break lay-in.
A three from Hazard with 7:40 on the clock gave the Knights a 54-52 lead. A lay up from A. J. Jackson tied the game for the fourth time, but a jumper from Harris followed by a trey from Tyler from the corner gave the Knights a five-point edge, 61-56 with just over five minutes left to play.
A three-point field goal from Chappell with 3:41 on the clock made it a one-point game, 62-61. The Colonials threatened to take the lead, but the Knights got the rebound off a missed jumper and fed it to Harris, who was alone on the other end for an emphatic dunk to remain ahead, 64-61.
Robert Morris reclaimed the lead on Jackson's turnaround jumper, 65-64, with under two minutes remaining in regulation.
With 42.7 seconds on the clock, Harris connected on the front end of a one-and-one to tie up the score and took the lead with the second shot, 66-65. Jackson swished a lay up, drawing the foul and making the free throw for a 68-66 Robert Morris lead with 16.8 seconds remaining.
The Knights had a chance to tie it up, but a foul was called on the offensive end, putting Mezie Nwigwe on the line. Nwigwe connected on both for a 70-66 lead and only 3.2 seconds remaining for the Knights.
“I look at the stat sheet and everything is almost equal- the shot percentage, the rebounds and turnovers,” said Head Coach Tom Green. “It comes down to executing the last minute or two of the game.”
“We have a tough leg of the conference schedule ahead of us,” said Green, whose team plays five of the next six games on the road. “We just have to take it one game at a time.”
Harris led the Knights, notching his sixth double-double of the year with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Ubilla recorded his first double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds, along with team-highs of three steals and eight assists. Tyler chipped in 13 points. The Knights held the advantage on the boards, 40-32.
Jackson led all scorers with 21 points, Coleman added 18 points, Nwigwe finished with 12 points and Chappell notched 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Knights are back in action at Central Connecticut in New Britain, CT, on Thursday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m.
