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Hackensack, N.J. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team held Fairleigh Dickinson to one field goal over the final eight and-a-half minutes and closed the game on a 17-0 run to post a 69-64 win over the Knights Thursday night at Stratis Arena.
The victory extended RMU's winning streak to seven, matching a season high, and improved the Colonials to 19-11 overall and 14-1 in the Northeast Conference, while FDU slipped to 10-19 overall and 6-9 in league play.
Matt MacDonald gave Fairleigh Dickinson its biggest lead of the game, 62-47, after converting a pair of free throws with 8:34 to play, but the Colonials outscored the Knights, 22-2, the rest of the way.
Senior guard
Anthony Myers-Pate (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) got the decisive surge started with a three-pointer, and a jumper from junior
Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) with 7:24 to go cut RMU's deficit to 62-52.
Sidney Sanders, Jr., would give the Knights a 64-52 cushion with 5:06 remaining with a running jumper in the lane, but Fairleigh Dickinson didn't score again, going 0-for-8 from the field and suffering a pair of turnovers.
Senior guard
Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Ind. / Glen Oaks Community College) quickly answered Sanders' score with a three-pointer to pull RMU to within 64-55, and Jones hit the back end of a pair of free throws with 4:11 to play to make it 64-56 in favor of FDU.
Sanders would miss a jumper for Fairleigh Dickinson, and after a layup from Myers-Pate was off the mark, Anderson grabbed the offensive rebound and fed Jones for a three-pointer, but he was fouled in the act by Mustafaa Jones.
Lucky Jones hit all three of his attempts at the stripe with 3:29 left to pull the Colonials within 64-59.
Sanders couldn't convert a layup at the 2:10 mark of the second half, and junior guard
David Appolon (Philadelphia, Pa. / Imhotep Charter) capitalized on the other end with a layup off an offensive board. Fairleigh Dickinson would then falter on the ensuing inbounds pass, with Appolon picking the pocket of Matt MacDonald and converting a layup to make it a one-point game, 64-63.
Myers-Pate would come up with another steal for RMU on the next possession for FDU, and he fed freshman guard
Kavon Stewart (Paterson, N.J. / Hudson Catholic), who was streaking to the basket. Scooter Gillette fouled Stewart, who hit both of his attempts at the line to push the Colonials back in front, 65-64, with 1:25 to play.
Mathias Seilund followed by missing a jumper for Fairleigh Dickinson, and despite
Lucky Jones missing a three-pointer on RMU's next possession, Anderson came up with the offensive rebound and was immediately fouled. He converted both to give RMU a 67-64 edge with 33 seconds left.
Mustafaa Jones would attempt to tie the game with a three-pointer, but his shot was off the mark, and
Lucky Jones sealed the victory by hitting a pair at the stripe with 7.9 seconds to play after grabbing his 10th rebound of the game.
Anderson led all scorers in the contest with 22 points, including 17 in the first half, and added five rebounds and a pair of steals.
Despite struggling with his shot all evening,
Lucky Jones finished with 13 points on the strength of an 8-for-9 performance at the free-throw line and registered his fifth double-double of the year thanks to 10 caroms. He also recorded a career-high four blocked shots.
Myers-Pate also scored in double figures for the Colonials, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half while posting three assists and two steals.
Gillette paced Fairleigh Dickinson with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Mustaffa Jones added 12 points for the Knights. Also reaching doubles figures for FDU were Sanders and MacDonald with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Robert Morris concludes its 2013-14 regular season Saturday, March 1, with a 6:00 p.m. tip against Wagner on Staten Island, N.Y., at the Spiro Sports Center.
