Boxscore
Loretto, Pa. - Bolstered by a season-high tying 13 three-pointers, the Robert Morris University men's basketball team raced to its fifth straight win Thursday night with an 84-70 victory over Saint Francis U. at DeGol Arena.
The Colonials improved to 13-7 overall and 5-2 in the Northeast Conference with the win, while the Red Flash dipped to 1-17 overall and 1-5 in league play.
Freshman forward Stephan Hawkins (Gary, Ind. / Bowman Academy) opened the scoring in the contest with a jumper off a feed from redshirt senior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic).
Ronnie Drinnon answered for the Red Flash with a layup to knot the score, but RMU followed with a 15-5 run to open up its first double-digit advantage, 17-7, and never trailed in the contest. Jones was the main offensive catalyst during the opening salvo, scoring 11 points.
Saint Francis U. closed to within 17-11 thanks to layups from Earl Brown and Drinnon, but a three-point play from sophomore forward Keith Armstrong (Raleigh, N.C. / Fishburne Military Academy) pushed the advantage for Robert Morris to 20-11.
That's when junior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Ind. / Glen Oaks Community College) went to work.
In a span of five minutes and 12 seconds, Anderson scored 19 consecutive points for the Colonials, draining all seven of his shots from the field, including a 5-for-5 performance from beyond the arc. RMU held a 20-13 edge before Anderson's outburst, and when the flurry was over the Colonials led, 39-20.
Robert Morris eventually entered halftime with a 47-31 cushion on the strength of a 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) performance from beyond the arc and 56.3 percent (18-for-32) shooting overall.
RMU's lead swelled to its largest of the contest, 54-32, in the opening minutes of the second half after a layup from sophomore forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony), who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half.
The Colonials kept their advantage in double digits the entire second half in securing their 10th straight win against their in-state rival, including their ninth straight win at DeGol Arena, and tying a school record for consecutive wins against a league opponent.
Saint Francis U. kept in the contest in the second half thanks to the three-pointer, whittling its deficit to 66-55 at the 8:18 mark after a pair of free throws by Anthony Ervin.
Lucky Jones responded with a three-pointer for the Colonials, but Ervin helped the Red Flash pull within 74-64 at the 4:57 mark thanks to a jumper followed by a three-pointer.
SFU could never get that deficit into single digits, however, as Robert Morris sealed the win at the free-throw line, going 6-for-9 at the stripe in the final 2:19 of action.
Anderson tied for game-high honors with 22 points on an 8-for-11 shooting performance, including 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. He was one of five Colonials to reach double figures, as Lucky Jones finished with 16 points, Velton Jones added 15 points and six assists and redshirt senior forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) contributed 12 points and four dimes.
Johnson eclipsed 1,000 career points in the first half, as his jumper with 2:23 left before intermission helped him become the 21st member of the RMU 1,000-point club as well as just the 12th student-athlete in school history to surpass career totals of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
Ben Millaurd-Meunier led Saint Francis U. with 22 points, while Drinnon scored 12 points. Earl Brown and Dominique Major each finished with 11 points, while Ervin added 10 points and four rebounds.
Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for its next contest, welcoming Mount St. Mary's for a 7:00 p.m. tip Saturday, Jan. 26.
