Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball remained perfect at home Wednesday be earning a 76-56 victory over Youngstown State at the North Athletic Complex. The Colonials have started the year 3-0 at home for the first time since 2012-13 and have won four of their last five contests after opening the 2018-19 campaign 0-2.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It didn't take long for RMU to grab its first double-digit lead, 14-4, after senior forward
Malik Petteway nailed a pair of free throws with 13:41 left in the first half. The Penguins (3-5) responded by using the hot shooting of Kendale Hampton to grab their first lead, 17-14. Hampton finished with 18 points in the first half, going 6-for-8 from deep, and his three-pointer capped a 13-0 surge that gave YSU the advantage.
WEATHERING THE STORM
Robert Morris fell behind twice by four, both on three-pointers from Hampton, but came back to take the lead twice in the final 4:04 of the first half, with two big buckets coming courtesy of sophomore forward
Koby Thomas. His jump shot in the paint pushed the lead for the Colonials to 26-23, and his three-pointer with just 1:02 left in the first stanza gave RMU a 32-29 lead en route to a 32-31 edge at the break.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Youngstown State didn't hit its first field goal in the second half until the 12:11 mark, when Darius Quisenberry converted a layup in the paint. Robert Morris opened the second 20 minutes of action on a 19-1 tear to open up a 51-32 advantage. Sophomores
Charles Bain and
Jon Williams ignited the surge as each hit three-pointers, with Williams leading the way during the run with eight points. RMU has won 11 consecutive games when holding its opponent to less than 60 points dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.
QUOTABLE
"Really happy with the defense and really happy with the balanced scoring," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "That's a team that's been forcing teams into almost 14 turnovers per game, and we only finished with seven. It was a really good effort and a really good team win."
RELATED: Andy Toole Postgame Press Conference
SHOOTERS GONNA SHOOT
Senior guard
Matty McConnell struggled in the first half, failing to convert any of his six shots from the field. He rallied in the second half, hitting all four of his shots from the floor to finish the night with 12 points. He also added five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. McConnell's dunk off a steal with 8:27 to go gave the Colonials a 59-44 advantage.
QUOTABLE
"Matty has really passed the ball well, rebounded the ball really well, defended well in the early part of this season," Toole said. "Obviously his shooting isn't where he wants it to be, but it's something that he's working at. A couple of those layups in the first half just rolled off for him. He got six great shots in the first half, and if he takes those same six great shots in the second half, we feel he can make the majority of them. That's what we told him at halftime. He responded really well in the second half. He's so versatile. He makes so many winning plays for us."
BALANCED ATTACK
Robert Morris had a season-high five players score in double figures in the victory, led by Petteway with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor and a 4-for-7 performance at the free-throw line. He also added six rebounds.
Josh Williams,
Jon Williams and McConnell each scored 12 points, while Thomas chipped in 10.
TWO STREAKS SNAPPED
Jon Williams entered the game a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line on the season but in his first trip to the line went 1-for-2, opening the year with 11 consecutive conversions at the stripe before missing. Petteway, meanwhile, had knocked down 11 consecutive free throws entering the contest and pushed the streak to 14 before missing the back end of a pair with 6:32 remaining.
UP NEXT
Robert Morris returns to the road, beginning a two-game swing Saturday, Dec. 1, with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Drexel at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
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