Boxscore
Moon Township, Pa. - Junior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, Ind. / Glen Oaks Community College) scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead a balanced offensive attack as the Robert Morris University men's basketball team earned a 75-57 victory over No. 8 seed St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center in quarterfinal action of the 2013 Northeast Conference Tournament.
RMU improved to 23-9 overall on the 2012-13 season and will face No. 5 seed Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon in a 2:30 p.m. tip in the semifinals at the Sewall Center.
The Colonials never trailed against the Terriers, jumping out to leads of 13-4 and 18-6 in the first four minutes of action as forwards Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) and Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) and guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) each connected from beyond the arc.
St. Francis Brooklyn, which finished its season with an overall record of 12-18, whittled its deficit to 20-16 thanks to a 10-2 spurt as Dre Calloway scored seven points and Travis Nichols drained a three-pointer.
Robert Morris responded by scoring the game's next six points to get its advantage back up to double-digits, 26-16, at the 7:52 mark of the first half as Johnson, junior forward Mike McFadden (Newark, N.J. / Technology) and Anderson each converted for the Colonials.
The lead eventually swelled to 37-23 at halftime when Anderson rebounded a missed three-pointer by Williams and scored a layup with less than a minute to play before the break.
Williams opened the second half with a three-pointer to push RMU's lead to 40-23, and the biggest lead of the night came at the 12:10 mark of the second half, when Anderson's three-pointer opened up a 56-33 edge.
Anderson also sealed the victory with eight straight points with under seven minutes remaining, the last of which came courtesy of a jumper off an offensive rebound that gave Robert Morris a 70-47 cushion.
On the night, Anderson connected for eight of his 14 attempts from the field, including 4-of-8 from deep, and added four rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
Johnson finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while Jones added 16 points and seven caroms.
St. Francis Brooklyn was led by Jalen Cannon, who scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Calloway added 14 points off the bench for the Terriers.
Johnson and fellow senior Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) each established career school records in NEC Tournament play, as a game-high eight assists from Velton Jones pushed his career total to 47, breaking the mark of 43 that was held by former Colonial point guard Forest Grant (1981-84).
Johnson's seven rebounds pushed his career total in the NEC Tournament to 52, eclipsing the mark of 49 that was held by former Colonial Phil Coles (1981-84).
