Baltimore, Md. - Aric Brooks hit a pair of free throws with 13.8 seconds to play to lift Morgan State to a 67-66 win over the Robert Morris University men's basketball team Thursday night at the Hill Field House.
Redshirt sophomore guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) tried to give the Colonials the victory in the waning seconds, but his layup attempt with 1.3 seconds remaining was off the mark.
RMU, which dropped its third straight, slipped to 4-8 overall on the 2010-11 campaign, while the Bears improved to 5-6.
Trailing, 63-54, with just 1:24 left in regulation, Robert Morris produced a 12-2 run that gave the Colonials their first lead of the second half, 66-65, with 23 seconds remaining after a dunk by sophomore forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner) on a feed from sophomore guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy).
RMU forced two turnovers during the run, while Morgan State went just 2-for-4 at the free-throw line to help keep the Colonials in it. Jones scored six of RMU's final 12 points, while Thompson added four points.
Morgan State led by as many as 13 in the first half as DeWayne Jackson scored 17 of his game-high 25 points before intermission. Jackson's conventional three-point play at the 6:50 mark of the first half gave the Bears a 27-14 advantage, but Robert Morris closed the half on a 14-7 surge to close within six at halftime, 34-28.
Abraham started the run with a three-pointer and scored six points during the run, while freshman forward Deion Turman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) came off the bench in the first half and scored six points, including four during RMU's push to close its deficit to two possessions at the break.
In the first five minutes of the second half the Colonials closed to within two, 38-36, after Abraham converted a pair of free throws, but a dunk by Jackson and a layup from Brooks helped Morgan State keep Robert Morris at bay.
Thompson tied the game for the fourth time, 42-42, with a layup at the 11:51 mark of the second half, and RMU had a chance to take its first lead since early in the contest, but freshman forward Yann Charles (Longueuil, Quebec / Champlain St. Albert) missed a pair of free throws.
Redshirt sophomore forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) kept RMU close late in the game with seven straight points, including a three-pointer with 7:49 left that pulled the Colonials to within 50-49. However, the Bears responded with a 13-5 surge to take a nine-point lead, 63-54, before a furious comeback in the final minute and-a-half by Robert Morris.
Jones led four Colonials in double figures scoring with 15 points, while Abraham chipped in 14, Johnson 13 and Thompson 12. Johnson also grabbed 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the 2010-11 season and fifth of his career. He also added a block and two steals.
Jackson finished with 25 points for Morgan State on the strength of a 9-for-10 performance at the free-throw line, as he finished 8-for-19 shooting from the field, including an 0-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. Brooks added 13 points, six assists and three steals.
Robert Morris continues a six-game road trip with its final non-conference tilt of the 2010-11 campaign Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, against Ohio at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m.
