Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closed out a four-game homestand Saturday night with a 54-51 victory over St. Francis (N.Y.) at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
Redshirt sophomore forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) converted a layup with 10 seconds remaining to give the Colonials a three-point edge, and the Terriers had a pair of opportunities to tie it in the waning seconds, but three-pointers by both Akeem Bennett and Dre Calloway were off the mark.
RMU, which finished 3-1 during its homestand, improved to 9-10 overall and 5-3 in the Northeast Conference, while St. Francis (N.Y.) dipped to 8-11 overall and 3-5 in league play.
A defensive tussle in the first half, the score was tied, 9-9, with 7:38 left before the break at the third media timeout.
Johnson pushed Robert Morris back in front, 11-9, with a jumper, and sophomore guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy) converted in the lane to open up a 13-9 advantage for the Colonials.
The Terriers, however, stormed back thanks to the three-pointer.
St. Francis (N.Y.) missed each of its first six attempts of the game from long range, but Stefan Perunicic snapped the drought with one from the corner at the 6:13 mark of the first half. The trifecta started a 15-1 surge that allowed the Terriers to open up a 24-14 lead as all five field goals came from international waters. Perunicic hit a trio, while Ricky Cadell added a pair.
The Colonials trimmed their deficit to six at halftime, 24-18, thanks to four straight points from redshirt sophomore guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic), who hit a pair at the free-throw line and converted a running jumper as time expired in the first stanza.
Jones would open the scoring in the second half with a jumper, while a pair of free throws from Abraham made it a one-possession game in favor of St. Francis (N.Y.), 24-22, but a 6-0 spurt helped the Terriers open up a 30-22 edge.
A 7-0 run that included five points from redshirt freshman guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School), including RMU's first three-pointer of the contest, pulled the Colonials within 30-29, and Jones gave Robert Morris a 34-33 at the 13:45 mark of the second half with a pair of free throws.
The pair of free throws were two of seven points that Jones scored during a 14-4 run that gave Robert Morris its biggest lead of the game, 44-37, with 7:40 to play. On four different occasions in the final 5:17 the Terriers trailed by one but were never able to regain the advantage.
Akeem Johnson converted a pair at the charity stripe with 1:11 remaining to make it 50-49 in favor of the Colonials, but Jones answered with a jumper in the paint to give RMU a three-point lead, 52-49, with 53 seconds to go.
Akeem Johnson then scored on a layup for St. Francis (N.Y.) to again make it a one-point game, 52-51, with 41 seconds to play, but Russell Johnson came through for Robert Morris with his layup to settle the final score.
Jones tied for game-high honors with 18 points to pace RMU, converting six of his 10 shots from the field. He also added four rebounds and four steals. Abraham chipped in with 10 points, while Russell Johnson finished with eight points and seven boards.
Cadell scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Terriers, while Perunicic finished with 14 points and Akeem Johnson tallied 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Bennett finished with four points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals for St. Francis (N.Y.).
Robert Morris is next in action Thursday, Jan. 27, when it travels to Hamden, Conn., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Quinnipiac at TD Banknorth Arena in a game that will be televised live on FSN Pittsburgh.
