Cork, Ireland – A rapid three days in which the
Robert Morris University men's basketball team visited the Statue of Liberty, flew across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Dublin, Ireland, culminated Thursday night with a 105-66 exhibition victory over Neptune Basketball Club at Neptune Stadium.
Prior to flying across the pond, the Colonials had the opportunity to visit the neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Upon arriving in Ireland, RMU visited the Rock of Cashel Wednesday before setting its sights on the Blarney Castle Thursday afternoon. A few of the RMU student-athletes took the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone, as well.
In its first exhibition of the tour against Neptune, Robert Morris played under FIBA International rules, which include four 10-minute quarters and a 24-second shot clock. Leading, 49-43, at halftime, RMU took control by holding Neptune to just 10 points in the third quarter in opening up an 83-53 advantage.
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Robert Morris hit seven three-pointers in the frame, including three each from senior guards
Matty McConnell and
Josh Williams. Overall in the contest, the Colonials connected 13 times from beyond the international arc, led by McConnell and Williams, who had four each.
Four of RMU's five starters reached double figures in the victory, led by McConnell with 21 points. Sophomore forward
Koby Thomas added 20, sophomore forward
Charles Bain scored 19 and Williams finished with all 12 of his points in the second half.
"It's nice to have basketball season in August," head coach
Andy Toole said. "At halftime we talked about defensive urgency. We really tightened it up in the third quarter. That's what we hang our hats on, and it was nice to see in the first competition for a lot of young players. Offensively I thought we had really good ball movement tonight, especially finding the open man. When you do that consistently, we have good enough shooters to knock down those type of shots."
RELATED: Postgame Comments From Head Coach Andy Toole
Thomas added a team-high six rebounds for Robert Morris as well as registering two blocks, while sophomore guard
Jon Williams, who connected for a pair of three-pointers, dished out five assists. McConnell and
Josh Williams also combined for 14 assists and steals, with
Josh Williams posting four steals and three helpers.
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The Colonials continue their first foreign tour in program history Sunday, August 12, with a 3:00 p.m. EST tip against Moycullen Basketball Club in Galway, Ireland. Prior to its next game, RMU will visit the Charles Fort in Kinsale as well as the Cliffs of Moher.
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