Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a three-game homestand Wednesday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center by posting a 78-68 victory over in-state rival Saint Francis (Pa.) in the program's 1000th contest in its 35-year Division I history.
RMU, which closed the game on a 20-9 run to earn the victory, improved to 11-13 overall and 7-6 in the Northeast Conference, while the Red Flash slipped to 7-17 and 5-8.
Chris Johnson buried a three-pointer for Saint Francis (Pa.) with 9:35 to play that gave the Red Flash their only lead of the game, 59-58, before the Colonials scored 20 of the game's final 29 points.
Sophomore forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner) knotted the game, 59-59, by hitting one of his two attempts at the free-throw line with 9:06 to play, and he gave RMU the lead for good 11 seconds later with a fastbreak dunk after a Johnson turnover and steal by sophomore guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy).
Senior guard Gary Wallace (Montclair, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) converted a jumper with 7:52 to play to give Robert Morris a 64-59 edge, and freshman guard Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) followed with a three-point play thanks to a fastbreak layup and a foul by Sorena Orandi of Saint Francis (Pa) to increase the lead to 67-59 for the Colonials.
Abraham got RMU's lead back to double digits with his fourth three-pointer of the contest, 70-59, and Robert Morris finished 7-for-8 at the charity stripe in the final 4:16 to seal the victory.
The Colonials never trailed in the first half, taking a 24-14 lead at the 8:16 mark after a pair of free throws from Thompson. RMU eventually held a 41-34 advantage at the break as Abraham scored 13 points before intermission.
A three-pointer by Abraham with 17:15 remaining gave Robert Morris a 49-38 lead, but a 13-2 surge over the next four minutes pulled Saint Francis (Pa.) even, 51-51, as Will Felder scored six points and Umar Shannon added five.
Redshirt sophomore guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) responded with seven straight points to give the Colonials a 58-51 advantage, but the Red Flash scored the next eight points thanks to five points from Shannon and a three-pointer by Johnson to take their only lead of the contest.
Abraham led three players in double figures scoring for RMU with 20 points and also added four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Jones and Thompson each scored 16 points, with Thompson finishing 10-for-11 at the free-throw line and Jones going 7-for-10 at the charity stripe.
Shannon took home game-high honors in scoring with 23 points to pace Saint Francis (Pa.), finishing 7-for-13 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-9 from long range. Felder added 16 points and Johnson 11 for the Red Flash.
Robert Morris shot 52.2 percent (24-for-46) from the floor and dominated the glass, 39-19, while Saint Francis (Pa.) shot 51.9 percent (14-for-27) from long range but just 37.5 percent (9-for-24) inside the arc.
Rivalry Week in the NEC continues as RMU and Saint Francis (Pa.) conclude a home-and-home series with an 8:30 p.m. tip at DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pa., in a game that will be televised live on FSN Pittsburgh.
