Moon Township, Pa. - Senior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) scored a season-high 25 points as the Robert Morris University men's basketball team earned its ninth straight win Saturday night with a 75-62 victory over Monmouth at the Charles L. Sewall Center. 

Thanks to the win RMU improves to 15-7 overall and 9-1 in the Northeast Conference, while the Hawks fall to 6-17 overall and 4-7 in league play.

The Colonials also match their best league start in school history, joining the 1990-91 Robert Morris squad, which also started 9-1 in NEC action.

Each of RMU's first four field goals of the game came from beyond the arc and bolstered the Colonials to a quick 12-1 advantage in the first three minutes of play.

Senior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.) provided three straight triples to start off the game, while junior guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) added another.

Chappell helped Robert Morris open up a 15-3 lead at the 14:58 mark of the first half with a jumper, but five straight points from R.J. Rutledge allowed Monmouth to trim its deficit to 15-8. 

Alex Nunner's layup with 11:27 to go before halftime helped the Hawks creep within 17-11 and capped an 8-2 Monmouth run, but RMU answered with an 11-4 spurt to give the Colonials their biggest lead of the half, 28-15. Chappell started the run with a jumper, while junior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, Md. / Globe Institute of Technology) supplied five points.

Monmouth eventually trimmed its deficit to nine at the break, 41-32, as Travis Taylor scored nine points before halftime on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, while Mike Myers Keitt added six points.

In the opening minutes of the second half the Colonials stretched their lead to 48-36 as junior forward Dallas Green (Indianapolis, Indiana / Northwest) sandwiched five points around a jumper from Chappell, and a 12-2 run by RMU opened up a 60-42 advantage with 9:06 remaining as Chappell scored five points and senior forward Ifeanyi Ehirim (Toronto, Ontario / Eldon Academy Prep) three.

Monmouth provided one last charge, closing to within 62-53 after a four-point play with 6:40 to go. Nunner hit a fastbreak three-pointer and was fouled in the act by junior guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point). Nunner completed the four-point play with a free throw, but a fastbreak layup by Chappell off a steal and a trifecta from Francisco helped Robert Morris keep the Hawks at bay.

Chappell finished 10-for-18 shooting for a game-high 25 points and added five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. Francisco finished with a season-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Green missed his first career double-double by just a point by contributing nine points and a career-high 10 boards.

Taylor led Monmouth with 19 points and six rebounds, one of three Hawks to finish in double figures scoring. Will Campbell contributed 14 points off the bench, while Myers Keitt added 10 points.

Robert Morris steps away from NEC play in its next game, opening a three-game road swing with a 7:00 p.m. tip at nationally-ranked Pittsburgh Monday, Feb. 2.