Little Rock, Ark. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team returned to action in the Grand Canyon Classic Friday with a wire-to-wire victory over Norfolk State, 75-53, at the Jack Stephens Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In notching their second win, the Colonials (2-3) shot a season-high 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the field, knocked down 10 three-pointers and improved to 7-2 under eighth-year head coach
Andrew Toole in neutral-site games.
Freshmen
Jon Williams and
Koby Thomas each connected from beyond the arc in the opening minutes of the contest to give RMU an early 6-0 lead, and the lead swelled to 10-4 after junior forward
Malik Petteway converted a layup off a feed from freshman guard
Leondre Washington.
On three occasions the Spartans (0-5) were able to trim their deficit to one but could never grab the lead. Kyle Williams hit a three-pointer with 8:52 left in the first half to pull Norfolk State to within 15-14, but Robert Morris used a 10-0 surge to grab its first double-digit advantage, 25-14. Sophomore guard
Dachon Burke and Washington each scored five points during the run for the Colonials.
Freshman guard
Chris Coalmon, who was one of six RMU players to hit a shot from deep on the game, found the bottom of the net with a three-pointer at 6:43 of the first half that gave Robert Morris its biggest lead in the first 20 minutes, 28-15.
LINKS: Boxscore (PDF) | Boxscore (HTML) | Updated Statistics
Norfolk State whittled its deficit to 31-25 at halftime, but Robert Morris again found its touch from beyond the arc early in the second half to get its cushion back to double digits.
Thomas opened the scoring after the break with a layup and then nailed another triple, while a three-pointer from Washington gave the Colonials a 42-29 advantage.
The Spartans were never able to close to within 10 the rest of the game. Washington's pop shot in the lane, coupled with a foul by Dan Robinson, and his subsequent free throw with 7:18 remaining gave RMU a 61-40 lead.
Thomas would punctuate the victory for the Colonials with a dunk off a feed from Washington with 1:46 to play, and a pair of free throws from Petteway with 31 seconds to go gave Robert Morris its biggest lead, 65-40.
In 25 minutes, Thomas finished with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including a 3-for-4 performance from beyond the arc.
Washington supplied 16 points, five assists and a steal off the bench, while Burke tallied 15 points, five assists and a pair of steals. Williams and Burke were two of three Colonials to record at least five dimes in the contest, as Williams posted a game-high seven helpers.
Norfolk State was led by Nic Thomas and Alex Long, who each scored 12 points.
Robert Morris posted 19 assists on its 28 field goals, outscored the Spartans, 30-26, in points in the paint and also shot 75 percent (9-for-12) at the free-throw line.
The Colonials will conclude play in the Grand Canyon Classic Saturday, Nov. 25, with a 4:00 p.m. tip against Little Rock at the Jack Stephens Center.
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