Youngstown, Ohio - Freshman Karon Abraham's (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy) jumper in the paint with 33 seconds to play helped snap a 67-67 tie to vault the Robert Morris University men's basketball team to a 72-67 victory over Youngstown State Wednesday night at the Beeghly Center.
Abraham sealed the victory with a pair from the charity stripe with just six seconds remaining to help the Colonials end the game on an 11-2 run. Robert Morris improved to 5-7 with the victory, while the Penguins slipped to 5-7.
Leading, 54-39, at the 11:04 mark of the second half after a pair of free throws from junior guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep), Youngstown State reeled off a 26-7 run to take a 65-61 lead with 3:22 to play.
Ashen Ward started the surge with a three-pointer, while DeAndre Mays and Vytas Sulskis also connected from beyond the three-point arc during the run.
The Penguins took their first lead since early in the game, 63-61, when Sirlester Martin hit a pair from the charity stripe with 3:31 to go, while Kelvin Bright also added a pair from the free-throw line to push YSU's advantage to four points, 65-61.
The Colonials snapped the run when senior forward Dallas Green (Indianapolis, Indiana / Northwest) converted a dunk off an offensive rebound, and senior guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) tied the game for the sixth time, 65-65, with a layup high off the glass with 2:24 to play.
Martin would push Youngstown State back on top, 67-65, with a jumper, but Wallace answered with a baseline driving layup to knot the score, 67-67, with just 1:46 to go.
Each team traded missed attempts from long range before Abraham scored on a jumper in the paint on a feed from senior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, Md. / Globe Institute of Technology) with 33 seconds to play.
Wallace hit the front end of a pair of free throws with 23 seconds to go that gave Robert Morris a 70-67 edge, and after a missed three-pointer by Sulskis, Robinson was fouled and sent to the charity stripe.
Robinson missed both of his opportunities with just 10 seconds remaining, but Green came up with the offensive rebound and fed the ball to Abraham, who was fouled by Mays. Abraham would drain both of his free throws to clinch the win.
In the first frame, RMU used a 15-6 run over the final 5:18 of the half to take a 38-29 lead into intermission. Redshirt freshman Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) scored six points during the spurt, while Abraham buried a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in the stanza to help the Colonials take a nine-point lead at the break.
Robert Morris kept its lead in double digits in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as five different Colonials scored, including four points each from Johnson, Robinson and Green.
Abraham scored a game-high 20 points to pace RMU, while Johnson and Green each recorded their first career double-doubles.
Johnson finished with 12 points and a game-high 11 boards while also posting two assists, two blocks and a steal, and Green contributed 10 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a block off the bench.
Bright led Youngstown State with 14 points, while Martin contributed 12 points and eight rebounds and Ward 11 points off the bench.
The Colonials return home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for the next two games, welcoming Ohio Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010, before hosting Morgan State Monday, Jan. 4. Both tilts will tip at 7:00 p.m.
Notes: RMU has now won five straight over the Penguins and improved to 7-4 all-time against YSU ... Senior guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) missed the game with a knee injury suffered during practice earlier in the week and is lost for the season ... Robert Morris will petition the NCAA to try and get Langhurst a fifth year of eligibility ... RMU posted a season-high 44 rebounds in the win and outrebounded Youngstown State, 44-30 ... Robert Morris posted 32 points in the paint and 20 second-chance points.
