Fairleigh Dickinson

What began as an abomination ended as a defining victory for the Morgan State men's basketball team last night. After trailing by as many as 18 points early and by 12 midway through the second half, the Bears rallied to take a late lead, then needed two free throws by Chris Grant with nine seconds left to pull out a 76-75 win over Fairleigh Dickinson before 1,456 in their home opener at Hill Field House. "This was a big win for the program, a big win for this group of kids," said Morgan coach Butch Beard, whose Bears (1-1)

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When the season began, Mount St. Mary's and UMBC were expected to be the two best teams in the Northeast Conference. They're bound to play like it one of these days. That hope feeds optimism heading into the NEC tournament, which begins today in Trenton, N.J. The Retrievers (11-17) play Central Connecticut State (22-5) at 3: 15 p.m. in a rematch of last year's conference semifinal. The Mount (8-19) plays Fairleigh Dickinson (17-10) at 8: 15 p.m. "It's kind of strange that the two teams picked to finish at the top finished seventh and eighth," Mount St. Mary's coach Jim Phelan said.

NEW YORK -- In its 80-63 win over Robert Morris yesterday in the Northeast Conference tournament quarterfinals, the Mount St. Mary's men's basketball team put itself on the hook at Wagner's Spiro Center on Staten Island. Led by Gregory Harris, a point guard who seems to save his best for the Colonials (15-12), the previously underachieving Mountaineers (13-14) hit 65 percent of their shots on the way to a 17-point halftime lead and cruised into the semifinals. Tonight at 7, they will face St. Francis, N.Y., which needed a late run to win, 65-58, over last year's NEC tournament champion, Fairleigh Dickinson.

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Antwan Dasher scored 22 points to lead Fairleigh Dickinson to an 80-64 victory over Mount St. Mary's last night in the Northeast Conference regular-season finale for both.Riley Inge led the Mountaineers with 23 points. Chris McGuthrie and Michael Watson scored 13 each for Mount St. Mary's. Watson paced the Mount with 11 rebounds.Fairleigh Dickinson (15-11, 11-7) shot 52 percent in the first half to 27 percent for the Mountaineers (14-12, 12-6) in taking a 43-35 halftime lead.

Mike Owona was set to play basketball next year for a program transitioning to the Division I level. But after a coaching change, the John Carroll senior will instead suit up for an established DI team that has appeared in four NCAA tournaments. Owona committed Sunday to Fairleigh Dickinson, a Northeast Conference school located in Teaneck, N.J. “It feels pretty good,” Owona said. “I finally have it out of my mind. I feel good about it.” Owona had been committed to UMass-Lowell, a Division II powerhouse that will play its first season of DI competition during the 2013-14 season.

EMMITSBURG -- Go figure.Earlier last week, Mount St. Mary's went on the road, where it had a 24-game winless streak, and defeated two Northeast Conference opponents while shooting better than 50 percent in each game.Last night, the Mountaineers returned to Knott Arena and couldn't hit much of anything. The result was a 60-57 defeat to Fairleigh Dickinson, a team that was off to its worst start since 1964-65.Mount St. Mary's (3-7, 2-1) shot 36.5 percent from the field, made just two of 14 three-point attempts and got outfought inside by the injury-depleted Knights.

Amy Langville's desperation three-point shot at the buzzer fell short, and Fairleigh Dickinson beat Mount St. Mary's, 72-69, in a Northeast Conference game yesterday in Hackensack, N.J.It was only the fourth time in eight years in the NEC that the Mountaineers have lost back-to-back conference games.Fairleigh Dickinson (5-5, 1-1) jumped to a 20-12 lead midway through the opening period, but Mount St. Mary's (5-5, 0-2) tied the game at 27 with 2: 29 left in the half on Langville's three-pointer.

EMMITSBURG -- On the night the lights went out in Knott Arena, Mount St. Mary's couldn't win for losing.The Mountaineers went eight minutes without a field goal and lost their final home game, 81-76, in overtime to a Fairleigh Dickinson team that has made a habit of playing nail-biters."

EMMITSBURG -- The game was almost a formality, but Mount St. Mary's -- already the top seed for the Northeast Conference tournament -- had plenty to play for last night at Knott Arena."