Pittsburgh, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened its final homestand of the 2017-18 regular season Thursday with an 83-60 victory over Bryant at the A.J. Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University.
Thanks to the win, RMU clinched a spot in the 2018 Northeast Conference Tournament. It marks the 15th consecutive year the Colonials have earned a spot in the NEC tourney, the longest active streak in the league.
The Bulldogs came out of the gates hot, grabbing leads of 9-5, 20-12 and 23-16 in the first 10 minutes of action. Bosko Kostur supplied seven points in the early going for Bryant, while Ikenna Ndugba contributed five points.
Freshman guard
Jon Williams knocked down a three-pointer with 9:35 to go in the first half, which helped ignite a 30-9 surge for Robert Morris (15-13, 9-6 NEC) the rest of the half. Williams connected on a trio of triples to help bolster the salvo.
The Colonials grabbed their first lead, 25-24, after freshman forward
Koby Thomas knocked down a pair of free throws at the 7:56 mark of the first half. He added two more at the stripe just 20 seconds later, and a three-pointer from Williams, a hook from redshirt freshman
David Cole and a layup from freshman forward
Charles Bain gave RMU a 34-26 lead.
Bryant (3-25, 2-13 NEC) called timeout to try and stem the tide, with Hunter Ware getting to the chalk and knocking down a pair to close the deficit for the Bulldogs to 34-28. Bain came through again with a driving layup to answer, and another three-pointer from Williams gave Robert Morris its first double-digit advantage, 39-28.
RMU eventually entered halftime with a 46-32 cushion after converting 53.3 percent (16-for-30) of its shots in the first 20 minutes of action, including 50 percent (5-for-10) from deep. Thomas reached double figures with 11 points in the first half on the strength of a 7-for-10 performance at the free-throw line.
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Junior guard
Matty McConnell knocked down a three-pointer early in the second stanza to push the lead for Robert Morris to 51-32 before Bryant used a 12-4 spurt to close to within 55-45 with 13:29 to go. The run was capped by a three-point play from Brandon Carroll.
Sophomore guard
Dachon Burke followed with consecutive layups, including one off a steal, to give the Colonials a 59-45 edge, and Bain and Burke followed with three-pointers to snuff out the rally by the Bulldogs.
"I think our guys did a great job defensively from about the 11-minute mark of the first half all the way through the rest of the game," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "We were able to turn the tide a little bit. We slowed them offensively, were able to take the lead and then continue that in the second half. That was really key for us getting the victory tonight."
Burke scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the second half to pace Robert Morris. He shot 11-for-14 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and added five rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals.
"Dachon is making some good choices on what shots to take and what shots not to take," Toole said. "On the first play he drove and then dropped it off to
Charles Bain, and then he did it again. If he can start making defenses wonder what's going to happen when he gets into the lane, it's going to make him that much harder to guard. He's also starting to play with some poise."
Thomas chipped in 15 points and tied for game-high honors in rebounds (8) with Bain, while McConnell (13) and Williams (11) also scored in double figures.
Bryant was led by Kostur, who finished with 16 points off the bench. Ware and Ndugba each scored 12 for the Bulldogs, but RMU kept leading scorer Adam Grant in check all night. Grant finished with just two points, going 1-for-16 from the field, including 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Robert Morris will conclude the home portion of its 2017-18 slate Saturday, Feb. 17, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Central Connecticut at the Palumbo Center.
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