Emmitsburg, Md. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened its final road trip of the 2017-18 regular season Thursday with a 72-53 loss to Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena.
The Colonials suffered 19 turnovers in the contest, including 13 in the second half. The total matched a season high against a Northeast Conference opponent, which also came against the Mount at PPG Paints Arena (2/1/18).
The setback assures RMU will play its quarterfinal game in the 2018 NEC Tournament on the road.
Mount (17-13, 11-6 NEC) jumped out to a 14-4 lead, but the Colonials used a 13-3 run to tie the contest, 17-17, with 6:19 to go before halftime. Junior guard
Matty McConnell hit a pair of three-pointers, while RMU knotted the contest on back-to-back baskets from freshman guard
Chris Coalmon.
Greg Alexander would put Mount St. Mary's back on top, 18-17, by going 1-for-2 at the free throw line before sophomore guard
Dachon Burke found freshman forward
Koby Thomas in the paint for a flush to give Robert Morris (15-15, 9-8 NEC) its first lead, 19-18. Thomas was also fouled on the play and hit the free throw to give RMU a 20-18 advantage.
Brandon Leftwich answered with his own three-point play to push the Mount back in front, 21-20, which ignited a 16-4 run over the final 5:16 of the first stanza as Mount St. Mary's owned a 34-24 edge at the break.
"We lost our way in the first half from a continuing to execute stand point," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "We were able to grab the lead, but at the end of the first half Mount put together a run, which we've seen them do for years and years and years. The game was being played at our pace in the first half, but we just haven't been able to be consistent in the mindset of grinding it out."
Coalmon would help the Colonials close their deficit to 42-35 with 14:12 remaining with a three-pointer on a feed from freshman guard
Jon Williams, but Mount St. Mary's got a dunk from Chris Wray to stem the tide. Jonah Antonio would connect from deep, and Mount had its lead back to double digits, 47-37.
Robert Morris was led by Burke, who finished with 16 points and also added three rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. McConnell scored 14, while Thomas contributed nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Off the bench, Coalmon tied a career high with nine points.
Mount St. Mary's had five players reach double figures, as Wray led the way with 16 points. Alexander, Antonio and Junior Robinson each scored 11, while Bobby Planutis added 10. Robinson struggled through a 4-for-14 shooting performance, missing his first nine shots from the field before scoring all 11 of his points in the final 9:06 of action.
As a team, the Colonials shot 50 percent (11-for-22) from the field in the second half and 41.2 percent (21-for-51) overall, but Mount St. Mary's outscored Robert Morris, 30-11, in points off turnovers.
RMU concludes its 2017-18 regular season Saturday, Feb. 24, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Saint Francis U at DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pa.
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