Phoenix, Ariz. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened play in the Grand Canyon Classic Monday with a 75-61 setback to the host Antelopes at GCU Arena.
The first 10 minutes of the contest was a back-and-forth affair, as the Colonials and Antelopes were tied six times and exchanged the lead on seven occasions.
Freshman forward
Koby Thomas, fresh off his
Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week accolade, scored the first bucket of the game with a layup off an alley-oop pass from junior guard
Matty McConnell.
GCU grabbed its first lead, 4-2, after a pair of free throws from Joshua Braun, but Robert Morris grabbed an 11-8 advantage at the 14:39 mark after a layup from freshman forward
Charles Bain. Five different Colonials converted field goals in the first seven minutes of action, including a three-pointer from freshman forward
Chris Coalmon with 13:13 left before the break that gave RMU a 14-12 lead.
The Antelopes responded by scoring the next six points of the contest to push their lead to 18-14, but freshman guard
Jon Williams stemmed the tide, knocking down a three-pointer to pull the Colonials within 18-17.
Sophomore guard
Dachon Burke, making his 2017-18 debut, would give Robert Morris the lead, 19-18, after hitting a pair of free throws with 10:07 left in the first half.
LINK: Boxscore (PDF)
Braun, the 2017 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Preseason Player of the Year, ignited a 26-5 surge for Grand Canyon by scoring 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers. It helped the Antelopes grab a 44-24 cushion with just over a minute-and-half left before the break. Braun finished with 17 points in the first 20 minutes of action despite not converting his first field goal until the 12:09 mark.
In the second half the lead for the Antelopes swelled to 63-38 due in large part to the hot shooting of Oscar Frayer. He scored eight points, including a pair of long triples, to help Grand Canyon's offensive cause.
RMU then buckled down, holding GCU to just one field goal over the final 11:52 of the contest.
The Colonials patiently chipped away, using a 9-0 spurt to close to within 65-52 with 6:47 remaining in the contest. Bain and graduate transfer
Ronnie Gombe each scored layups, Burke converted a three-point play and Thomas buried a jumper to help the cause for Robert Morris.
Grand Canyon was able to keep the Colonials at bay at the free-throw line, as the Antelopes shot 72.2 percent (26-for-36) from the stripe on the game.
Burke paced RMU with 15 points and also notched six rebounds and six steals, while Thomas finished with 13 points, four caroms and a steal.
Off the bench, junior forward
Malik Petteway recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 4-for-8 from the field and 2-of-4 at the free-throw line, while four of his 11 boards were of the offensive variety.
Braun garnered game-high honors in scoring with 20 points. Casey Benson finished with 17 and Frayer 13 for Grand Canyon.
The Colonials close out the first half of the Grand Canyon Classic in their next contest, visiting San Diego Wednesday, Nov. 15, for a 10:00 p.m. tip.
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