Philadelphia, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team dropped back-to-back games for the first time on the 2007-08 campaign Friday afternoon after suffering a 56-40 defeat to Drexel in The Philly Hoop Group Classic at the Palestra. The loss drops the Colonials to 2-2 overall on the 2007-08 campaign, while the Dragons improved to 4-1. RMU shot just 29.6 percent (16-for-54) from the field on the contest, including 6.3 percent (1-for-16) from beyond the arc.
Robert Morris jumped out to a 4-0 lead as senior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) converted a pair of layups thanks to the fast break, but Drexel scored 15 of the game's next 17 points to open up a 15-6 lead with 12:48 to go before halftime. Freshman forward Will Royal's (Harrisburg, Pa. / Harmony Community Prep) jumper at the 9:59 mark of the first half pulled the Colonials within 15-10, but RMU would score just four more points the rest of the half as the Dragons went into the break with a 32-14 lead. Robert Morris shot just 24 percent (6-for-25) in the first half, including 0-for-8 from long range. At the start of the second stanza Randy Oveneke hit one of two free-throw attempts due to a technical foul assessed to RMU's bench as time expired before halftime to bump Drexel to a 33-14 lead, and Tramayne Hawthrone's three-pointer gave the Dragons their biggest lead of the contest, 36-14.
The Colonials got on track offensively, putting together a 10-0 run to close their deficit to 36-24 with 15:22 remaining. Senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) and sophomore guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) each scored three points for RMU, with Nwigwe hitting the club's only trifecta on the game. Despite the surge, Drexel was able to keep its lead in double digits the entire second half, with Robert Morris cutting its deficit to 12 on three occasions.
Gerald Colds led all scorers in the game with 14 points to pace Drexel, while Hawthorne added 11 for the Dragons. The Colonials were led by Jackson and Nwigwe, who each finished with seven points. Junior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) finished with a team-high six rebounds while adding four points, four assists and five steals, while Lee finished with six points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals.
Robert Morris concludes play in The Philly Hoop Group Classic Saturday, Nov. 24, when it takes on Howard for a noon game at the Palestra.
