SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Fairleigh Dickinson tied the game with two seconds left at 48 before Bryant called time and hit jumper from the top of the key at the horn to get past the Knights 50-48 on Monday night.

Kierra Palmer hit the jumper for Bryant (10-10, 5-5 NEC) after Madelynn Comly tied the game for Fairleigh Dickinson (5-16, 3-7 NEC) when the sophomore connected on a contested runner in the lane on the previous possession. Comly tied a career high with 19 points on the night.

The Knights led for over 37 minutes but could not deliver the decisive blow to the Bulldogs.

Head coach Peter Cinella said postgame, "[You] Got to give Bryant credit for not giving up. We play some of our best basketball of the season in the first half. Tough shot by [Madelynn Comly] to tie the game. We did not hit that big three to get the lead from four to seven. The shots kept rattling out and [Bryant] kept coming at us."

Fairleigh Dickinson led by seven heading into the fourth quarter, 40-33. Bryant cut the lead to four to open the final stanza, then Fairleigh Dickinson got a free throw from Peniel M'Bikata and a layup from Comly to restore the lead back to seven.

Five straight points from the home side made it a two-point game, 43-41, with 4:55 left.

The Bulldogs would take their first lead of the game with 24 seconds to go on a pair of free throws from Naomi Ashley, 48-46. That capped a 6-0 run over 53 seconds.

On the next possession for Fairleigh Dickinson, the Knights got the ball out of bounds underneath after a lengthily review to determine possession. Comly got the ball on the left wing and drove across the floor to hit the contested runner.

Bryant then called time to advance the ball. Palmer, who inbounded the ball, got the ball back hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point line at the top of the key to win the game for the Bulldogs.

For Fairleigh Dickinson, it is the second straight game that was decided by the final score of the game. The Knights won at St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday on a last-second layup by Brianna Thomas.

The Knights started the game strong and controlled play in the open ten-plus minutes. Amina Markovic scored the first 10 points for the Knights and led Bryant 10-4 after her layup with 4:42 left in the first quarter. Fairleigh Dickinson led 13-8 after one. Markovic finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

A Thomas corner three started a 10-0 scoring run for the Knights with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Comly capped the run with a three and a layup at the 6:59 mark of the second quarter and the score 20-8. The run lasted over 4:30 over the first and second quarters.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Comly sparked an 8-0 run by the Knights over 63 seconds in the second stanza to make it 28-9 in favor of the visitors. Bryant then closed the half on a 10-0 run of their own over the last 3:53.

On the night, Fairleigh Dickinson was plus-eight on the glass (42-34), scored more inside (28-18) and hit more 3-pointers (4-2), but Bryant was plus-six from the free throw line (10-4).

Both teams shot 34.5-percent from the field. The teams combined to go 6-of-34 from 3-point range.  

Cinella added, "We did out-score them from the field but they got to the free throw line more. Defensively, we did a good job by holding Bryant to 50 points. Impressive to outrebound them, they are one of the best teams in the league on the glass."

Up next for the Knights is a game against Wagner on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the Rothman Center. Saturday is also alumni day for Fairleigh Dickinson. The alumni game will be at 1:45 p.m. in the Rothman Center.  That game follows the men's game at Wagner at 11 a.m., which will be broadcast on ESPNU.