Syracuse (20-13), which will play Maryland in the second round on Thursday night, gave coach Jim Boeheim his 30th 20-win season in 32 years. Robert Morris (26-8) ended its first NIT appearance with a second straight loss after 14 wins in a row.
Paul Harris had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Orange, Scoop Jardine had 15 points and Kristof Ongenaet added 13, while Arinze Onuaku had seven points and 10 rebounds.
Senior forward A.J. Jackson (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) led Robert Morris with 19 points, sophomore guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) and junior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) each had 15 and senior guard Tony Lee (Boston, Mass. / Charlestown) contributed 10 points and seven assists.
Junior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.) and sophomore guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) each finished with eight points for RMU.
Freshman point guard Jonny Flynn, who injured his back in Syracuse's Big East tournament loss to Villanova last week, had only one basket in the game, late in the first half. It came on an awkward shot along the baseline that caromed in off the glass. Flynn went to the bench after the shot in apparent discomfort and did not play again. Flynn, the second-leading scorer on the team, had played all but three minutes of the previous 13 games.
The Colonials earned a spot in the NIT by virtue of winning the Northeast Conference regular-season title, and if their loss to Mount St. Mary's in the semifinals of the conference tournament was still haunting them, it never showed. They were in it until the end with their long-range shots hitting with regularity.
Robert Morris finished 16-for-41 from beyond the arc, tying a school record for three-pointers and setting a school mark for three-point attempts while establishing a record for an Orange opponent in the Carrier Dome.
Even after a three-pointer and two free throws by Harris gave Syracuse a 51-40 lead with 17:41 remaining, the Colonials gamely fought back with their four-guard attack. Langhurst and freshman guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) each hit three-pointers and Chappell scored off a steal to narrow the lead to 51-48.
A pair from long range by Greene gave the Orange a nine-point edge, but three-pointers by Chappell and Langhurst and a steal and layup by Chappell had the Colonials back within 59-55 with 11:34 left. Just 28 seconds later Langhurst hit another three to make it a one-point game, 59-58.
After the Colonials gained a 71-70 lead on Jackson's three-pointer with 6:52 to go, Harris stole the ball and fed Jardine for a fast-break layup and the Orange never trailed again. Consecutive three-pointers by Greene and Jardine boosted the lead to 79-71 with 2:55 left, and after Langhurst's fifth three-pointer of the game pulled the Colonials within 81-79 with 63 seconds left, the Orange converted six free throws in the final minute to hold on.
Robert Morris twice led by seven points in a tight first half as the Orange's defensive shortcomings on the perimeter continued to plague them. Villanova was 11-of-21 on shots from beyond the arc in its win over Syracuse in the Big East tournament, and the Colonials picked right up where the Wildcats left off, hitting 8-of-20 from beyond the arc in the half.
But after Jackson's third trifecta gave Robert Morris a 35-28 lead at 6:06, Syracuse closed the half with a 16-5 spurt. Flynn started the surge and Greene helped finish it with a resounding one-hand slam dunk off a lob from Harris, whose two free throws gave the Orange a 44-40 halftime lead.
