Teaneck, N.J. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team fell in the semifinals of the 2019 Northeast Conference Tournament Saturday, 62-60, to No. 2 seed Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena. The Colonials slip to 17-16 overall in 2018-19.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Sophomore guard
Jon Williams hit a jumper with 3:54 to play to give RMU a 59-57 advantage, but that would be the last field goal of contest for the Colonials until there were just eight seconds left. In between, the Knights (19-13) were able to jump in front. Darnell Edge would hit a jumper and was fouled on the play with 2:55 remaining, and he converted the three-point play to give Fairleigh Dickinson a 62-60 lead.
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"Credit FDU in their resiliency to come back and win the game," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "Tough loss for our guys, but I'm very proud of the effort they gave tonight."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Twice in the final 1:03 of action Fairleigh Dickinson was able to come up with an offensive rebound to thwart the Colonials. Brandon Powell missed a pair at the stripe with 1:03 left, but Elyjah Williams grabbed the offensive board for the Knights. FDU worked the shot clock down on the ensuing possession before Mike Holloway, Jr., missed a jumper with 36 seconds left. Williams came through again, sprinting to his grab his third offensive carom of the contest and force Robert Morris to foul.
THE FOUR-YEAR SENIOR
Senior guard
Matty McConnell led the Colonials, scoring in double figures in his sixth consecutive NEC Tournament game. He finished with 17 points, four assists and a pair of steals in 34 minutes of action. Thanks to his four dimes, McConnell pushed his career total in assists to 301. He also has compiled career totals of 1,119 points, 197 three-pointers and 234 steals.
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"I'm upset for Matty that he was not able to continue his season," Toole said. "I thought he played an excellent game, and I thought he should have been defensive player of the year in the conference. He had his best season as a senior, and I would have liked to have seen him get an opportunity to compete for a championship. For four years he's made a number of winning plays, he's poured his heart into his program and his jersey. We're certainly going to miss him."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Robert Morris trailed, 28-26, heading into the second half, but the Colonials found their range from beyond the arc, surging to a 43-33 lead at the 14:16 mark. Senior guard
Josh Williams hit a pair of triples during the opening six minutes of the second half, McConnell hit one and sophomore forward
Charles Bain hit another. Bain finished with 10 points and three rebounds for RMU.
AT THE STRIPE
Fairleigh Dickinson visited the free-throw line 27 times in the contest, converting 22, a success rate of 81.5 percent. RMU went to the stripe just eight times, converting six (75%). In the two games at Stratis Arena in 2018-19, a pair of games the Colonials lost by a total of seven points, the Knights visited the free-throw line 67 times compared to 26 for Robert Morris.
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