Boxscore
Hackensack, N.J. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak Thursday and picked up its first Northeast Conference victory with an 88-54 win over Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena.
The Colonials improved to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in the league, while the Knights slipped to 6-9 overall and 1-2 in the NEC.
Redshirt junior guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) led five players in double figures scoring for RMU with 27 points, converting nine of his 12 shots from the field, including an 8-for-10 performance from beyond the arc, and going 1-for-1 at the free-throw line.
Williams scored 11 points in the opening five and-a-half minutes of action to help bolster Robert Morris to an early 17-10 lead at the 14:35 mark of the first half.
The Colonials finished the game 13-for-24 (54.2 percent) from beyond the arc, and sophomore guard David Appolon (Philadelphia, Pa. / Imhotep Charter) gave RMU its first double-digit lead, 30-20, with a trifecta with 5:41 to play before halftime.
Appolon's three-pointer helped ignite a 19-5 run to close out the first half that gave Robert Morris a 44-25 advantage at the break. During the spurt, junior guard Anthony Myers-Pate (Washington, D.C. / Chris Prep) and redshirt senior forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) also connected from long range.
Williams helped the Colonials extend their lead to 61-29 in the first six minutes of the second half with a trio of three-pointers as part of a 17-4 spurt after intermission.
The Knights, however, would score the next 10 points of the contest to close to within 61-39 as Melquan Bolding scored five points, while Dylan Moody connected from beyond the arc.
Redshirt senior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) helped stem the tide with a layup, and Robert Morris took its biggest lead, 86-49, with just 1:24 to go after layup from Myers-Pate.
Joining Williams in double figures scoring for RMU were junior forward Mike McFadden (Newark, N.J. / Technology), freshman forward Stephan Hawkins (Gary, Ind. / Bowman Academy), Johnson and Myers-Pate.
McFadden scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Hawkins scored a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and also posted five boards. McFadden shot 6-for-8 from the field, including five dunks.
Johnson registered his first double-double of the 2012-13 campaign with 10 points and a game-high 10 caroms, while Myers-Pate finished with 10 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.
RMU's two leading scorers, Jones and junior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Ind. / Glen Oaks Community College) combined for 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting, but Jones dished out a career-high 11 dimes and also recorded three steals.
Bolding led Fairleigh Dickinson with 17 points and five rebounds, while Kinu Rochford contributed 13 points and Sekou Harris 11 points for the Knights.
Robert Morris concludes its two-game swing through the state of New Jersey Saturday, Jan. 12, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Monmouth at the MAC in West Long Branch, N.J., in a contest that will be televised live on MSG.
