Youngstown, Ohio – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a five-game road trip Wednesday with a 65-58 loss to Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center. RMU dipped to 1-7 overall on the 2015-16 campaign with the setback, while the Penguins evened their record at 4-4.
Trailing, 55-44, with 9:44 to play after Bobby Hain converted a layup, Robert Morris closed to within 56-53 thanks to a 9-2 surge. Freshman guard
Matty McConnell and senior guard
Rodney Pryor each hit from beyond the arc, while sophomore forward
Elijah Minnie capped the run with a pair at the free-throw line.
Empty possessions by both teams followed before Bobby Hain was fouled by junior forward
Billy Giles with 3:41 to play. He promptly sank both of his attempts at the chalk to give the Penguins a 58-53 edge, and a Jorden Kaufman layup after an offensive rebound with 2:51 left gave Youngstown State a 60-53 cushion.
Robert Morris, which drilled eight three-pointers in the second half and a season-high 11 in the game, hit just one field goal in the final seven minutes, a Pryor trifecta with 1:19 to go that made it 62-56 in favor of the Penguins.
"We're down seven at the half, and our defensive intensity to start the second half just wasn't there," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "We need to defend. Our guys can't seem to grasp that each possession in a game is so important. One or two plays can be the difference between a win and a loss."
In the first half, Minnie gave the Colonials a 10-9 lead with a jumper at the 14:51 mark before Youngstown State used a 15-2 run to open up a 24-12 lead. Donlan scored eight points during the surge, including a three-pointer.
RMU weathered the spurt and put one together of its own, outscoring the Penguins, 9-2, to close to within 26-21 with 3:25 to go before halftime. Pryor scored five points, while Stewart connected for a floater in the lane. Youngstown State eventually entered the break with a 31-23 lead.
Pryor led the Colonials with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a 4-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. McConnell registered the first double-figure scoring game of his career with 12 points, connecting four times from beyond the arc.
Donlan scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the first half for Youngstown State and finished 6-for-12 shooting, including 5-for-11 from deep. Hain added 14 points for the Penguins, while Francisco Santiago and Brett Frantz contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Robert Morris returns to the Charles L. Sewall Center to host Oakland Saturday, Dec. 5, in a 4:00 p.m. tip.
Stat Of The Night52.2 – Percent Youngstown State shot in the second half, the sixth time in eight games an opponent has converted at least 50 percent of its shots from the field after halftime.
