Huntington, W.Va. - Down 15 with less than 10 minutes to play, the Robert Morris University men's basketball team roared back and pulled out a 73-69 victory over Conference USA foe Marshall Friday night at Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va. The win improves the Colonials to 2-0 overall for the first time in 11 years, while the Thundering Herd fell to 1-1 on the 2006-07 campaign.
Marshall took its biggest lead of the contest, 59-44, after a layup from Chris Ross, but RMU slowly crept back into the game by playing solid defense while riding the offensive wave of senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen). Jackson scored 16 points during a 23-8 run, including a three-pointer with 1:35 remaining that tied the score at 67. After Mark Dorris pushed Marshall back in front, 68-67, by hitting the back end of a pair of free throws, senior guard Derek Coleman (Dorchester, Mass. / Charlestown) gave Robert Morris the lead for good, 70-68, with a three-pointer with 49 ticks left on the second-half clock.
Marshall tried to rally, but a three-pointer from Moss was off the mark, and the Colonials came down with the rebound after it was tipped out of bounds. On RMU's ensuing possession, Jackson missed a shot before senior center Freddie Harris (Decatur, Ala. / Lawson State C.C.) came down with the offensive rebound, but his putback went awry and Jean Francois Bro Grebe grabbed the loose ball for the Thundering Herd. Harris fouled Bro Grebe during the rebound, sending him to the line for a pair of free throws. Bro Grebe hit the second of his two chances at the charity stripe, and on the ensuing inbounds pass sophomore guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) was fouled by Travis Aikens. Chappell calmly hit both of his free throws with 24 seconds left to push Robert Morris to a 72-69 advantage, and Dorris missed a three-pointer and a jumper in the lane with less than 20 seconds to play. Harris was then fouled, and he helped seal the victory by hitting the front end of a pair of free throws.
In the first half in which the lead changed five times, RMU was able to take a 32-31 advantage into halftime despite committing 17 fouls in the first 20 minutes of play. The Thundering Herd owned a six-point advantage early in the contest but the Colonials clawed back and eventually owned a nine-point lead, 27-18, with 4:15 remaining before the break on the strength of an 11-1 spurt. Robert Morris got balanced scoring during the run, as Coleman, junior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) and freshman guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) each hit jumpers, while Chappell hit a pair of free throws and junior forward Colson Senat (Montreal, Quebec / Vanier College) drained a three-pointer.
The Thundering Herd were able to climb back into the game thanks to the foul trouble of RMU, as Marshall finished 8-for-10 from charity stripe in the last 4:02 of the half and got a big three-pointer from Dorris. The Herd carried their surge at the end of the first stanza into the second half, hitting eight of their first 11 shots from the field, mostly on easy transition opportunities, to open up a double-digit lead just a little more than five minutes into the half, 48-38. Aikens was a key offensive force for Marshall, scoring six points, while Tre Whitted added four points. Marshall eventually pushed its lead to 59-44 with 9:58 to play after a layup from Ross, but the Colonials made their run and completed the comeback.
Jackson paced all scorers in the contest, scoring 26 of his game-high 30 points after halftime while adding 15 rebounds for his first double-double of the 2006-07 campaign and 15th of his career. He was one of three Colonials in double figures scoring, as Chappell added 14 points and Coleman 10. Chappell also added three assists and a steal, while Coleman had a pair of assists and three steals on the night. Aikens led all Marshall scorers with 18 points while adding eight rebounds.
Robert Morris will look to match its best start in school history Tuesday, Nov. 21, when it welcomes New Hampshire to the Charles L. Sewall Center for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference tilt.
Notes: The 15-point comeback is the largest deficit made up by an RMU club under sixth-year head coach Mark Schmidt ... The last time the Colonials started a season 2-0 came during the 1995-96 campaign ... Neither team had a banner night shooting, as Marshall converted just 38.7 percent (24-for-62) of its shots while Robert Morris hit on 36.4 percent (24-for-66) of its field goals ... Combined the two clubs shot 17.5 percent (10-for-57) from beyond the arc ... RMU hit seven three-pointers on the game, as Jackson, Coleman and Senat each hit a pair ... Jackson's 15 rebounds marks the third game of his career he has compiled at least 15 boards in a game ... Jackson finished with six offensive rebounds ... Nwigwe had a solid night off the bench for Robert Morris, contributing seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field while adding three rebounds and a steal in 14 minutes of work before fouling out with 12:35 to play ... The Colonials shot 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from the free-throw line, while Marshall converted just 51.4 percent (18-for-35) of its shots from the charity stripe.
