Pittsburgh, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a four-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena Saturday by dropping its third consecutive game, 73-64, to Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Knights jumped out to a 7-2 lead and owned a 16-10 advantage at the 12:06 mark of the first half after a layup from Kaleb Bishop.
RMU responded with a 7-0 surge to grab their first lead, 17-16, with 9:01 left before halftime. Freshman
Koby Thomas ignited the run with a dunk, while freshman forward
Charles Bain buried a three-pointer and sophomore guard
Dachon Burke converted a layup.
Jahlil Jenkins pushed FDU (8-15, 5-7 NEC) back in front with a layup off a steal to stem the tide, and he/ followed with a triple to give the Knights a 21-17 cushion.
RMU trailed, 30-26, with 2:16 to go before the break before Fairleigh Dickinson ended the half 7-0 spurt to grab its first double-digit advantage, 37-26, at halftime. Darnell Edge connected from beyond the arc, while Jenkins hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left before intermission.
The Colonials shot out of the gates in the second half, trimming their deficit to 42-38 after layup from Burke, which capped a 10-5 spurt. Fairleigh Dickinson responded with back-to-back layups from Mike Holloway to push its lead to 46-38 with 12:33 remaining.
Each time Robert Morris seemed to make a run in the second half, Fairleigh Dickinson had an answer.
Boxscore (PDF) | Photo Gallery
"We didn't come out with good urgency offensively in the first half, and that really hurt us," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "The inability to rebound the ball really was key. There were a number of balls that we didn't give the right effort on or had in our hand and lost. They scored on almost all of those possessions."
The Knights owned a 40-34 edge on the glass including a 15-9 advantage in offensive caroms. FDU turned that into 19 second-chance points, including a 13-0 cushion in the first 20 minutes of action.
Bain would hit a jumper in the paint with 7:50 remaining that helped RMU close to within 48-43, but Fairleigh Dickinson hit a pair of three-pointers to push its lead back to double digits, 54-43. Edge hit the first for the Knights, while Morgan connected for another.
"We really have to do some self-evaluation on where we're at," Toole said. "Some of our guys we need to perform better than they are. That doesn't mean get 10 points or get 10 rebounds. That means just don't turn the ball over or follow your slides properly."
Burke paced RMU with a game-high 19 points and added eight rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. Thomas contributed 18 points and eight rebounds, while Bain finished with 15 points and four caroms off the bench.
Fairleigh Dickinson was led by Edge, who scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He was one of four players in double figures for the Knights, as Bishop and Morgan each scored 15, while Jenkins finished with 11.
In a four-way tie for third place in the Northeast Conference standings with Saint Francis U, St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU Brooklyn, the Colonials will make their annual swing through Brooklyn, N.Y., when they return to action. Robert Morris opens the swing Thursday, Feb. 8, with a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Pope P.E. Center against St. Francis Brooklyn.
Follow The Colonials: Twitter | Instagram
