Auburn Hills, Mich. - Senior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) posted his third double-double of the 2008-09 campaign with 20 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Robert Morris University men's basketball team to its second straight win with a 73-60 victory over Central Michigan Saturday afternoon.
The contest was played at the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Palace of Auburn Hills. RMU improves to 6-5 overall on the 2008-09 campaign with the win, while the Chippewas fall to 3-7.
Marcus Van gave Central Michigan an early 3-0 advantage by converting a three-point play after a layup and a foul courtesy of Chappell, but sophomore guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) scored eight straight points, including a pair of three-pointers, to push the Colonials in front, 8-3.
Junior guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) gave RMU a 19-11 advantage at the 13:16 mark of the first half with a trifecta, but a 13-6 run by CMU closed its deficit to one, 25-24. Robbie Harman hit a pair of three-pointers during the spurt, while Van contributed five points.
Despite the surge, the Chippewas were unable to grab the lead back, and an 8-2 Colonial run pushed Robert Morris in front, 35-28, with under three minutes to play before halftime. Junior forward Dallas Green (Indianapolis, Indiana / Northwest) was the catalyst, scoring four points.
Green added another jumper late in the half, and a pair of free throws by senior forward Ifeanyi Ehirim (Toronto, Ontario / Eldon Academy Prep) helped give the Colonials a 41-33 edge at the break.
Senior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.) opened the scoring in the second half by converting a three-point play after a layup and foul by Harman, which stretched the RMU lead to double digits, 44-33. Central Michigan was never able to whittle its deficit into single digits the rest of the game.
Robert Morris owned a 21-point lead on three occasions after intermission, and despite an 8-0 surge by the Chippewas that trimmed RMU's lead to 63-50 with 6:30 to play, Chappell scored seven straight points to stretch the advantage back to 20, 70-50, with 4:28 to go.
Chappell finished 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 9-for-10 from the charity stripe for his 20 points while taking home game-high honors with 10 boards. He also added an assist and a game-high four steals.
Green contributed 11 points off the bench on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and a 3-for-4 performance from the line, while Wallace finished with 10 points. As a team, RMU shot an even 60 percent (21-for-35) from the floor.
Central Michigan was led by Van, who scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds and posted three blocks. Harman added 12 points for the Chippewas, while Jordan Bitzer contributed 10.
Robert Morris returns to the hardwood Sunday, Dec. 28, with a 7:00 p.m. tilt against Duquesne at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
