Athens, Ohio - Sophomore guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy) scored a career-high 28 points, including six in overtime, to help lift the Robert Morris University men's basketball team to a 79-76 victory over Ohio Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
RMU, which snapped a three-game losing streak, notched its first non-conference road victory of the 2010-11 campaign in its final game outside of Northeast Conference play and improved to 5-8 overall, while the Bobcats slipped to 7-7.
The Colonials twice trailed by double digits, falling behind by 13 in the first half, 34-21, and by 12 in the first five minutes after halftime, 42-30, but rebounded to earn the win.
Tommy Freeman gave Ohio its 12-point advantage at the 15:39 mark of the second half with a three-pointer, part of an 8-0 spurt to start the second half for the Bobcats, but Robert Morris scored the next 12 points to knot the game for the first time, 42-42.
Redshirt sophomores Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) and Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) each hit a pair at the charity stripe to score the first points after intermission for RMU, while Abraham and redshirt freshman guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) each connected from beyond the arc.
Sophomore forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner) tied the game at 42 with a layup, but a pair of free throws by D.J. Cooper and back-to-back three-pointers by T.J. Hall and Freeman pushed the Bobcats back out in front, 50-42.
Ohio kept the Colonials at bay and held a 53-47 lead with 7:56 remaining in regulation when Ivo Baltic converted a pair of free throws. RMU responded with a 16-3 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 63-56, with just 3:57 left in the second half.
Four different players scored for Robert Morris during the surge, including six points from Abraham and five from Johnson, while defensively RMU held Ohio without a field goal for a stretch of over six minutes.
The Colonials nursed their lead until Nick Kellogg converted a pair of free throws with just 1:16 to go in regulation to tie the game, 64-64. DeWayne Washington gave the Bobcats back the advantage, 66-64, with a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left in the second half.
Johnson helped tied the game at 66 with a layup off a feed from Jones, and a three-pointer from Kellogg with under five seconds left in regulation was short, sending the game to the extra period.
Abraham scored the first four points of overtime at the free-throw line to give Robert Morris a 70-66 lead, and his pair from the charity stripe with 27 seconds to play helped the Colonials increase their advantage to 76-72.
The Bobcats charged back when Kellogg buried Ohio's 13th three-pointer of the contest to trim RMU's lead to 76-75, and senior guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) hit the front end of a pair of free throws to keep the Colonials in front, 77-75.
Cooper was sent to the free-throw line with just three seconds left in overtime but missed the back end of his pair, and Wallace came down with the defensive rebound. He promptly sank his two attempts after being fouled to give RMU the final margin of victory. Cooper tried a desperation shot from midcourt that fell short.
Abraham finished 8-for-17 shooting from the floor, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line to compile his career-high 28 points. Williams added a career-high 14 points and Wallace a season-high 13 points off the bench, while Johnson finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Freeman paced Ohio with 15 points courtesy of a 5-for-10 performance from long range while Kellogg finished with 14 points, Cooper 13, Washington 11 and Baltic 10. Cooper added eight assists and three steals but struggled through a 2-for-10 shooting performance and was just 8-for-16 at the free-throw line.
Its 2010-11 non-conference slate complete, Robert Morris returns to NEC play to close out a six-game road trip.
The Colonials will visit Wagner Thursday, Jan. 6, for a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Spiro Sports Center on Staten Island, N.Y., before traveling to Emmitsburg, Md., Saturday, Jan. 8, for a 1:00 tilt against Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena.
