Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a three-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex Thursday with a 76-73 setback to Saint Francis U. The Colonials slipped to 12-10 overall, including 7-2 in the Northeast Conference.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Red Flash (9-11 / 5-4 NEC) built an 11-point advantage, 54-43, early in the second half and led by nine, 65-56, with 11:46 to play, but RMU used a 9-0 spurt to tie it, 65-65, with 9:14 left. Senior guard
Matty McConnell knotted the game with a driving layup and free throw after a foul by Isaiah Blackmon.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED PART DEUX
Robert Morris was unable to jump back in front after tying the game for the third time and eventually trailed, 74-73, with 45 seconds to play and McConnell heading to the free-throw line. He missed both ends, but Jamaal King missed a floater, and the Colonials had one more chance. McConnell drove from the left wing, but his pass went out of bounds, and Blackmon sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
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"I take the blame for this loss," McConnell said. "I was 6-for-11 at the free-throw line. I got to the line, missed a one-and-one, missed two free throws in a row to put us up one. I just didn't make the plays in the end. Credit to my teammates for fighting but this one's all on me."
JOINING THE CLUB
McConnell became the 25th member of the Robert Morris 1,000-Point Club with the front end of a pair of free throws at the 10:47 mark of the second half. McConnell finished with a career-high 24 points and added eight rebounds, an assist and a pair of steals. He knocked down seven of his 11 shots from the floor, including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. He owns career totals of 1,005 points and 460 rebounds.
BUILDING LEADS
Robert Morris shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the field in the first half and owned its biggest lead, 34-20, after a layup from senior forward
Malik Petteway with 4:42 left before the break. The Red Flash answered with a 16-3 run to grab a 41-39 advantage at halftime. Petteway finished with 13 points off the bench for the Colonials and also grabbed four rebounds, while senior guard
Josh Williams also reached double figures with 10 points.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Leading, 39-34, after a three-pointer from senior guard
Josh Williams with 1:23 to go in the first half, Saint Francis U scored seven points in the final 30 seconds of the stanza, getting a pair of free throws from Keith Braxton and forcing a pair of turnovers that led to a Jamaal King three-pointer and a Blackmon layup that gave the Red Flash their first lead.
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"Obviously a wild game," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "Not the way that we wanted it to turn out, but an opportunity for us to learn a lot about conference basketball, especially against the preseason No. 1 pick. Credit them for the run they made at the end of the first half. We just lost our minds there for a stretch, and that changed the game dramatically. Eventually I think it cost us the game."
THREE TEAMMATES
The trio of Jamaal King (23), Isaiah Blackmon (20) and Keith Braxton (19) combined to shoot 58.3 percent (21-for-36) from the field for SFU, including 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from beyond the arc. The Red Flash converted 52.9 percent (27-for-51) of their shots from the floor.
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"We were in this situation last year, when we were also 7-2," Toole said. "Last year we stopped doing the things that got us to be 7-2. I felt like Monday and Tuesday of this week our practices weren't as crisp as they could've been. As soon as you think you have it figured out is usually the first step in the wrong direction. That's the start of the lesson. I think a lot of guys got humbled tonight."
TIGHT GAME
Robert Morris held the lead for 18:25, while Saint Francis U owned the advantage for 19:15. The contest featured three ties and just one lead change.
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"Matty was terrific tonight," Toole said. "He's an incredible competitor. Some of that stuff like 1,000 points is for when you're old and you have kids and you can talk about it. When you're in the heat of the season and you're trying to compete like he's trying to compete, that stuff becomes secondary. He wants to win, I know that. He seemed to be everywhere all night, and if we can get that guy for the next nine games we'll be a pretty tough out."
UP NEXT
Robert Morris takes to the road to open its February slate with a 4:30 p.m. tip against Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday, Feb. 2, at Stratis Arena in Teaneck, N.J.
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