Hackensack, N.J. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team used a 20-5 run over the final 7:46 of action to pull out a 67-55 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson Thursday night in a Northeast Conference tilt at Stratis Arena.
The win improves the Colonials to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the NEC, while the Knights dropped their 15th straight game to slip to 1-17 overall and 0-7 in league play.
Trailing, 50-47, after a jumper from George Goode, RMU held Fairleigh Dickinson to just one field goal in the final six minutes of action to help pull out the win.
The deciding surge was started by junior forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner), who scored six straight points, including a pair at the free-throw line with 5:28 to play that gave Robert Morris the lead for good, 53-52.
After a Melquan Bolding turnover, freshman forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) buried a three-pointer to give the Colonials a 56-52 lead, and his jumper less than a minute later pushed RMU's advantage to 58-52.
Bolding hit a three-pointer to pull the Knights within five, 60-55, but redshirt junior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) scored seven straight points, including a three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:44 to go to help seal the victory.
Robert Morris jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the contest as four different Colonials scored, and FDU's first field goal of the contest didn't come until the 14:09 mark of the first half, when Mathias Sielund came off the bench to hit a three-pointer.
The trifecta sparked the Knights, who put together a 10-4 spurt to close within 16-14 after a three-pointer by Lonnie Robinson.
The Colonials answered with seven straight points, including four from Thompson and a three-point play by Velton Jones, to open up a 23-14 advantage.
Bolding then took over for the Knights, scoring 12 points in the final 4:48 of the first half, the last two of which gave Fairleigh Dickinson a 26-25 lead with 52 seconds left before the break. Lucky Jones would help give RMU a one-point advantage at the half, 27-26, with a layup off an offensive rebound with 3.3 seconds remaining before intermission.
Velton Jones took home game-high honors in scoring with 22 points and also added six assists and three steals, while Lucky Jones had one of the most productive games of the year, producing 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Lucky Jones finished 5-for-8 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-4 performance from long range, and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.
Thompson added 14 points and five rebounds off the bench for RMU.
Bolding led the Knights with 15 points, Goode added 12 points and nine boards and Smith and Seilund each scored 10 points.
Robert Morris shot just 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the field but in the deciding run converted six of its final eight field goals of the game.
The Colonials held a 26-18 edge in points in the paint, a 25-8 advantage in points off turnovers and finished with 21 second-chance points compared to eight for FDU.
RMU closes out its swing through New Jersey Saturday, Jan. 21, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Monmouth at the MAC in West Long Branch, N.J.
