Moon Township, Pa. - Junior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, Md. / Globe Institute of Technology) hit each of his first six shots from the field and scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as the Robert Morris University men's basketball earned its seventh straight victory Saturday night with a 74-40 win over Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena.
The Colonials improve to 13-7 overall on the 2008-09 campaign, including 8-1 in the Northeast Conference, while the Knights fell to 4-15 overall and 4-5 in league play.
Alvin Mofunanya opened the game's scoring with a jumper to give FDU an early 2-0 lead, but RMU reeled off eight straight points as Robinson scored four points and senior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.) and junior forward Dallas Green (Indianapolis, Indiana / Northwest) each scored fast-break baskets.
Sean Baptiste drained a jumper with 12:40 to go before intermission to tie the score, 12-12, and a three-pointer by Eric Moore at the 10:34 mark of the first half tied the game for the third time, 17-17, but nine straight RMU points helped the Colonials take control.
Robinson scored six straight points, while senior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) scored on a tip-in off Robinson's first miss of the game.
A dunk by Robinson on a fastbreak gave Robert Morris its first double-digit lead, 30-19, with 3:27 remaining before the break, and the Colonials closed the first half on a 10-4 surge to take a 38-23 advantage into halftime.
Robinson scored six points during the spurt, while Green and sophomore guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) each hit baskets for RMU.
In the opening minutes of the second half the Colonials stretched their lead to 49-28 after a jumper from junior guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point), and RMU's biggest lead of the contest came with 3:08 to play when sophomore guard Khalif Foster (Philadelphia, Pa. / Academy of the New Church) hit a three-pointer to up the Robert Morris advantage to 72-38.
Robinson finished 10-for-13 shooting for his 20 points and added four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal, while Chappell finished with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and a career-high tying six steals.
Green added 10 points and five rebounds, while Wallace finished with nine points and four assists off the bench for Robert Morris.
Cameron Tyler finished with 14 points to lead the Knights, who shot just 36.8 percent (14-for-38) from the field. RMU converted 53.3 percent (32-for-60) of its shots and posted 27 assists on its 32 field goals as four different Colonials finished with four dimes.
Robert Morris is next in action Saturday, Jan. 29, when it welcomes future NEC member Bryant to the Charles L. Sewall Center for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
