Hamden, Conn. - A career-high 38 points from James Johnson helped propel Quinnipiac to a 69-61 win over the Robert Morris University men's basketball team Thursday night at the TD Bank Sports Center.
RMU slipped to 9-11 overall and 5-4 in the Northeast Conference with the loss, while the Bobcats improved to 13-7 overall and 5-4 in league play.
Quinnipiac led wire-to-wire in the contest, opening the game with a barrage from beyond the arc to take a double-digit advantage. A pair of three-pointers from Deontay Twyman and one from Johnson helped the Bobcats jump out to a 9-2 lead as QU converted six of its first seven attempts from long range.
Johnson's third three-pointer of the first half helped Quinnipiac open up a 17-5 advantage, and his fourth with 10:29 to go before halftime gave the Bobcats a 20-7 lead.
Robert Morris put together a 9-2 surge to trim its deficit to 22-16 as four different Colonials scored, including a three-pointer from freshman guard Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep). Johnson quickly answered the surge with a pair of jumpers to get the lead back to double digits for Quinnipiac, 26-16.
The Colonials eventually pulled within 30-23 at halftime, and a jumper from sophomore forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner) and a three-pointer from redshirt sophomore forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) in the opening minutes of the second half made it a one-possession game, 30-28.
Johnson and Twyman would each hit from beyond the arc to push Quinnipiac to a 36-30 lead, and the lead swelled to 43-34 after Dominique Langston connected from long range with 12:59 to play.
Despite the barrage from beyond the arc, RMU hung around in the final five minutes of play. Johnson's seventh trifecta gave the Bobcats a 53-42 advantage with 6:47 to go, but a 9-2 run helped the Colonials pull to within 55-51 with 3:10 remaining.
Sophomore guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) hit a three-pointer during the spurt, while junior forward Lawrence Bridges (Detroit, Mich. / Columbus State Community College) and sophomore guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy) each hit layups.
Redshirt sophomore guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) completed the surge with a pair of free throws, but on Quinnipiac's next possession Justin Rutty missed a layup but grabbed his own rebound at the top of the key. A fresh shot clock in tow, Johnson drove to the basket and found Rutty underneath for a layup with 2:21 to go that gave the Bobcats a 57-51 lead.
Quinnipiac closed out the victory by finishing 12-for-14 at the free-throw line in the final 2:02, including a 7-for-8 performance by Johnson.
Johnson finished 12-for-21 shooting from the field, including 7-for-13 from beyond the arc, for his 38 points and also added eight rebounds and three assists for the Bobcats. Twyman added 14 points, while Rutty, seeing his first action in eight games, contributed six points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
For the third straight game Jones paced Robert Morris in scoring, finishing with 18 points while adding three assists. Abraham added 10 points for RMU.
Jones led the Colonials based on the strength of a 14-for-16 showing at the free-throw line. He became just the eighth player in school history to convert that many free throws in a game and posted RMU's highest total since A.J. Jackson (2003-08) finished 15-for-18 at the charity stripe in a 95-90 win over Wagner (1/2/06).
Robert Morris closes out its two-game swing through Connecticut Saturday, Jan. 29, with a 3:30 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn.
