Andre Harris (Detroit, MI/Robichaud) needed 33 points to break the 1,000-point mark. Harris went out and got 34 for good measure to lead the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team past Robert Morris, 84-79, on Thursday evening at the Charles L. Sewall Center in Moon Township, PA. The Knights improve to 11-10 overall, with a 6-4 mark in the Northeast Conference, while the Colonials fall to 13-7, including 5-6 in league play.
The win is Head Coach Tom Green's 250th in conference. He is the NEC's all-time wins leader, with a 250-141 league record, nearly double that of second place Ron Ganulin, who won 129 games at St. Francis NY from 1991-05.
Harris recorded a career-high 34 points, 28 of which came in the second half, and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the year and the first 30-point game of his career.
Prior to hosting the Knights, the Colonials had only dropped one previous home game this season.
Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) broke a 10-10 tie when he converted an old-fashioned three-point play seven minutes into the game. The Knights staged a 7-2 run to take a 22-15 lead after Manny Ubilla (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) grabbed a steal and fed the ball to Cameron Tyler (Jamaica, NY/Notre Dame Prep) for a lay-up.
But the Colonials scored the next seven-straight points to tie up the game, 22-22, with just over eight minutes remaining in the half.
RMU took the lead on Colson Senat's three, but Harris connected on two from the line and Ubilla buried a trey from the top of the arc to make it 31-28 in favor of the Knights.
Robert Morris was able to take their largest lead of the half, 42-36, with four consecutive three-pointers and eight points over three minutes from Jeremy Chappell.
Fairleigh Dickinson went on a 6-0 run in order to tie the game, 42-42, with back-to-back three-pointers from Eric Hazard and Ubilla.
Ubilla hit a three as the half-time buzzer sounded to send the Knights into the locker room down just one, 47-46.
Ubilla entered the half with four three-pointers for 12 points, while Baptiste recorded 10 points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. In the first period, the Knights had 13 second-chance points, while allowing the Colonials only eight.
Harris came out of the break with an offensive spark for the Knights, scoring the first 11 and 19 of the first 21 points of the second half.
After three ties in the first four minutes, the Knights were able to reclaim the lead by scoring six-straight. FDU took the lead as Peeples netted a pair of free throws and then the Knights' full-court defense forced a turnover and used it to set Harris up for a jumper, 61-55.
The Colonials staged a 10-2 run, capped by a dunk from Chappell on an assist from AJ Jackson, to take a 69-67 lead.
The next five minutes saw four lead changes between the two teams. Harris tied up the game at 77-77, making the back end of a pair of free throws. Harris had a key block on the defensive end and then made another free throw to give the Knights a one-point edge.
Ubilla grabbed a defensive rebound to get the ball back and then hit 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 24 seconds while Harris went 2-for-2 to give the Knights the 84-79 victory.
Ubilla finished the game with 18 points and Peeples and Baptiste each added 10. Tyler dished out a team-high seven assists.
“This is the second road win in a row for us,” said Green. “We're very happy about that and we're playing well. This is the 21st game of the season and the 13th decided by five points or less.”
“I voted Robert Morris first in the preseason poll with the starters they had coming back,” said Green. “This is a terrific win for our team.”
“I'm not the smartest guy, but I know that when you have a horse, you have to ride it all the way. Harris has a great mid-range game and is the leading scorer in the conference, I think he showed people tonight why that is and what he's capable of. He's the guy we want to get the ball to in the clutch.”
Fairleigh Dickinson shot 50 percent from the floor, 47 percent from behind the arc and 82 percent from the free throw line. The Knights held the Colonials scoreless for the final three minutes, allowing them to go for a stretch from the 3:36 mark until only 10 seconds were remaining on the clock.
The Knights are back in action on Monday, Feb. 5 when they host Monmouth in a game that will be televised live on MSG at 7:30 p.m.
