Emmitsburg, Md. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team fell behind by 13 in the first half but rallied to post a 67-62 victory over Mount St. Mary's Saturday in a Northeast Conference tilt at Knott Arena.
The Colonials, who snapped a two-game slide, improved to 17-8 overall and 8-4 in the NEC with the win. The victory also clinched RMU's seventh straight winning season, extending a school record.
The Mount (6-17, 4-8 NEC) opened up a 32-19 lead at the 3:34 mark of the first half thanks to an 18-6 surge that featured 10 points from Julian Norfleet and five from Kelvin Parker.
Robert Morris chipped away and trimmed its deficit to 33-28 at the half thanks to a 9-1 surge of its own as four different Colonials scored, including a three-pointer from redshirt sophomore guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School).
The Mount had possession to open the second half, but sophomore guard Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) came up with a steal and a layup to pull RMU within 33-30.
The steal and score by Myers helped carry the offensive spurt over to the second half for the Colonials, as in all a 22-3 run that bridged the two halves gave Robert Morris a 41-35 edge with 14:54 remaining.
Myers scored six straight points to open the second stanza for the Colonials, while freshman forward Keith Armstrong (Raleigh, N.C. / Fishburne Military Academy) punctuated the run with a dunk.
Mount St. Mary's was able to grab the lead back thanks to converting at the free-throw line, as the Mount was in the bonus at the 16:03 mark of the second half. A pair of free throws from Raven Barber gave Mount St. Mary's a 44-43 advantage, and a 1-for-2 performance by Norfleet at the stripe with 10:36 to play extended Mount's lead to 48-45.
Robert Morris responded with an 11-0 run that featured three-pointers from freshmen Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) and David Appolon (Philadelphia, Pa. / Imhotep Charter) to open up its largest lead of the game, 56-48.
Danny Thompson would cap an 11-3 run by the Mount with a tip-in with 2:47 to play that knotted the score, 59-59, but a wide open layup by junior forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner) off a feed from Myers out of a timeout gave the Colonials the lead for good, 61-59, with 1:36 remaining in the contest.
RMU sealed the win at the stripe, with Myers hitting four consecutive free throws and redshirt junior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) converting a pair.
Lucky Jones led the Colonials with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Myers scored 15 points off the bench and added four assists and two steals.
Lucky Jones had his best shooting night in an RMU uniform, converting seven of his nine shots from the field and going 2-for-2 at the free-throw line. Velton Jones chipped in with 10 points and four assists for Robert Morris.
Norfleet took home game-high honors with 23 points, while Parker added 17 for Mount St. Mary's.
Robert Morris concludes a three-game road trip with the first of two straight games against in-state rival Saint Francis (Pa.) as part of the NEC's "Rivalry Week."
The Colonials travel to Loretto, Pa., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against the Red Flash at DeGol Arena Wednesday, Feb. 8.
