Box Score HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team fell to Robert Morris by a score of 72-70 on Saturday evening at Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center. Despite the loss, the Knights (13-12, 9-5 NEC) remain in a tie for first place in the Northeast Conference. Rodney Pryor led the Colonials (8-19, 6-8 NEC) with 27 points and 14 rebounds.
With the results of other games around the NEC on Saturday, and FDU's 9-5 mark in conference, the Knights have officially clinched a berth in the 2016 NEC Tournament. The conference tournament appearance will be the second for FDU in three seasons under head coach
Greg Herenda.
Robert Morris extended its lead to 72-70 with a free throw by Kavon Stewart with 23 seconds remaining in the game. The Knights came up short on their final possession as sophomore
Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John's College )'s three-point attempt missed the mark.
Anderson led the Knights with 16 points, five assists and five steals. He was 6-of-13 shooting on the night and hit three-of-six attempts from behind the arc.
"Every time we had a lead tonight we just could not lengthen it. We were never able to get into any kind of offensive rhythm," Herenda said after the game. "It's a shame - that game was right there for us, but we just did not collectively come up with big plays that you need to win that kind of game."
"We have had a hard time all year defending good individual players and tonight we had no answer for Pryor, Giles or Stewart. We just weren't able to stop them when we needed to. It is that plain and simple. "
Anderson was one of five FDU players to score in double figures. He was joined by sophomores
Marques Townes (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph (Metuchen)) (11) and Earl Potts (10) and freshmen
Mike Holloway (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Schalick ) (11) and
Malik Miller (Troy, N.Y./Catholic Central ) (11).
Miller came off the bench early in the first half and provided the Knights with an offensive spark. He scored nine points of four-of-five shooting and grabbed four rebounds in nine first half minutes. In the second half he added two points, three rebounds and blocked a shot.
Anderson did most of his scoring in the second period as he dropped in 11 points after halftime. He also had three assists and two steals in the second half.
The Knights led 31-28 at half and stretched their advantage to eight points (38-30) by the 17:47 mark of the second half. The Colonials would chip away and tie the game at 38-38 by the 15 minute mark. From that point, the teams went back-and-forth on the scoreboard for the remainder of the game. Anderson's three-pointer with 3:17 left to play gave the Knights a 67-65 lead and they would take their final lead of the game two possessions later as Holloway grabbed an put-back and offensive rebound for a 69-67 lead
The game featured 14 lead changes with 13 of those coming in the second half.
The Knights shot 53.6% (30-of-56) from the floor and hit 35.7% (5-of-14) of their attempts from behind the arc. However, they were just 5-of-10 at the free throw line.
Robert Morris was 27-of-60 (45.0%) from the field and 6-of-20 (30%) from three-point range. The Colonials hit 12-of-13 (92.3%) free throws attempts. They also held a 38-25 advantage on the boards.
"We have two weekends left in the regular season and we are in first place. We just need to get some rest and get back to work."
The Knights are now part of a four-way tie at the top of the NEC standings. FDU, Wagner, Saint Francis U and Mount St. Mary's all share first place at 9-5. The Knights' next game will be against Wagner on Thursday, February 18. FDU and the Seahawks will tip-off at 7 p.m. at Stratis Arena.
