Springfield, Mo. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a two-game road trip to open its 2018-19 campaign with a 74-60 loss to Missouri State at JQH Arena as part of the 2018 National College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing, 37-29, at the 18:29 mark of the second half, sophomore guard
Jon Williams hit a trio of three-pointers from the exact same spot on the floor, the wing closest to the Robert Morris bench, to trim RMU's deficit to 39-38. Missouri State called timeout and out of the break scored the next eight points of the contest to grab a 47-38 lead. The Colonials went over five minutes without a field goal.
QUOTABLE
"I thought we had some really good opportunities to make some shots, and we didn't make them," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "You can't win on the road scoring 60 points. It's hard when you're 14-for-64 from three in your first two games. We just have to keep getting shots at practice and hope some of those start going down."
BAIN BREAKOUT
Sophomore forward
Charles Bain scored 14 of RMU's 29 points in the first half and finished the contest with a career-high 25 points. In addition to taking home game-high honors in scoring, Bain also added five rebounds and a pair of blocks. He shot 8-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-8 from beyond the arc, and was 6-for-8 at the free-throw line.
HALF DOWNTOWN
Through two games of the 2018-19 campaign, 48.9 percent (64-of-131) of RMU's shots have come from beyond the arc. Both Bain and
Jon Williams finished 3-for-8 from deep against the Bears, with the rest of the squad going 3-for-20.
QUOTABLE
"We got a sense early that Bain would have some favorable matchups, and I thought he came out with really good focus," Toole said. "He was basically our offense in the first half. He made a lot of really nice plays and made some really good decisions. The energy was there with Charles. We just need that consistency from more guys."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
RMU outrebounded Missouri State, 36-35, including a 12-4 advantage on the offensive glass. Bain finished with four offensive caroms, while senior forward
Malik Petteway posted three offensive boards. The Colonials dipped to 88-29 (.752) under head coach
Andrew Toole when outrebounding their opponent.
UP NEXT
A two-game road trip complete to open its 2018-19 campaign, Robert Morris returns home for its first game at the North Athletic Complex with a 7:30 p.m. tip Wednesday, Nov. 14, against Mount Aloysius.
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