Boxscore
Providence, R.I. – A 12-4 run in the final 3:58 of action allowed Providence to pull away from the Robert Morris University men's basketball team Monday night in a second round game of the 2013 National Invitation Tournament, as the Friars went on for a 77-68 win over the Colonials at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Providence (19-14) advances to the quarterfinals of the 2013 NIT, while RMU concludes its 2012-13 campaign with an overall record of 24-11.
Vincent Council scored five straight points during the deciding run for the Friars, including a three-point play with 3:08 left that bolstered Providence to a 70-64 advantage.
Junior forward Mike McFadden (Newark, N.J. / Technology) would pull the Colonials to within 70-66 with a layup, but the Friars continued to add points at the chalk, as a pair from Kris Dunn with 2:11 to go again gave PC a six-point lead, 72-66.
Robert Morris came up empty on its next possession, and a Lee Goldsborough layup with 1:16 remaining helped the Friars take a commanding 74-66 edge. Bryce Cotton scored the final three points of the game for Providence on a 1-for-2 performance at the free-throw line and a layup with 43 seconds to play.
Just as it had in its first round game of the NIT against Kentucky, RMU jumped out to a big lead against the Friars, as five points from redshirt senior forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester), including a dunk and a three-pointer, gave the Colonials an early 9-2 lead.
Providence settled down and came back to tie the score, 9-9, but a three-pointer from redshirt junior guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch) followed a McFadden jumper to help push Robert Morris back on top, 15-9.
The first half featured five ties and four lead changes, with RMU taking a 31-27 edge at the 2:40 mark after a three-pointer from Johnson.
Cotton would knot the score, 31-31, with a jumper with 51 seconds left before the break, but Williams put the Colonials back in the lead, 34-31, with a triple just 17 seconds later.
The Friars had one last chance before intermission and made it count, as Cotton's three-pointer at the buzzer sent the game tied into halftime, 34-34.
Providence looked to pull away in the first 10 minutes of the second half and owned a 59-51 advantage with 8:24 left, but an 11-2 run gave Robert Morris a 62-61 edge at the 6:11 mark of the second half.
Junior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Ind. / Glen Oaks Community College) started the spurt with a three-pointer and hit a pair during the run, while Johnson gave the Colonials the lead with a three-pointer of his own.
Providence called timeout after Johnson's triple, and out of the break took the lead for good thanks to a pair of free throws from Council with 5:19 left.
Anderson paced Robert Morris with 18 points off the bench, connecting on six of his 11 shots from the field, including a 4-for-7 performance from deep, while going 2-for-2 at the stripe.
Johnson added 16 points, three rebounds and five steals, while McFadden finished with 14 points and three rebounds. Redshirt senior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) added five points and three assists for the Colonials.
LaDontae Henton led all scorers in the game with 21 points for the Friars, while Cotton added 20 points and five rebounds. Council finished with 12 points on the strength of a 10-for-13 performance at the free-throw line and also dished out 10 assists in playing all 40 minutes.
RMU shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) from the field but were outrebounded, 43-18. Providence finished 31-for-36 (86.1 percent) at the stripe, while the Colonials connected on 11 of their 15 attempts (73.3 percent).
