Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team stretched its winning streak to a season-high four games and in the process improved to 3-0 in the Northeast Conference with a 52-49 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday at the Pope P.E. Center. The Colonials evened their overall record in 2018-19 at 8-8.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing, 49-46, with 1:56 to play, RMU scored the final six points of the game to secure the win. Sophomore forward
Charles Bain knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:38 remaining to pull the Colonials to within one, and after Jalen Jordan missed a three-pointer for the Terriers (9-7 / 1-2 NEC), sophomore guard
Jon Williams drove the lane and converted his only field goal of the game to put Robert Morris in front for good, 50-49. The game featured three ties and nine lead changes.
THE LEADER
Ninth-year head coach
Andrew Toole picked up career victory No. 158 with the win over St. Francis Brooklyn, helping him surpass former coach Jarrett Durham (1984-96) for the most victories in RMU men's basketball history.
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"It was awesome," Toole said. "I told them in the locker room how proud of them I was because of their ability to continue to play even though things weren't going well for us offensively. So many teams, so many times when things aren't going well offensively, they tend to shut it down. We seemed to dig in harder. As a coach, those are the types of efforts you want to see from your team, regardless of score."
PAINT BY NUMBERS
Robert Morris got huge contributions from forwards
Yannis Mendy and
Malik Petteway against the Terriers, as each tied for team-high honors in scoring with 13 points each. Mendy finished 5-for-9 from the field and also grabbed nine rebounds, while Petteway continued to stuff the stat sheet. He shot 5-for-11, grabbed six caroms, posted four steals and rejected three shots. The duo helped RMU post a 40-32 advantage on the glass.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Colonials have won 14 consecutive games when holding opponents to less than 60 points dating back to the 2016-17 season after Thursday's win over St. Francis Brooklyn. The 49 points are the fewest by an RMU opponent this season, and during its four-game winning streak Robert Morris is allowing an average of just 55.3 points per contest.
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"The 17 offensive rebounds were huge, none bigger than the one by
Charles Bain," Toole said. "There's always ways you can help. Charles goes 1-for-6 tonight, gets in foul trouble early. He made his first three then he gets taken out of his rhythm, but he came up with a huge play late and makes big free throws. Those are the things that when you are worried about winning and winning only, that's what matters. That's what we saw tonight."
PROTECT THE ROCK
Robert Morris suffered just nine turnovers in the contest compared to 15 for St. Francis Brooklyn. The Colonials held an edge in points off turnovers (13-10), points in the paint (30-16), second-chance points (16-6) and bench points (20-7).
DEFENSIVE SLUGFEST
Robert Morris shot just 31.1 percent (19-for-61) from the field but were 12-of-15 (80%) at the free-throw line. St. Francis Brooklyn converted 39.1 percent (18-for-46) of its attempts from the field. Jalen Jordan (16 points) and Glenn Sanabria (15) combined to shoot 10-for-23, but the other eight players in the rotation for the Terriers shot 34.7 percent (8-for-23).
UP NEXT
The Colonials continue a four-game road trip Saturday, Jan. 13, with their final contest in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a 4:30 p.m. tip against LIU Brooklyn at the Wellness Center.
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