Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened its 2007-08 season Saturday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center with a 72-66 victory over Iona. The win by the Colonials made a victor out of new head coach Mike Rice in his first game on the sidelines as he became the first RMU head coach to garner a victory in his inaugural game since Jarrett Durham (1984-96) defeated Clarion, 81-54, in the 1984 season opener Nov. 28, 1984.
RMU jumped out of the gates to a 15-6 lead as juniors Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.) and Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) hit three-pointers and seniors Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) and A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) and sophomore Dallas Green (Indianapolis, Indiana / Northwest) each hit jumpers. Robert Morris also played solid defense in the early going, forcing four turnovers by the Gaels while holding Iona to 3-for-10 shooting from the field.
Dexter Gray started the Gaels on an 15-6 spurt that helped tie the game, 21-21, with 7:54 remaining before the break, but RMU scored the next eight points to take a 29-21 advantage with 3:52 to go before halftime. Chappell and senior center Freddie Harris (Decatur, Ala. / Lawson State C.C.) each scored four points during the run to bolster the Colonials.
The lead eventually swelled to double digits for Robert Morris, 35-23, before Rashon Dwight hit a three-pointer with just 10 seconds to play before the break to help close Iona to within nine at the half, 35-26. Chappell and Green, despite coming off the bench, each scored eight points in the first half for the Colonials, while Francisco added seven. RMU also held the Gaels to a shooting percentage of just 37.9 percent (11-for-29) in the first half, including 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from beyond the arc.
In the second half Francisco gave Robert Morris a 37-26 lead with a fastbreak layup, and Jackson's layup in the paint off an offensive rebound gave the Colonials a 41-31 advantage at the 16:25 mark. However, Iona used a 9-0 spurt to pull within one, 41-40, as Gray scored five points and Dwight and John Kelly scored for the Gaels. Freshman Will Royal (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harmony Community Prep), who played just two minutes, helped Robert Morris weather the storm with a baseline jumper to up the Robert Morris lead to 43-40, and Jackson's three-pointer after a Royal defensive rebound helped open up a 46-40 advantage with 12:11 to go.
Robert Morris had its biggest lead of the contest, 58-44, with 7:50 remaining after another trifecta from Jackson, and the Colonial advantage was still in double digits with 5:05 to go, 65-54, after a layup from Chappell. However, the Gaels hit a trio of three-pointers to close their deficit to two, 65-63, with 4:04 to play. Milan Prodanovic hit a pair, while De'Shaune Griffin added another for Iona. The two teams exchanged free throws before Devon Clarke went to the line with a chance to tie the game with 1:29 to play. He hit just the front end of his two chances to keep RMU in front, 67-66, and Harris scored with 1:17 remaining off an offensive rebound to up the RMU advantage to 69-66.
Kyle Camper's three-pointer with 14 seconds to play for the Gaels was off the mark, and Lee came down with the rebound and was fouled by Prodanovic. Lee hit one of his two opportunities, but Francisco was able to come down with the offensive rebound with seven seconds to play and dish the ball off to Jackson, who was fouled. Jackson hit both ends of his one-on-one to help settle the score at 72-66. Chappell led all scorers in the contest with 20 points, while Jackson contributed 16 points and Green finished with 10. Lee finished with seven points and took home game-high honors in both rebounds (11) and assists (7) while also compiling four steals. Iona was led by Gray, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Prodanovic scored 13 points and dished out a team-high five assists.
Robert Morris is next in action Wednesday, Nov. 14, when it travels to Annapolis, Md., to take on Navy as part of The Philly Hoop Group Classic. The Colonials will also visit Seton Hall (11/18/07) as part of the tournament before playing two games at the Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 23 and Nov. 24, 2007.
