Pittsburgh, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team matched its longest winning streak of the season Saturday by posting an 88-76 victory over LIU Brooklyn at PPG Paints Arena to earn its fourth consecutive win.
A back-and-forth affair all afternoon, Jashaun Agosto gave the Blackbirds (6-11, 1-3 NEC) their final lead with 9:07 to play, 62-61, with a driving layup. He was also fouled on the play but missed the opportunity for the and one, and the Colonials (10-7, 4-0 NEC) capitalized on their next possession.
Freshman forward
Koby Thomas converted in the lane to help push RMU in front for good, 63-62, with 8:52 remaining. Robert Morris would eventually stretch its advantage to 70-64 as freshman guard
Leondre Washington scored five points and sophomore guard
Dachon Burke converted in the lane during a 9-2 spurt.
On the game, both the Colonials and Blackbirds scored 42 points in the paint, and for RMU it marked a season high.
LIU Brooklyn had one last charge, closing to within one on two occasions, including 72-71 with 3:35 to go after a pair of free throws from Joel Hernandez. However, Thomas scored in the paint again, graduate transfer
Ronnie Gombe converted a layup and sophomore guard
Matty McConnell connected from deep with 1:34 left to push the lead for the Colonials to 79-72.
"I thought
Koby Thomas and Leondre really gave us a spark from an energy perspective to start the second half, and I thought that became contagious," head coach Andy Toole. "It allowed us to use that energy to get enough stops down the stretch as well as execute enough offense to get us the win."
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Robert Morris scored 50 points in the second half to secure the victory, its largest scoring output in a half this season. Thomas scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and also added seven rebounds and two steals in the victory.
The first half featured six ties and 13 lead changes, and overall the contest featured nine ties and 21 lead changes. The Blackbirds held their biggest lead of the contest at the 12:44 mark of the first half, when Agosto converted a fastbreak layup to give LIU Brooklyn a 16-9 advantage.
The Colonials responded by scoring the next eight points of the game to grab their first lead, 17-16, which featured three-pointers from Burke and Thomas and a dunk from Burke off a steal. Raiquan Clark answered with a dunk of his own on LIU Brooklyn's next possession, setting up the nip and tuck contest until RMU took control late.
Burke paced Robert Morris with 20 points and also added six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. He was one of five players in double figures as the Colonials scored a season-high 88 points. In addition to the performance from Thomas, McConnell scored 15 points, Washington added 12 and freshman guard
Jon Williams chipped in with 11.
Clark took home game-high honors for the Blackbirds, finishing with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and a 5-for-6 performance at the free-throw line. Agosto added 15 points, Julian Batts notched 13 and Hernandez 11.
RMU returns to action Thursday, Jan. 11, and concludes a three-game homestand with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Saint Francis U at PPG Paints Arena. The game can be seen live on ESPN3.
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