MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – As teams jockey for seeding in next week's Northeast Conference Tournament, the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team looks to continue its pursuit of a top-four seed on Thursday at Robert Morris University.
 
In order for the Knights to secure a home playoff game, they will need to claim one of the coveted top four spots in the conference standings. Entering Thursday's contest with the Colonials (11-18, 7-9 NEC), FDU is tied with Saint Francis U for the fourth spot in the NEC. The Knights square off with the Red Flash on Saturday afternoon.
 
Thursday is the second meeting between the Knights and Colonials this season. The Knights came away with a 74-70 victory back on December 31, which snapped a 17-game winless streak against their conference foe. The Knights are seeking their first victory in Moon Township since February 1, 2007.
 
Notes:
FDU – RMU

Additional Content:
FDU Men's Basketball Report 2/23
NEC Weekly Release 

Game Information:
Fairleigh Dickinson (11-16, 9-7 NEC) at Robert Morris (11-18, 7-9 NEC)
Where: Charles Sewall Center – Moon Township, Pa.
When: Thursday, February 23 – 7:00 p.m.
Series History: Tonight is the 75th meeting on the hardwood between the Knights and Colonials. RMU leads the all-time series 43-31.
First Meeting:  Jan. 5, 1980 (FDU W, 69-63)
Last Meeting: Dec. 31, 2016 – (FDU W, 74-70) The Knights rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to come away with the win. Darian Anderson delivered the heroics with a go-ahead 3-pointer, which put the Knights in front 73-72, a lead they would not relinquish. The relentless junior guard poured in a game-high 26 points and helped seal the game with clutch free throws down the stretch. The Knights were able to overcome a 19.2 percent (5-of-26) performance from three-point range by taking care of business with a 26-for-28 (92.9%) effort at the charity stripe. The 26 made free throws are a season-high for the team.
 
Watch: NEC Front Row
Stats: Live Stats

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Robert Morris Colonials:
The Colonials enter the home stretch of the season after clinching the eighth and final NEC playoff spot last week. At 7-9, the Colonials can move up the conference ladder if things break their way over the final two games.
 
The team is coming off of a 74-64 victory over Central Connecticut at Detrick Gymnasium last Saturday.  Sophomore guard Isaiah Still paced RMU with 22 points and also added eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. Freshman guard Clive Allen contributed a career-high 12 points to go along with two assists, while Tate finished with 10 points and eight boards.
 
This season, RMU has featured one of the nation's top defenses as they hold opponents to just 67.1 points per game Additionally, they are fourth in the country when it comes to defending the 3-pointer, where they limit opponents to just 29.4 percent. The team forces the 12^th most turnovers in the country at 16.6 per game and nab 7.8 steals per contest, which is 37^th best.
 
Offensively, although the team tends to struggle to score at times at 63.2 points per contest, they thrive on their ability to get to the free throw line where they have taken 652 attempts – the most in the NEC.
 
Kavon Stewart embodies the Colonials' success as he is second in the NEC in steals with 48 and free throw attempts at 189. His 189 attempts from the line are 21^st most in the country.

Robert Morris Men's Basketball homepage

Head Coach: Andrew Toole (Pennsylvania '03)
Record at Robert Morris: 80-42 (.655) – (Seventh Season)

Team Leaders:
Points: Isaiah Still 15.1 ppg
Rebounds: Aaron Tate 6.9 rpg
Assists: Kavon Stewart 3.1 apg

Last Time Out for the Knights:
The Knights were edged in the final minute 79-74 by Mount St. Mary's at Stratis Arena on Saturday evening.
 
Sophomore forward Mike Holloway's 18-point, eight-rebound performance led FDU. Darian Anderson finished with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Potts chipped in 13 points.
 
Trailing by four with 27 seconds to go, FDU junior forward Earl Potts Jr. put in a layup to bring the Knights within two, 75-73. After Mount's Elijah Long missed a pair at the line, FDU junior guard Darian Anderson raced from end-to-end and drew the foul with seven seconds to go. Anderson drained the first free throw and missed the second but Potts Jr. was there to tie up the offensive rebound and the Knights regained possession.
 
On the ensuing play, a well-drawn up inbound play resulted in Potts under the basket for the game-tying layup opportunity but the Knights' forward was unable to finish through some contact and Mount's Mawdo Sallah captured the rebound and the victory for the Mountaineers. Long led all scorers with 29 points for the Mount in the win.

Herenda's Take: 
"We did everything today except win the game. That was an extremely hard-fought game and we had a great opportunity late to win it but it wasn't meant to be." 
 
"The game had a conference-tournament like atmosphere and both teams played like it. We just have to do a better job of lengthening leads when we have them. That means making multiple stops and converting on the other end -- it will happen and at the right time."
 
"The most disappointing part of today was not winning for Tyrone. We all wanted to send him out on a winning note. Hopefully, we will have another home game in the conference tournament and we will get that one for him."

News and Notes: 

Where We Stand: The Knights are in a battle for seeding with two games to go in the NEC regular season. They enter Thursday's contest tied with Saint Francis U for fourth in the conference standings. The top four teams in the conference host a playoff game. The Knights and Red Flash lead Bryant and Sacred Heart by one game and trail third-place Wagner by one. The Knights travel to Saint Francis to take on the Red Flash in their regular-season finale on Saturday. 
 
Streak Snapped: In the first meeting this season between the Colonials and Knights, FDU head coach Greg Herenda snapped his 0-6 record against Robert Morris with a 74-70 win. Prior to that victory, the Colonials had won 17 straight against FDU dating back to the 2007 season. Tonight, the Knights will look for their first win over the Colonials in Moon Township since Feb. 1, 2007. 
 
Balanced Scoring: The Knights have featured five scorers in double figures in each of the last two outings. Unfortunately, the balanced attack has not resulted in a victory. Anderson, Edge, Holloway, Jiggetts and Potts all scored 10+ in last week's two-game slate.
 
He's Got an Edge: Edge is excelling at both the line (89.8%) and from the field (50.9%) this season. The sophomore guard has also scored in double figures in five of the team's last six games. Edge is averaging 10.6 points per game in conference action. 
 
Charitable Donations: All season long the Knights have thrived at the free throw line. The team has posted a 76.1 percent clip overall, including a 79.0 percent effort in NEC play. Both figures are tops in the conference while the 76.1 percent overall number is 21^st best in the nation. Edge's 89.8 percent effort leads the team as the sophomore guard has only missed five times (44-of-49) at the charity stripe.

Be My Guest: Tune in every Sunday to "The Greg Herenda Show" on WFDU and iHeartRadio. All broadcasts can be found at fduknights.com/herendashow. This week's guest is former NBA player and current Princeton basketball assistant coach Kerry Kittles.
 
Next up:
The Knights close out the regular season at Saint Francis U this Saturday, February 25 at 1 p.m.