Boxscore
Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball concluded a two-game homestand Saturday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center with its fourth consecutive win thanks to an 87-75 victory over Quinnipiac.
The Colonials pushed their record to 12-7 overall and 4-2 in the Northeast Conference with the win, while the Bobcats dipped to 6-11 overall and 2-4 in league action.
In a carbon copy of its victory over Sacred Heart Thursday night, Quinnipiac jumped out to a 12-10 advantage at the first media timeout at the 15:11 mark by converting five of its first six shots from the field.
Zaid Hearst and Evan Conti each scored five points during the opening flurry for the Bobcats.
Out of the timeout, however, Robert Morris used a 15-4 run that gave the Colonials a 25-16 edge with 11:11 left before intermission. Redshirt senior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) was the offensive force RMU, scoring 10 straight points.
The advantage eventually swelled to 32-18 in favor of Robert Morris after a three-pointer from Jones at the 8:41 mark of the first half, and the Colonials had their largest lead before halftime, 35-20, when junior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Ind. / Glen Oaks Community College) buried a three-pointer with 5:48 to go.
Jones and Anderson, who both missed RMU's victory over Sacred Heart Thursday night, combined for 22 points as the Colonials took a 41-29 lead at the break. The duo combined to shoot 80 percent (8-for-10) from the field, including 83.3 percent (5-for-6) from beyond the arc.
The Bobcats shot 61.9 percent (13-for-21) in the first half but were disrupted by turnovers, committing 12 in the opening 20 minutes that Robert Morris turned into 16 points.
Sophomore guard David Appolon (Philadelphia, Pa. / Imhotep Charter) would extend RMU's advantage to 57-35 with 14:15 to play after a three-point play, and the Bobcats could never get their deficit into single-digits again.
Redshirt senior forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) led a balanced attack offensively for the Colonials by scoring a season-high 22 points, converting 4-of-7 of his shots from the field while going 12-for-13 at the free-throw line.
Sophomore forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / Technology) tied a career high for the second time in three games with 18 points and also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to go along with three assists and a steal, while Velton Jones finished with 14 points and five assists.
Junior guard Anthony Myers-Pate (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) added 10 points off the bench, while Anderson finished with nine points and a career-high five assists.
Hearst led four players in double figures for Quinnipiac with 16 points, while Conti and Ousmane Drame each scored 13 points. Ike Azotam added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Bobcats.
Robert Morris now takes to the road, traveling to Loretto, Pa., for a 7:00 p.m. tip with in-state rival Saint Francis University Thursday, Jan. 24, at DeGol Arena.
