Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closed the first half on a 19-7 run to take 45-31 halftime lead and snapped Central Connecticut State's five-game winning streak Thursday night with an 84-73 victory over the Blue Devils at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The win, the seventh in the last eight games for RMU, improved the Colonials to 14-6 overall on the 2007-08 campaign, including 5-2 in Northeast Conference play, while CCSU fell to 9-11 overall and 5-4 in league action.
Marcus Palmer hit a pair of free throws at the 8:15 mark of the first half to knot the score at 24-24, but Robert Morris held Central Connecticut State to 2-for-8 shooting the rest of the half while forcing three turnovers en route to a 19-7 spurt. Junior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.) started the run with a jumper, while the Colonials also got a spark from their bench. Freshman guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J ./ Seton Hall Prep) scored four points, while senior center Freddie Harris (Decatur, Ala. / Lawson State C.C.) and sophomore forward Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) each scored baskets. Sophomore guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) also added five points, including a three-pointer with one second left in the first half.
RMU opened the second stanza with a trio of three-pointers to open up its largest lead of the contest, 56-37, with 16:44 remaining as Langhurst and seniors Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) and A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) each hit baskets from long range for the Colonials. Central Connecticut State answered with a 13-2 run to close within eight, 58-50, with 12:47 to play. Joe Seymore hit a pair of three-pointers for the Blue Devils, while Marcus Palmer scored five points.
Despite the surge, the Colonials were able to keep the lead in double digits despite CCSU pulling within eight on four more occasions. Junior forward Ifeanyi Ehirim (Toronto, Ontario / Eldon Academy Prep) hit a jumper to give Robert Morris a 60-50 lead, while Jackson hit a jumper, then a three-pointer at the 10:04 mark to up RMU to a 65-54 advantage.
Central Connecticut State pulled within 69-61 after a 1-for-2 performance at the free-throw line by Shemik Thompson, but junior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) buried a three-pointer with 6:37 to go to up the Colonial lead to 72-61. Lee's fastbreak layup off a steal with 4:55 remaining pushed the RMU lead back to double digits, 74-64, and the Blue Devils couldn't whittle their deficit to single digits the rest of the game.
Jackson led four scorers in double figures for Robert Morris with 18 points and a game-high seven rebounds, while Langhurst and Chappell each contributed 15 points and Francisco 11. CCSU was led by Palmer, who scored 21 points off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and a perfect 7-for-7 performance at the charity stripe. Tristan Blackwood added 15 points for the Blue Devils, while Shemik Thompson added 12 points and Ken Horton 11.
Robert Morris closes out a two-game homestand Saturday, Jan. 26, by welcoming St. Francis (N.Y.) to the Sewall Center for a 7:00 p.m. game.
