Chicago, Ill. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened a six-game road swing Sunday with a 78-72 setback to DePaul at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
The Blue Demons grabbed an early double-digit advantage, 21-11, on the strength of a 13-3 run that was bolstered by 10 points from Eli Cain.
RMU (0-2) weathered the storm and closed to within 21-19 thanks to eight straight points. Freshman guard
Clive Allen converted a three-point play, sophomore guard
Isaiah Still buried a three-pointer and senior guard
Kavon Stewart hit a jumper in the paint.
Darrick Wood would push the advantage for DePaul (1-0) to 23-19 with a jumper, but the Colonials answered with a layup from freshman center
Braden Burke. The Blue Demons kept Robert Morris at bay the rest of the half, eventually owning a 34-31 cushion at the break.
Freshman
Dachon Burke opened the second half with a steal and a stuff to close RMU's deficit to 34-33, one of three times in the first four minutes after halftime the Colonials trailed by just a point.
However, Robert Morris could never get over the hump and grab a lead, with DePaul using a 12-5 spurt to open up a 55-46 advantage with 9:47 to play. Wood came up big for the Blue Demons during the run, converting a driving layup and using a dunk on a fastbreak to give DePaul the nine-point cushion.
"I'm certainly proud of the effort our guys gave tonight," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "There was a lot of disappointment in the locker room afterward, and that's good, as this was a game we felt we could've had. We competed on both ends of the floor, but there were certainly some breakdowns that we need to clean up."
Wood gave the Blue Demons their biggest lead of the game, 63-50, with 6:44 to play by hitting the back end of a pair of free throws, but the Colonials mounted one last charge.
Robert Morris used a 22-11 run to close to within 74-72 with just 10 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard
Isaiah Still was the main offensive force during the surge, scoring 11 points, including a pair of three-pointers in a 10-second span that made it a one-possession contest.
Chris Harrison-Docks sealed the victory for the Blue Demons by hitting a pair at the free-throw line with 3.9 seconds left after a foul from
Dachon Burke.
DePaul visited the charity stripe 34 times on the game, converting 27 (79.4%). That included a 17-for-20 (85%) success rate in the second half.
Still led all scorers in the contest with a career-high 26 points while also grabbing four rebounds. He finished 10-for-17 shooting from the floor, including a 4-for-8 performance from beyond the arc, while going 2-for-3 at the free-throw line.
"Isaiah is a guy that can score so many different ways," Toole said. "He's a tough matchup because of the variety of ways he can put the ball in the basket. He made great decisions tonight, especially coming within the team concept."
Senior guard
Kavon Stewart added 13 points on the strength of a 9-for-11 performance at the chalk and also compiled five assists and four steals.
Cain paced the Blue Demons with 21 points before fouling out with 2:57 to go. Wood chipped in 13 points, Tre'Darius McCallum added 12 points, eight assists and six assists and Billy Garrett contributed 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Robert Morris continues its six-game road trip Wednesday, Nov. 16, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa.
Stat Of The Night
63.9% - Percentage of points through RMU's first two games that have come from underclassmen.
