New Britain, Conn. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team clinched its fourth straight winning season Saturday afternoon and in the process ran its winning streak in Northeast Conference road games to 15 by posting a 64-44 victory over Central Connecticut State at Detrick Gymnasium.
The win improves the Colonials to 17-8 overall on the 2008-09 campaign, including 11-1 in league play, while the Blue Devils fell to 11-12 overall and 7-6 in NEC action. RMU hasn't posted four straight winning seasons since turning the trick from 1988 to 1992. The Colonials also clinch a spot in the 2009 NEC Tournament with the win.
Robert Morris never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 11-2 lead as junior guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) provided the first seven points of the game and junior guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point) provided a pair of jumpers.
A 12-4 surge by CCSU trimmed RMU's lead to 15-14 at the 8:32 mark of the first half as Shemik Thompson, Ken Horton and David Simmons each scored four points.
The Colonials held a 17-15 edge with 6:52 left to play before intermission, but back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Jeremy Chappell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Northwest) and Langhurst propelled a 15-2 run to end the stanza and give Robert Morris a 30-16 halftime lead.
Over the final 8:32 of the first half Central Connecticut State did not convert a field goal, getting both of its points at the free-throw line.
Chappell scored five straight points to open the second half to extend RMU's lead to 35-16, and the Colonials held a 37-20 lead with 16:02 to go after a jumper from senior guard Bateko Francisco (Paris, France / Fort Scott J.C.).
The Blue Devils answered with a 6-0 spurt to trim their deficit to 37-26, but after a timeout Chappell buried his third three-pointer of the game to push Robert Morris to a 40-26 advantage. The triple gave Chappell 219 for his career, helping him establish a new Colonial school record.
CCSU could only trim its deficit to 13 the rest of the game, with Langhurst giving the Colonials their biggest lead of the contest, 56-35, with 4:39 remaining thanks to a jumper.
Langhurst hit six of his 11 shots from the field, including a 4-for-7 performance from long range, to pace Robert Morris with 18 points. He also added three assists and two rebounds.
Chappell contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three blocks and three steals while Nwigwe finished with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Junior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, Md. / Globe Institute of Technology) missed his first career double-double by a point, scoring nine points and grabbing a career-high 14 boards.
Shemik Thompson led Central Connecticut State with 13 points and added four steals but turned the ball over seven times. He was the only Blue Devil to finish in double figures scoring as RMU held CCSU to a shooting percentage of 32.1 percent (17-for-53).
Robert Morris is next in action Thursday, Feb. 12, when it hosts Sacred Heart at the Charles L. Sewall Center in an 8:00 p.m. game that will broadcast live on Fox Sports Pittsburgh.
