Fairfield, Conn. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened its 2006-07 Northeast Conference schedule Thursday night with a 90-74 loss to Sacred Heart at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn. The loss drops the Colonials to 5-2 overall on the season, including 0-1 in league play, while the Pioneers improved to 4-5 overall and 1-0 in NEC action.
RMU jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a pair of jumpers from senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen), but Sacred Heart was able to keep the game close thanks to its outside shooting. After Jackson's jumpers, Luke Granato hit a three-pointer to pull the Pioneers within one, 4-3. Junior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) hit a pair of free throws to up Robert Morris to a 6-3 advantage, but Granato came back and hit another trifecta to knot the score at six. Sacred Heart then hung a 10-4 run on the Colonials to increase its lead to six, 16-10, as the Pioneers got balanced scoring during the spurt. Liam Potter, Tavio Hobson, Brice Brooks, Jarrid Frye and Drew Shubik each hit baskets during the run for SHU.
The Colonials pulled within two, 16-14, thanks to layups from Jackson and Lee, but Chauncy Hardy came off the bench for the Pioneers and drained a three-pointer to give Sacred Heart a 19-14 edge. Robert Morris was able to close its deficit to two, 20-18, after another inside basket from Jackson, but the Pioneers took control with a 20-6 run that was fueled by the long ball. Ryan Litke hit a three-pointer while Hardy hit a pair of his own to help Sacred Heart take its double-digit lead, while Joey Henley and Frye each put home fastbreak dunks during the spurt.
Robert Morris was able to close its deficit to 40-29 thanks to five straight points, including four from senior guard Derek Coleman (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown), but SHU eventually entered the break with a 51-34 advantage. Hardy poured in 16 points in the first stanza on perfect 5-for-5 shooting, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
In the second half Granato opened the scoring with a three-pointer to push Sacred Heart to a 54-34 advantage, but the Colonials slowly chipped away, cutting their deficit to 14 on three occasions in the first 10 minutes of half. However, every time RMU started to put a run together the Pioneers came up with big baskets, taking their biggest lead of the contest, 73-51, with 9:15 remaining after a jumper from Brooks.
Hardy and Henley each came off the bench to score 18 points apiece to lead Sacred Heart as the Pioneer reserves outscored the Robert Morris bench, 52-14. The pair combined to shoot 13-for-18 from the field. The Colonials were led by Jackson, who scored 18 points, while Lee chipped in with 17 points, a team-high seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) added 16 points, five rebounds and two steals for RMU.
The Colonials close out their two-game road trip to open league play Saturday, Dec. 9, when they travel to Staten Island, N.Y., for a noon game with Wagner that will be televised live on the MSG Network.
Notes: RMU shot 44.4 percent (28-for-63) from the field on the game, while Sacred Heart converted at a 52.5 percent (31-for-59) clip ... The key difference in the game was three-point shooting, as the Pioneers hit 10 of their 24 attempts (41.7 percent) while the Colonials were 2-for-22 (9.1 percent) ... All of the scoring for Robert Morris came from Jackson, Chappell, Lee and Coleman until the 11:34 mark of the second half, when freshman guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) scored on a layup ... Nwigwe finished with eight points, five rebounds, a block and a steal in 14 minutes of action ... Coleman finished with seven assists to go along with nine points ... Coleman, Jackson and Chappell were a combined 1-for-14 from beyond the arc ... Sacred Heart outrebounded Robert Morris, 40-32, and owned a 15-14 edge on the offensive glass.
