Moon Township, Pa. - Sacred Heart shot 64.3 percent (18-for-28) from the field in the second half and climbed out of an 11-point deficit to down the Robert Morris University men's basketball team Thursday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center, 84-82. The loss was the first for the Colonials at home on the 2006-07 season and drops the club to 11-5 overall, including 3-4 in Northeast Conference play, while the Pioneers improved to 9-8 overall and 5-1 in league action.
RMU had a pair of chances in the waning seconds to try to send the game into overtime but came up short both times. Tavio Hobson was sent to the free-throw line with 10 seconds to play and Sacred Heart owning an 83-81 edge, but he missed both of his chances. On the second miss junior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) came down with the rebound but stepped out of bounds, turning the ball back over to the Pioneers. Drew Shubik was then fouled by Lee, and he hit one of his two opportunities from the charity stripe to give SHU an 84-81 lead with 4.7 seconds to go.
After a Sacred Heart timeout, senior guard Derek Coleman (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) was fouled with 2.1 seconds remaining on the inbounds pass. After making his first free throw Coleman purposely missed the second attempt, and sophomore forward Ifeanyi Ehirim (Toronto, Ontario / Eldon Academy Prep) came down with the rebound. Ehirim was unable to get off a shot before the clock sounded.
Senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) had given Robert Morris a 59-48 lead with 14:06 to play on a dunk, but the Pioneers scored the next eight points to close their deficit to three, 59-56, with 12:35 to play. It was part of a 21-5 Sacred Heart run that gave the Pioineers a 69-64 lead with 7:54 to go. Jarrid Frye scored six points during the spurt, while Shubik hit a three-pointer. SHU held the lead until Coleman was fouled on a layup attempt with 4:49 remaining on a foul by Hobson. Coleman converted the three-point play by scoring the layup and then hitting his free throw, knotting the game at 75-75.
Shubik turned the ball over on SHU's next possession, and Lee scored a fastbreak layup on a feed from sophomore guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) to push the Colonials back in front, 77-75, with 3:53 to play. However, Brooks scored on a driving layup in the paint with 1:30 remaining to give the Pioneers the lead for good, 81-79.
Coleman scored 29 points to lead all scorers in the contest, while Shubik scored a career high 28 for the Pioneers. Jackson added 21 points and seven rebounds for Robert Morris, while Lee and senior center Freddie Harris (Decatur, Ala. / Lawson State C.C.) each scored 10 points. Frye finished with 17 for Sacred Heart, while Luke Granato added 11.
Robert Morris closes out a two-game homestand Saturday, Jan. 20, when it welcomes Mount St. Mary's to the Sewall Center for another 7:00 p.m. league tilt.
Notes: It marks the first time in 13 games Robert Morris owned a lead and halftime and failed to pull out the win ... RMU held a 31-28 edge on the glass, including a 15-11 advantage in offensive rebounds ... Chappell finished with six points, a game high eight rebounds and three assists ... Lee finished with six assists to lead the Colonials ... RMU's bench was outscored, 17-6 ... Coleman hit on five of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc and in the last two games has shot 58.9 percent (10-for-17) from long range.
