Robert Morris' streak snapped in 1-point loss to Fairleigh Dickinson

Andy Toole’s message was direct. It was strong. And it was meant to be heard by the Northeast Conference.

Toole, Robert Morris’ pragmatic men’s basketball coach, didn’t mince words Saturday following a controversial, last-second call that potentially cost his Colonials a shot at a seventh consecutive victory and the retention of a share of first place in the league standings.

“The officiating crew, I thought it was a complete joke,” Toole said firmly in his postgame comments at UPMC Events Center after Fairleigh Dickinson, the NEC Tournament defending champion, rallied to defeat Robert Morris, 72-71.

He was referring mainly to a pair of plays involving a no-charge call on Fairleigh Dickinson’s Kaleb Bishop with 1.2 seconds remaining after Bishop had put the Knights ahead with a rebound shot off a miss by teammate Jahlil Jenkins and a questionable technical foul call against Robert Morris’ AJ Bramah with 5:05 left after Bramah’s dunk had given the Colonials a 60-54 lead.

“Now, we didn’t do enough of our stuff down the stretch (to win),” Toole said.

This seems like it should be........ something pic.twitter.com/sjVHsBhDFH

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He began by reminding reporters that Fairleigh Dickinson (8-16, 6-7) ran off 16 points in the final four minutes, erasing an eight-point Robert Morris lead.

“They were able to get free for the 3s and create some opportunities to get back into the game, which is a letdown on our part,” Toole said.

Xzavier Malone-Key, Jenkins and Devon Dunn hit 3-point shots in the final 3:16 for Fairleigh Dickinson, which shot 8 for 24 (33.3%) from behind the arc.

“They were shooting 49 percent from 3 in the last four games,” Toole said. “They put up 106 (points against Wagner on Thursday night). So, your defense better be on high alert when they’re coming into your building because that’s the firepower and capability they have. There was just too many times in the second half that they got clean looks and opportunities that we can’t give them.”

For Robert Morris, it was a tough way for a six-game winning streak end. Toole said the outcome hurt the Colonials’ bid to secure home-court advantage for the NEC Tournament. Robert Morris plays the first of its final four regular-season games Tuesday at third-place St. Francis (Pa.).

Robert Morris (15-12, 11-3) entered the day tied with NEC newcomer Merrimack for first place, though Merrimack, in its first season in Division I, is ineligible for postseason play in the NEC and NCAA tournaments as well as the NIT.

After Bishop’s bucket gave FDU a one-point lead, Robert Morris signaled a timeout.

“I told the two officials to watch the foul,” Toole said. “The third guy, I couldn’t get to, and (Bishop) absolutely blew up Josh Williams. If that happens at any other point in time on any other possession anywhere on the court, offensively and defensively, it’s a foul every time. Every time.

“I’m not sure how it can’t be a foul with 1.2 seconds left on the clock in front of the whole world. The ball is right there. You can’t miss that call. If you’re a Division I official, you can’t miss that call, and unfortunately, he did. They ran off the court. That’s what the officials get to do. They get to run off the court.”

On the inbounds play following the timeout, Jon Williams, with Bishop guarding him, ran the baseline while attempting to pass the ball to his brother Josh Williams. But Bishop ran into a stationary Josh Williams, knocking him to the floor, and Jon Williams was forced to throw a half-court pass to Dante Treacy, whose last-ditch heave was off the mark as time expired.

Toole raced across the court with his arms outstretched, chasing the officiating crew to no avail. He said FDU coach Greg Herenda concurred with him afterwards that a charge call against Bishop likely was missed.

“If the opposing coach is saying it’s a foul and the refs don’t know it’s a foul, that’s a major problem coming down the stretch, especially in a league where … people are trying to win a championship so they can host games in the NEC Tournament.”

Jenkins led Fairleigh Dickinson with 21 points. Bishop added 13, and Elyjah Williams scored 12 for the Knights.

Bramah, who was stunned by the technical call after scoring on his dunk, led Robert Morris with 17 points. Yannis Mendy and Charles Bain scored 10 apiece for the Colonials.

Toole said he didn’t see anything that warranted the call against Bramah.

“Everybody wants to be a letter of the law on the technical foul,” Toole said. “He said something to him, gotta bang him with a technical or else you get a bad rating by the ref evaluator. But then, you just let a guy get run over.”

Toole referred to the no-call on Bishop as “a blown call. What else would you say? That’s End Game 101. Under 2-3 seconds, every team in the country does that. The play was supposed to be for (Josh Williams) to get run over. That’s the play. That’s what you do.”

Robert Morris led for most of the day before Fairleigh Dickinson went back in front on Malone-Key’s three-point play with 27 seconds left. Bramah followed with a pair of free throws to give Robert Morris a 71-70 lead, setting the stage for the frantic finish.

A power outage that, according to Duquesne Light, was part of a campus-wide surge, briefly halted the game in the second half. But it quickly was rectified, and play resumed.