Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday 72-71 thanks to a late tip-in basket from Kaleb Bishop with 1.2 seconds left in the game. The basket gave the forward double-digit scoring for the game with 11 points.
Bishop's clutch bucket is even more impressive considering it gave the Knights a victory over the Northeast Conference leader on the road.
SO CLUTCH KB! 72-71, 1.2 seconds left #uKnighted #NECMBB pic.twitter.com/wNd6iZhAC7
— FDU Men's Basketball (@FDUKnightsMBB) February 15, 2020
But even after Bishop's big bucket, the drama wasn't over. Following his shot Robert Morris ran an inbounds play designed to get a buzzer-beating shot off that the forward had a hand in disrupting, but in a questionably legal way. Bishop ran over a Robert Morris player that appeared to be setting himself up to take a charge. However, no foul was called on the play and the resulting half-court heave from Colonials guard Dane Treacy clanked harmlessly off the backboard.
Robert Morris coach Andy Toole followed officials after the buzzer sounded to give them a piece of his mind. Toole later said that opposing coach Greg Herenda agreed something should have been called on the play--a statement that's easier to make when you know the win for your team can't be reversed.
I asked @AndyToole about the final inbound play where Josh Williams got ran over. Refs missed the call. Andy wasn’t happy. You’ll want to hear this pic.twitter.com/BeMVi7sL8b
— Chris Mueller (@bychrismueller) February 15, 2020
"[Fairleigh Dickinson coach] Greg Herenda says to me on the sideline, 'I didn't go over that with my guys. Complete foul,'" Toole told the press after the game. "That's where it's so frustrating. 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."
As is usually the case with regards to concerns about late questionable officiating, the blown call was really only part of the problem. Robert Morris was riding a six-game winning streak, and had won eight of their last 10 games, before Saturday's matchup. Fairleigh Dickinson, meanwhile, was sitting on a 7-16 record for the season and was less than .500 in conference play. But those records seemed to be forgotten in the final four minutes when the Knights scored 16 points to claw back into the game against the Knights, and set themselves up for the late winner from Bishop.