HACKENSACK, N.J. – Junior forward Mike Holloway Jr. had an outstanding game, posting his second-straight double-double but the Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team came up short in an 81-75 loss to Robert Morris at the Rothman Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Holloway was dominant totaling 24 points with 13 rebounds and three blocked shots in the loss. The junior forward was 10-of-18 from the floor across his 33 minutes of action and logged his third double-double of the campaign.
 
The Colonials (11-8, 5-1 NEC) were led offensively by sophomore Dachon Burke who netted a game-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior guard Matty McConnell scored 11 and nabbed four steals to lead a defensive effort, which turned the Knights over 18 times – their most miscues an NEC game this season. As a team, the Colonials shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) for the game but took advantage at the free throw line, knocking down 26-of-33 (78.7 percent).
 
Playing without their starting backcourt for all or most of the game – Darnell Edge was inactive due to injury and Darian Anderson picked up four fouls across his eight minutes -- the Knights won the battle on the glass 41-34 and shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the field but were unable to overcome the free throw disparity and a 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) performance from behind the arc.
 
Four Knights -- three freshmen -- finished in double figures with freshman guard Jahlil Jenkins narrowly missing a double-double by tallying 12 points and nine assists and classmate Noah Morgan, who scored 12 across 18 minutes of court time. All 12 of Morgan's points came in the first half as the first-year swingman battled foul trouble and played just four minutes in the latter stanza. Freshman forward Elyjah Williams played a career-high 29 minutes and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds on an efficient 5-of-6 from the field. 
 
"The foul line is literally killing us," exclaimed head coach Greg Herenda following the loss. "We have had more field goals than our opponent in three of our four conference losses. I have never seen anything like it at any level. Our last two opponents have taken 69 free throws in our building and that is unacceptable. That needs to change"
 
Herenda continued, "That being said, I could not be prouder of our team tonight. Playing without Darnell and Darian, we fought with freshmen and Mike Holloway and were right there to win. We just didn't come up with the big stop or the big bucket."
 
Led by eight points from Morgan, the Knights (5-12, 2-4 NEC) held a 22-17 edge midway through the opening half. The Knights connected on 10-of-15 to start including 2-of-3 from downtown. The lead grew to nine points, 26-17, after Jahlil Jenkins went coast-to-coast for a layup with 8:30 to play in the opening half.
 
With five points from freshman guard Leondre Washington, the Colonials countered with a 14-6 run over the next five minutes to slice the Knights' lead to one, 32-31, 3:30 shy of halftime.
 
The Knights carried a slim 37-35 edge into the locker room after shooting 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field and holding the Colonials to 33.3 percent (11-of-33) in the opening half. The Colonials made up the difference at the free throw line by knocking down 11-of-15 compared to the Knights who were 3-for-6 in the stanza. The Knights were led by Morgan and Holloway Jr., who tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively, while the Colonials halftime scoresheet was topped by Burke's eight tallies.
 
After the Colonials captured a four-point lead early in the second half, the Knights responded with an 11-2 run highlighted by a two-handed jam from Holloway, which helped his team nab a 57-52 lead with under 10 play.
 
The Colonials retook the lead by putting together an 11-4 spurt and a 3-pointer by Jon Williams stretched their lead to 68-63 with just under five to go. Senior guard Mike Schroback answered with a huge 3-pointer for the Knights, which quelled the Colonials' momentum.
 
Trailing by two, the Knights were unable to gain ground in the final two minutes as the Colonials held on for the win by taking care of business at the free throw line with 5-of-6 finish at the charity stripe.
 
The Knights are back in action next Thursday, January 18 when they visit Central Connecticut State. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in New Britain, Connecticut.