Men's Basketball Falls at Robert Morris, 70-66

(boxscore)

1/14/06 - Three players registered double figures but it was not enough as Long Island dropped a 70-66 decision at Robert Morris on Saturday in Moon Township, Pa. Junior guard James Williams netted 18 points, bringing his career points total to 986 points.

Senior Aubin Scott finished with 14 points and sophomore Paska Morkeliunas scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

The Blackbirds (4-9, 1-3 NEC) posted a 12-7 edge following a 3-pointer from Randy Jones with 13:58 to go in the first half. The Colonials (9-5, 5-0 NEC) responded with a 15-5 spurt to open up a 22-14 lead. Junior forward A.J. Jackson was the key force for the home team during the run, scoring 10 points. Robert Morris held a 29-22 advantage at intermission.

The Colonials pushed their lead to nine (31-22) early in the second on a lay-up from Cori Boston. The Blackbirds used a 20-11 run to tie the contest at 42-42 with 8:32 showing. Sophomore Eugene Kotorobai scored eight straights points during the run and a triple from Scott was the equalizer.

Robert Morris used a 9-0 run to take a 51-42 lead at the 6:14 mark as the Blackbirds played catch-up. Williams went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 1:03 of play after being fouled on two three-point field goal attempts and Esa Maki-Tulokas added a lay-up with two seconds on the clock to pull LIU within two, 68-66, but they would get no closer.

LIU travels cross-borough to St. Francis (NY) on Wednesday, January at 4:00 p.m.