Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened a four-game homestand Thursday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center with an 83-65 win in Northeast Conference play over Fairleigh Dickinson.
RMU, which has posted back-to-back victories for the first time this year thanks to the win, improved to 7-9 overall and 3-2 in the NEC, while the Knights suffered their eighth straight loss and slipped to 3-11 overall and 2-3 in league play.
The Colonials jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead thanks to a jumper and a pair of three-pointers from sophomore guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy), who scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the first half.
Redshirt sophomore guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) gave Robert Morris a 13-5 edge with a three-pointer at the 17:06 mark of the first half, but a 16-7 surge by Fairleigh Dickinson gave the Knights their only lead of the contest, 21-20, with 10:38 left before halftime.
Briahn Smith scored five straight points for FDU, while Terence Grier hit a pair of three-pointers and Mike Scott connected from beyond the arc to give Fairleigh Dickinson its lone advantage.
Abraham would put the Colonials back in front, 23-21, with his third three-pointer of the opening stanza, which ignited a 24-7 surge that gave RMU a commanding 44-28 lead.
Abraham buried a trio from beyond the arc during the run, while senior guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) contributed five points and redshirt freshman guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) scored four.
Robert Morris eventually entered the break with a 44-30 lead, and in the first four minutes of the second half the advantage reached 53-33 thanks to five points from redshirt sophomore forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) and a conventional three-point play by sophomore forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner).
Fairleigh Dickinson would get no closer than 15 the rest of the contest, with RMU's biggest advantage of 22 coming with 12:47 to play, 58-36, when freshman guard Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) hit the front end of a pair of free throws.
Abraham finished 7-for-8 shooting from the field, including 6-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line for his game-high 24 points. He also added three rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Jones finished with 12 points for the Colonials on the strength of a 7-for-10 performance at the free-throw line, while Thompson chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds. Johnson added nine points and nine boards.
Grier tied a career-high with 23 points to lead Fairleigh Dickinson, hitting eight of his 17 shots from the field, including a 4-for-6 performance from long range. Smith added 11 points, while John Galvin finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Robert Morris continues its homestand Saturday, Jan. 15, by welcoming Monmouth to the Sewall Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
