Robert Morris guard Karon Abraham was shut out in the first half, missing all five field-goal attempts.

So at halftime, Abraham, the Colonials' freshman leading scorer, told himself to stay confident and remember one thing: attack the basket.

Abraham scored 20 second-half points to lead the Colonials to an 80-73 victory against Fairleigh Dickinson last night at the Sewall Center.

"I liked the way he kept attacking," said Robert Morris coach Mike Rice. "I liked the way he kept looking for his offense because that's what this team needs."

Colonials forward Rob Robinson blocked five shots, which ties a Colonials home record for most in a game.

With the win, Robert Morris (9-8, 4-1) remained in second place in the Northeast Conference, one game behind Long Island (7-9, 5-0). Fairleigh Dickinson (4-13, 3-2) moved into a three-way tie for fifth place.

It was the Colonials' 15th consecutive home win against an NEC opponent in their first conference home game since Dec. 5.

Both teams shot better than 50 percent -- Robert Morris was 55.1 percent and Fairleigh Dickinson was 52.3 percent.

"I don't like the shooting percentages -- I think of myself as a defensive coach, a defensive-minded coach," Rice said.

But he said he was impressed by his team, which he said two months ago would have lost a game like last night's.

Robert Morris controlled the game early behind great shooting and defensive performances.

Twelve minutes into the first half, the Colonials had an 11-point lead, shooting 56.3 percent and limiting the Knights to 27.3 percent from the field.

But that lead was cut to 21-18 after three consecutive Colonials possessions were derailed by turnovers.

"It's the same maddening inconsistencies" that have hurt the Colonials all season long, Rice said.

The Colonials went on a 7-0 run to regain a double-digit lead before they went through another fit of problems. In the last 3:45, Robert Morris turned over the ball three times and did not grab a rebound.

In the meantime, Fairleigh Dickinson found its shooting touch, finishing the first half by making nine of its last 13 shots.

The Knights came back from two double-digit deficits to enter halftime tied, 31-31.

The two teams remained close throughout the second half, both shooting better than 60 percent through the first 10 minutes.

But foul calls plagued the second half for both teams. Officials called a combined 37 fouls in the second half -- 17 on Robert Morris and 20 on Fairleigh Dickinson -- and both teams were in the bonus less than midway through the half.

The teams finished the game with 53 combined foul calls.

But neither team was able to gain much of an advantage from the free-throw line.

Fairleigh Dickinson had a one-point lead with about six minutes left, but Russell Johnson hit an uncontested 3-pointer for Robert Morris.

"Big 3," Rice said. "They left him wide open."

The Colonials never trailed from that point.

"Anytime we got close, they found a way to be tough and make a play," said Fairleigh Dickinson coach Greg Vetrone.

The biggest difference for Robert Morris in the second half was the play of Abraham, who shot 50 percent after going 0 for 5 in the first half and made 11 of 12 free throws.

"He's starting to get it," Rice said. "He's starting to understand what it takes to be a leading scorer on a Division I team."

Robert Morris returns to the Sewall Center at 7 p.m. tomorrow for a game against Monmouth (8-9, 4-1).

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