Moon Township, Pa. – Matt Donlan's three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining helped lift Youngstown State to a 75-74 victory over the
Robert Morris University men's basketball team Wednesday at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
In a contest that featured 11 ties and 18 lead changes, RMU's last effort to earn the win fell short, as a three-pointer from sophomore guard
Matty McConnell was off the mark.
The Colonials (2-6) held a 74-70 lead with 47 seconds to play after redshirt senior forward
Aaron Tate hit the back end of a one-on-one opportunity at the free-throw line.
Francisco Santiago, who scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, was sent to the chalk for the Penguins (4-4) with 33 seconds to go. He sank both opportunities to pull YSU to within 74-72.
On the ensuing inbounds pass, Braun Hartfield came up with a steal for Youngstown State, and the Penguins called timeout. Out of the break, Donlan hit a three-pointer from the corner to give YSU the final margin for victory.
"Obviously it's a tough loss for us to handle," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "One that we thought with 30 seconds to go all you have to do is inbound the ball to give yourself a chance to win the ball game but we were unable to do so. It's extremely frustrating. All game long we didn't have quite the same urgency or energy as our last two games, and that's why you come up a point short."
Donlan scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half for Youngstown State, but Robert Morris held a 34-31 edge at the break. Early in the second half layups from Tate and senior guard
Kavon Stewart gave the Colonials a 38-33 advantage, but YSU answered with an 8-0 spurt to jump back in front, 41-38.
The back-and-forth affair continued the entire game, with the Penguins grabbing a five-point lead, 64-59, with 5:51 to go after a layup from Devin Haygood.
RMU responded, using a 7-2 burst to tie the game for the 11th time, 66-66, with 3:53 left. Stewart was the main offensive force for the Colonials, scoring all seven points during the run.
Haygood pushed the Penguins back on top, 67-66, by going 1-for-2 at the free-throw line before sophomore guard
Isaiah Still and Santiago traded three-pointers. Robert Morris looked to take control when freshman guard
Dachon Burke converted layups on back-to-back possessions to give the Colonials a 73-70 lead with just 1:03 to play before YSU made its final charge.
Donlan (21) and Santiago (20) were the only two Penguins to reach double figures, combining to shoot 13-for-23 from the field, including 8-for-12 from beyond the arc. Donlan finished 7-for-9 from deep.
Stewart paced Robert Morris with 21 points and added four rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Burke scored a career-high 15 points off the bench while also registering four rebounds, an assist and two steals.
Tate recorded the first double-double of his career against Youngstown State, finishing with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, including six offensive boards. Still also finished in double figures with 11 points for the Colonials.
RMU returns to action Saturday, Dec. 3, with a 2:00 p.m. tip in Bethlehem, Pa., at Stabler Arena against Lehigh.
Follow The Colonials: Twitter | Instagram
