Box Score

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team was defeated by first-place Robert Morris, 69-64, on Thursday night inside Stratis Arena on Senior Night. With the victory, the Colonials improve to 19-11 (14-1 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall into a seventh-place tie and drop to 10-19 (6-9 NEC) overall.

Robert Morris closed out the contest with a 22-2 run over the final 8:14 after coming back from a 15-point deficit. FDU's last points came on a Sidney Sanders Jr. (Charleston, S.C./Burke) bucket with 5:04 to go. At the time, the Knights led 64-52.

"It's really a shame that we have come so far but cannot finish the job," Head Coach Greg Herenda said. "It's really hard to win a game when you don't score a point over the last five minutes of the game."

FDU broke away from a one-point lead with a 15-1 spurt, which gave the Knights a 62-47 lead with 8:34 remaining.

The Colonials made 5-of-12 shots, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and made 10-of-11 free throws during their game-ending run. FDU only connected on 1-of-13 from the field and missed all six of its three-point attempts.

Both sides struggled from the field throughout the game. The Knights held Robert Morris only 33.3 percent (19-of-57) and 7-of-23 from long distance, but the visitors capitalized at the free throw line, going 24-for-29, including 17-for-20 in the second half.

FDU shot only 35 percent (21-of-60) and 8-of-28 from three-point range but did make 14-of-15 free throws.

The Knights led by as many as five on two different occasions over the first part of the opening 20 minutes, before the Colonials came back both times to regain the lead.

Trailing 26-24 at the 4:53 mark, freshman Scott Kingsley (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita of Cascia) buried a three-pointer, which triggered a 15-2 run to give the Knights an 11-point lead. But Robert Morris scored right before halftime, and FDU went into the locker room leading 39-30.

The Knights made 7-of-16 three's in the first half and outrebounded the Colonials by seven. Their defense held Robert Morris to only 10-of-33 from the field and 3-of-11 from behind the arc.

The Colonials scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half to cap their 11-2 flurry and trim the deficit to two. However, FDU regrouped to score six of the next eight to go back up six at 47-41 with 15:06 to go.

Robert Morris would score five unanswered to cut the Knights' advantage to 47-46, before Sanders' jumper started FDU's 15-1 run at the 12:34 mark.

The Colonials took the lead for good on a pair of free throws from Kavon Stewart with 1:25 remaining. The Knights had a chance to take the lead but missed a short jump shot with 1:00 to go.

FDU forced Robert Morris to miss a shot with 36 ticks left, but Karvel Anderson was able to corral the offensive rebound before getting fouled. He then made both free throws to extend the lead to 67-64.

The Knights had a chance to tie the game with 11 seconds remaining but missed their three-point attempt. The Colonials' Lucky Jones grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both of his free throws to seal the game with eight seconds to go.

Turnovers also played a critical role in the contest, as FDU turned the ball over 14 times compared to Robert Morris' eight miscues, which resulted in the visitors holding a 17-7 advantage in points off turnovers. The Knights did win the rebounding battle, 40-38.

Graduate student Scooter Gillette (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) paced FDU with 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks while going 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Junior Mustafaa Jones (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) added 12 points, four assists and two steals, while Sanders Jr. chipped in 11 points, six rebounds, a game-high six assists and two steals. Freshman Matt MacDonald (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.

"The freshmen played great in the first half to give us a nice lead, but their players got it done late, and we did not," Herenda said. "We could be sitting here with 10 or 11 conference wins, but the game is 40 minutes long for a reason."

Anderson led the Colonials with 22 points, while Jones added 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Anthony Myers-Pate chipped in 10 points for Robert Morris.

The Knights will conclude the regular season on Saturday, March 1 at St. Francis Brooklyn, with tipoff slated for 5 p.m. in Brooklyn, N.Y.
FDU defeated the Terriers, 86-85, inside Stratis Arena on Jan. 18.