Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team capped off its best non-conference season in school history Saturday afternoon with an 83-38 victory over Division III Goucher at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The win improves the Colonials to 8-3 overall on the 2006-07 campaign, while the Gophers fell to 4-6. RMU's 8-1 record in out-of-league contests ties the school record for non-conference wins, while the .889 winning percentage is a new school record. The 1989-90 Robert Morris club finished its non-conference schedule 8-3.
The Colonials jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes of action as junior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) scored six points. Lee hit his first six shots from the field in the contest before missing a three-pointer with a minute left in the first half. Robert Morris pushed its lead to as many as 31 before the break, 44-13, after a three-pointer from freshman guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) at the 7:20 mark of the first half, but the Colonials scored just three points the rest of half as Goucher closed its halftime deficit to 47-19.
In the second half the Colonials opened on a 12-2 spurt to take a 59-21 lead as Lee scored eight points, including six straight to start the stanza. Sophomore Kelvin Bright (Silver Spring, Md. / James H. Blake) slammed home a fastbreak dunk on a feed from Lee to give the Colonials a 67-31 lead with 7:59 remaining as RMU got big lifts off the bench from Bright and Langhurst. Bright contributed a career high 13 points while Langhurst added a career high 14 points. Langhurst finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line for his 14 points.
Lee led all scorers in the game with a career high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor and added five rebounds, three assists and six steals. He was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line as the Colonials converted 81.5 percent (22-for-27) of their shots from the charity stripe.
The loss for Goucher overshadowed a brilliant performance from guard James Russo, who finished with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. Russo drained seven of his 11 three-point field goal attempts, including a pair from well beyond the arc. He also added nine rebounds, two assists and four steals in 34 minutes of action.
Robert Morris next returns to Northeast Conference action Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, when it welcomes Quinnipiac to the Sewall Center for a 7:00 p.m. contest. It's the second of a three-game homestand for the Colonials, as RMU will also host Central Connecticut State Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007, also at 7:00 p.m.
Notes: Robert Morris shot 49.1 percent (28-for-57) from the field on the game, while Goucher hit only 28.3 percent (15-for-53) of its shots ... The clubs tied in rebounding with 36 each, but the Gophers held a 13-10 edge on the offensive glass ... Senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) played just 15 minutes and finished with four points and seven rebounds ... Senior guard Derek Coleman (Dorchester, Mass. / Charlestown) took just one shot and did not score but supplied four assists ... RMU registered 18 assists on its 28 field goals ... Goucher committed 30 turnovers in the contest ... Sophomore guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) set a new career high in assists with six and finished with nine points ... The 38 points for Goucher is the lowest point total scored by the club in its 17-year history.
