Loretto, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a four-game road trip Saturday with a 90-78 loss to Saint Francis U. at DeGol Arena.
The Colonials finished their four-game road swing with a record of 2-2 and dipped to 6-17 overall with the loss to the Red Flash, including 4-6 in the Northeast Conference. SFU improved to 10-11 overall and 6-4 in league play.
Saint Francis U. knocked down 13 three-pointers en route to the victory, including eight from guard Ben Millaud-Meunier, who scored a game-high 29 points.
Robert Morris held an early 6-5 lead after a layup from freshman guard
Isaiah Still, but a pair of Millaud-Meunier triples pushed SFU in front, 11-8, at the 14:12 mark of the first half.
Sophomore forward
Elijah Minnie trimmed RMU's deficit to 11-10 by hitting a pair of free throws, but the Red Flash took control by closing the first half on a 32-13 run. SFU connected from beyond the arc nine times in the first half, including four each from Millaud-Meunier and Malik Harmon.
In the first six minutes of the second half, the lead for Saint Francis U. swelled to 54-29 thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Millaud-Meunier.
Millaud-Meunier connected again from deep at the 7:55 mark of the second stanza and was fouled on the play by freshman guard
Matty McConnell. Millaud-Meunier successfully converted the four-point play to give the Red Flash a 68-46 advantage.
Robert Morris finally broke through offensively, putting together a 10-0 spurt to trim its deficit to 68-56 as Still scored eight consecutive points and Minnie converted a layup. Minnie would also help the Colonials get their deficit into single digits, 78-69, with a dunk with 2:58 to go, but SFU answered by pushing its lead back to double digits thanks to a dunk from Isaiah Blackmon with 2:51 remaining.
The closest RMU could get came with 1:21 to go, when a pair of free throws from senior guard
Rodney Pryor pulled the Colonials to within 83-76. Saint Francis U. sealed the win by going 7-for-8 at the free-throw line in the final minute of action.
"It was disappointing the way we came out," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "I thought after our performance Thursday we would have some energy, but that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, all of our decisions are based on fatigue. When you're fatigued, you're uncomfortable. We don't like to be uncomfortable."
Still scored 23 of his career-high 25 points in the second half to pace Robert Morris and also added six rebounds, a block and a steal. He shot 8-of-14 from the floor and was 8-for-10 at the chalk. Still became just the second rookie on record in school history to score at least 20 points in a half, joining former guard Bubba Donnelly (1991-95).
Minnie notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Pryor contributed 12 points, eight rebounds a team-high four assists off the bench.
In addition to the 29 points from Millaud-Meunier, Harmon finished with 22 points and Ronnie Drinnon contributed 16 points and 12 caroms for SFU.
Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center, where it will play five of its next six contests. The Colonials open a three-game homestand Thursday, Feb. 4, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Central Connecticut.
Stat Of The Night13 – Steals by freshman guard
Matty McConnell during RMU's four-game road trip, an average of 3.25 per contest
