Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded a three-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex Saturday by earning its third consecutive win with a 62-59 triumph over Mount St. Mary's. The Colonials improved to 7-8 overall on the 2018-19 campaign, including 2-0 in the Northeast Conference for the second straight year and fourth time in nine years under head coach
Andrew Toole.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing, 59-58, senior guard
Josh Williams converted in the lane with 13.4 seconds left to push RMU in front, 60-59. The Mount (3-12 / 0-2 NEC) called timeout, and out of the break Vado Morse drove the lane but couldn't convert, with freshman guard
Cameron Wilbon snaring the rebound with a hustle play.
Josh Williams was then fouled with 1.3 seconds remaining, and he hit both to give Robert Morris a three-point lead. Mount's desperation three-pointer by Omar Habwe as time expired hit the front of the rim.
QUOTABLE
"We're fortunate to get out of here with a win," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "Credit Mount St. Mary's and their performance in the second half. They dictated the entire tempo of the second half on both ends of the floor. Somehow we figured out a way to get it done, and what's most encouraging is we got a lot of great efforts from a lot of different guys. We necessarily didn't shoot it great, but when we needed a big shot, Josh (Williams) came up with one for us."
BUILDING A LEAD
Robert Morris never trailed in the first half, grabbing its biggest lead, 30-16, with 1:50 left before halftime courtesy of a jump shot from senior forward
Malik Petteway. Mount St. Mary's closed to within 30-19 at the break thanks to a Habwe three-pointer. The bench was the difference, as the reserves for the Colonials outscored the Mount bench in the first half, 15-0.
BAND ON THE RUN
Mount St. Mary's opened the second half with a 14-6 run to close to within three, 36-33, but RMU was able to stem the tide, as sophomore forward
Charles Bain connected from beyond the arc and Petteway provided a dunk. The Mount answered with a 9-2 spurt to tie the game, 45-45, and followed by grabbing its first lead of the contest, 51-50, with 5:23 left after Collin Nnamene converted in the paint.
START NO. 100
Matty McConnell became just the seventh player in school history to make 100 career starts, as he accomplished the feat Saturday against the Mount. He was one of three Colonials to score 11 points to lead Robert Morris and also added eight rebounds, three assists and a block. McConnell pushed his career point total to 922 in the win, and over the last two seasons RMU has posted a record of 19-7 (.731) when the senior guard scores in double figures.
I'LL DO IT PETTEWAY
Senior forward
Malik Petteway notched his third double-double of the season against the Mount with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-6 at the free-throw line and also added a pair of steals and a block. During RMU's three-game homestand, Petteway averaged 14.0 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 63 percent (17-for-27) from the floor. In addition to the double-double from Petteway, senior forward
Yannis Mendy finished with a game-high 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass as the Colonials held a 45-31 edge in rebounding.
QUOTABLE
"We knew that they were going to fight," senior guard
Josh Williams said. "Once they took the lead, we just gathered ourselves and tried to calm each other down. We just stuck to what we know."
BENCH SPARK
In addition to the exploits from Petteway, freshman guard
Cameron Wilbon notched his first career double-figure scoring game with 10 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. He knocked down five of his nine shots from the field.
QUOTABLE
"I just try and make sure every time I step on the court I have urgency," Wilbon said. "That's one of the things that I struggle with. Coach Toole says sometimes I'm too lax, so I just make sure every time I step on the floor I'm focused and make sure I play defense. That's the thing I focus the most on."
UP NEXT
Robert Morris takes to the road for its next four games, opening its trip in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Colonials visit St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday, Jan. 10, for a 9:00 p.m. tip in a game that can be seen live on CBS Sports Network before wrapping its swing through the Big Apple at LIU Brooklyn Saturday, Jan. 12.
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