Louisville, Ky. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded the road portion of its 2018-19 non-conference schedule Friday with a 73-59 loss to Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Sophomore forward
Charles Bain knocked down three-pointers on consecutive possessions that helped the Colonials open up a 39-31 lead at the 17:53 mark of the second half, but a 9-0 surge pushed Louisville in front, 40-39. Senior guard
Josh Williams got the Colonials back on top, 41-40, with a jumper, but the Cardinals scored the next 11 points of the contest to grab their first double-digit lead, 51-41. RMU (4-8) went four and-a-half minutes without a field goal and couldn't recover.
QUOTABLE
"I liked the way we competed, and that's something we talked about in the locker room after the game, because recently I really haven't liked the way we competed," head coach
Andrew Toole. "We came out and really established ourselves at the beginning of the game. I liked the way ball moved, there was good communication in timeouts. I'll coach that team all day."
HOT START
Bain opened the scoring with a three-pointer and at the 19:24 mark of the first half and despite falling behind by four a total of three times in the first six minutes of the game, Robert Morris knocked down shots and used a 15-3 run to grab a 25-17 lead. The bench provided the spark, scoring 11 consecutive points during the surge, including five points from junior guard
Sayveon McEwen.
BLOCK PARTY
Malik Petteway arguably had his most impressive game in an RMU uniform against Louisville (9-3), as he stuffed the stat sheet. The senior forward scored 10 points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded three steals. But it was his effort in the paint on the defensive end that shined brightest. Petteway established a career high with five rejections, the most blocks by a member of the Colonials since Elijah Minnie finished with six @ Bryant (1/23/16).
QUOTABLE
"Malik is a guy we always want to get the ball to," Toole said. "We try to get the ball to (
Yannis Mendy), too. You have to be a team that plays inside-out as much as you can to be successful. That changes how teams defend you. Malik was really active tonight on both ends of the floor. We need that type of performance out of him consistently."
THE DARKNESS IS YOUR ALLY
Bain paced Robert Morris with 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor while knocking down each of his three attempts from the field and the free-throw line. Quietly, over his last five games Bain is providing the Colonials with an average of 12.4 points per game.
DISHING IT OUT
RMU's starting backcourt of
Matty McConnell,
Josh Williams and
Jon Williams combined for 13 assists against Louisville, including a career-high six from
Josh Williams. McConnell contributed three dimes and no turnovers as Robert Morris finished with six fewer miscues (10-16) than the Cardinals.
STREAK SNAPPED
Senior guard
Josh Williams finished with six points against the Cardinals and went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. He had his streak of nine consecutive games with at least two three-pointers snapped after tying the school record that was originally established by former guard Karvel Anderson (2012-14) in 2012-13.
UP NEXT
RMU concludes its 2018-19 non-conference schedule with a home game at the North Athletic Complex. The Colonials will welcome Hood College for a 4:00 p.m. tip Saturday, Dec. 29.
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