Pittsburgh, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a three-game homestand Thursday by having its four-game winning streak snapped with an 89-80 setback to Saint Francis U at PPG Paints Arena.
The Red Flash trio of Jamaal King, Andre Wolford and Keith Braxton combined 67 points in the victory for SFU (10-6, 4-1 NEC) and also compiled 16 rebounds, 12 assists and four steals.
Braxton gave Saint Francis its first double-digit advantage, 28-18, with a three-pointer at the 9:14 mark of the first half, but the Colonials (10-8, 4-1 NEC) got a dunk from freshman forward
Koby Thomas and consecutive layups from junior guard
Matty McConnell to close to within 30-24.
Freshman
Chris Coalmon would knock down a three-pointer with 6:24 to go in the first half to again cut RMU's deficit to six, 35-29, but the Red Flash used a 12-0 surge to grab their biggest lead of the contest, 47-29. Wolford drained a pair of triples and also knocked down a pair of free throws during the spurt, while Braxton converted a layup.
Saint Francis U eventually held a 52-37 lead at halftime and was able to keep Robert Morris at bay in the final 20 minutes of action. Each time it looked like the Colonials were trying to mount a charge, SFU hit a big shot.
LINKS: Boxscore | Photo Gallery | 2017-18 Statistics
RMU trimmed its deficit to 65-55 with 11 minutes remaining courtesy of a three-pointer from freshman guard
Jon Williams, but Deivydas Kuzavas answered for the Red Flash on their next possession with a layup. Freshman guard
Leondre Washington would hit a jumper on the next possession for Robert Morris, but Saint Francis U went back to Kuzavas, who provided a dunk.
Kuzavas scored all 11 of his points in the second half, finishing 5-for-7 from the field and 1-for-1 at the line. He also grabbed six rebounds.
"You have to credit Saint Francis, as they came in with a game plan to score the ball, and that's exactly what they did," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "One of the key ways that we're going to be successful is having attention to detail, especially on the defensive end. Obviously, we didn't have that tonight."
Robert Morris made a late charge, using a 9-0 spurt to close to within 83-76 with 1:11 to go. Washington started the run with a three-pointer, Coalmon scored on a layup courtesy of an offensive rebound, one of 18 on the game for RMU, while sophomore guard
Dachon Burke scored a pair of fastbreak layups.
Braxton sealed the win with a driving layup with 36 seconds left off a feed from King to give the Red Flash an 85-76 advantage.
King took home game-high honors with 27 points despite going 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. He finished 8-for-18 from the field and was 10-for-12 at the line.
RMU was led by Burke, who finished with 21 points. Thomas chipped in the second double-double of his young career with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Washington supplied 12 points off the bench.
The Colonials are next in action Saturday, Jan. 13, with a 4:30 p.m. tip in Hackensack, N.J., against Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena. It's the first of three straight road games for RMU.
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