Boxscore
West Long Branch, N.J. - Sophomore forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) came off the bench and tied a career high with 18 points to help lead the Robert Morris University men's basketball team to a 70-55 victory over Monmouth Saturday at the MAC.
In picking up their second straight victory the Colonials improved to 10-7 overall on the 2012-13 campaign, including 2-2 in the Northeast Conference, while the Hawks dipped to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in league play.
Ed Waite gave Monmouth an early 9-7 advantage with a pair of free throws at the 12:11 mark of the first half, but RMU scored the next seven points of the contest to open up a 14-9 edge as Jones converted a layup, redshirt junior guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) buried a three-pointer and freshman forward Stephan Hawkins (Gary, Ind. / Bowman Academy) converted a pair from the free-throw line.
Tyrone O'Garro hit a layup to pull the Hawks to within 14-11, but Robert Morris posted an 11-4 spurt to take its first double-digit lead of the contest, 25-15.
Jones started the run with a layup, while redshirt senior forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) contributed four points.
The advantage swelled to 29-17 in favor of RMU, but a three-pointer at the buzzer from Jesse Steele helped Monmouth close to within 29-21 at halftime.
The Hawks couldn't sustain the momentum to open the second half, however, as the Colonials opened the stanza on a 10-3 run to push their cushion to 39-24.
Monmouth was never able to get its deficit into single digits the rest of the contest, and anytime the Hawks found life with a small surge, Robert Morris had an answer.
Andrew Nicholas trimmed MU's deficit to 39-28 with 14 minutes to play with a dunk, but RMU responded with an 8-0 run that featured five points from Jones to open up a 47-28 lead.
Jones also gave the Colonials their biggest advantage, 51-30, with 9:02 remaining thanks to a three-point play after a layup and foul by O'Garro.
Williams would help seal the victory for Robert Morris with three-pointers on back-to-back possession to give the Colonials a 61-41 edge with 5:43 to go.
Jones scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to pace RMU and also added eight rebounds and two steals off the bench. Williams chipped in with 14 points and six boards, while junior forward Mike McFadden (Newark, N.J. / Technology) contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Redshirt senior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) left the game in the opening minutes due to injury, but Johnson stepped up as part of RMU's point guard by committee, dishing out a game and career-high six assists to go along with seven points, 10 caroms and four steals.
Steele led the Hawks with 17 points and four assists, while Nicholas was the only other player for Monmouth in double figures scoring with 13 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds and posted four dimes.
A two-game swing through the Garden State complete, the Colonials return home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for three of their next four contests, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart Thursday, Jan. 17.
