Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a stretch of four games in eight days Saturday by grinding out a 57-51 win over Wagner at the North Athletic Complex. In earning their fourth consecutive win and winners of eight of nine, the Colonials improved to 12-9 overall and 7-1 in the Northeast Conference.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Robert Morris converted just two field goals in the final nine and-a-half minutes of the contest, watching a 12-point advantage shrink to a one-possession game. Both of those field goals proved to be huge. Sophomore forward
Charles Bain hit a floater with 5:52 to go that gave the Colonials a 44-40 advantage, and sophomore guard
Jon Williams hit a baseline jumper with just a minute remaining to give RMU a 49-45 lead. The Colonials sealed the win at the free-throw line, going 8-for-8 at the stripe in the final 31 seconds.
QUOTABLE
"A gutty effort by our guys," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "I'm super proud of their ability to play four games in a week and have that kind of defensive effort and rebounding effort. It wasn't pretty offensively, but that's what you get when Wagner and Robert Morris play each other. There's always a lot of effort and intensity in the game, and our guys responded, especially down the stretch when we needed to get key stops."
SURF BOARD
Robert Morris posted a 44-28 edge on the glass against Wagner, with senior guard
Matty McConnell leading the way with a career-high 12 caroms. Of his 12 boards, five came on the offensive glass. McConnell also finished the game with eight points, an assist and two steals. The +16 margin on the glass is the highest for RMU against an NCAA Division I opponent this season.
BENCH SPARK
Senior forward
Malik Petteway was the only member of the Colonials to score in double figures against the Seahawks, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field while going 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. He also posted five rebounds and a block.
FREE IS FOR ME
Wagner, which was led by Romone Saunders with 16 points and nine rebounds, finished 15-for-16 at the free-throw line, a 93.8 percent success rate. Saunders missed the lone attempt and finished the game 7-for-8 at the stripe. Robert Morris finished 16-for-18 at the line, a success rate of 88.9 percent that is a season high for the second consecutive game. McConnell went 6-for-6 and senior guard
Josh Williams finished 5-for-5 at the chalk.
QUOTABLE
"Coach has really stressed to me to be confident in my shot," sophomore guard
Jon Williams said. "I got here early and got some shots up today. I was in certain situations where I had to take some shots, and I was just confident with them. When you see some tough ones go in, you can play with confidence and a chip on your shoulder."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU grabbed an early 5-0 lead thanks to a three-pointer from sophomore guard
Jon Williams and a layup from junior forward
Yannis Mendy. The Colonials held Wagner scoreless for almost five and-a-half minutes to open the game, as Nigel Jackson connected from deep for the Seahawks at the 14:35 mark of the first half for Wagner's first field goal of the contest.
DID YOU KNOW?
Robert Morris has trailed for a total of 54 seconds during its four-game winning streak. The Colonials fell behind at Bryant, 9-8, after a three-pointer from Adam Grant with 15:03 to play in the first half in Smithfield, R.I., but jumped back in front at the 14:26 mark after a steal and layup from senior forward
Malik Petteway. RMU also trailed, 19-17, with 6:53 to go in the first half at Central Connecticut but tied the game 17 seconds later and then regained the lead for good on a jumper from
Cameron Wilbon at the 6:10 mark of the first half. The Colonials haven't trailed since.
UP NEXT
The Colonials close out a three-game homestand as well as the month of January at the North Athletic Complex Thursday, Jan. 31, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against in-state rival Saint Francis U.
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