Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team dropped its NEC opener Thursday night at Robert Morris, 66-54, at the Sewall Center in Moon Township, PA.  With the victory, the Colonials improve to 5-2 (1-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-5 (0-1 NEC) overall.

Junior Lonnie Hayes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) led the Knights with 25 points which all came in the second half.  He buried 9-of-10 free throws, grabbed five rebounds, dished out a team-high three assists and registered three steals.

The Knights dug themselves into a 36-14 halftime deficit but fought back in the second half.  Trailing by as many as 24 (54-30 with 7:47 left in the contest), FDU outscored the Colonials, 24-12, who played their top players until the final seconds.  The Knights outscored RMU, 40-30, in the second half.

After a George Goode (Raytown, MO/Raytown South) put back tied the game at five early on, the Colonials went on a 9-0 run to prompt Head Coach Greg Vetrone to call a 30 second timeout with 12:45 left before halftime.

The Knights cut the lead to 14-8 after the timeout, but a Velton Jones jumper triggered a 22-6 run over the final 9:41 of the first half to give RMU a 36-14 halftime lead.

FDU shot only 25.0 percent (6-of-24) in the first half and made only 1-of-6 three's, while turning the ball over 14 times.  RMU shot 44.8 percent (13-of-29) over the first 20 minutes but made 6-of-13 three's with Coron Williams canning 5-of-6.  The Colonials also only turned it over seven times and out-rebounded the Knights by one, 19-18.  RMU also scored 12 points off the 14 Knights' miscues.

Hayes, who was silent in the first half, scored 20 of FDU's first 23 points in the second half, but the Knights were still down 56-35 with 7:19 to play.

Two free throws by sophomore Ayotunde Oyeniyi (Lagos, Nigeria/The Rock School (FL)) cut the deficit to 63-50 with 2:33 to play.  Any chances of a comeback flamed out when Russell Johnson grabbed the rebound off Jones' second free throw attempt (made the first).  Two more free throw by Jones gave the home team a 66-50 lead with 1:48 left, allowing the Colonials to hold on for the 66-54 victory.

FDU scored 15 points off eight turnovers by RMU in the second half.  The Knights shot much better in the second half as they shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27) to finish the game shooting 35.3 percent (18-of-51).  FDU missed all three of its three-point attempts in the second half to finish the game 1-for-9.

The Knights also made 17-of-22 free throws (16-of-18 in the second half) and only turned the ball over eight times over the final 20 minutes but finished the game with 22 turnovers.

The Knights also won the rebounding battle, 35-34, with junior Kinu Rochford (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) claiming game high honors with seven to go along with 10 points before fouling out. 

Oyeniyi and freshman Dylan Moody (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends) played productive minutes off the bench for FDU.  Oyeniyi scored a season-high six points and grabbed three rebounds in 14 minutes, while Moody recorded three steals, grabbed two rebounds and turned the ball over only once in 25 minutes at the guard position.

The Colonials, who finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (21-of-49, 6-of-15 from three), were led by Williams' 19 points (15 in the first half) and Jones' 18 points and a game-high six assists.  RMU finished the game with 20 turnovers and shot 18-of-24 from the charity stripe in the contest.

The Knights were without the services of junior Melquan Bolding (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Bishop Stepinac) as the Knights' second leading scorer (16.3 ppg) did not play because of a coach's decision.

“They (RMU) took us out of our game plan in the first half,” said Vetrone.  “I give Coach Toole and his team all the credit.”

“I picked them to finish first in the league and they showed it tonight.  I was happy with our effort in the second half to make it a game.  For a lot of our players, this was their first career NEC game.  Going forward, they will know what it takes to contend in the conference.”

The Knights will have an off day before completing its Pennsylvania road trip with a date at NEC opponent Saint Francis PA.  Tip-off in Loretto, PA is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Saturday night.