Huntington, W. Va. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened its 2019-20 season Thursday with a 67-60 loss to Marshall as part of the 2019 Men Against Breast Cancer (MABC) Invitational at the Cam Henderson Center.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing, 58-56, with 4:29 to play, the Thundering Herd used an 8-0 surge to grab a 64-58 advantage that was capped by a dunk from Cam Brooks-Harris. RMU (0-1) suffered three turnovers during the deciding run by Marshall and went just under four minutes without scoring. Forward
AJ Bramah snapped the drought for the Colonials with a tip-in with 43 seconds left.
NEVER QUIT
RMU called timeout with 45 seconds remaining and out of the timeout guard
Jon Williams picked the pocket of Mike Beyers, recording the eighth steal of the contest for the Colonials. Robert Morris couldn't convert, however, as Bramah missed a layup. Marshall sealed the win with a pair of free throws from Jarrod West and another from Brooks-Harris.
QUOTABLE
"Our effort was good enough to win but our detail wasn't," head coach
Andrew Toole said. "I thought we did a good job of controlling the tempo of the game, but we just needed a couple of stronger, tougher decisions on the offensive end. Credit Marshall. They really raised their defensive intensity down the stretch."
INSIDE OUT
Forward
Yannis Mendy paced the Colonials in the 2019-20 season opener, knocking down seven of his eight shots from the floor for 14 points while grabbing seven rebounds and registering a pair of steals. His starting mate in the frontcourt, Bramah, notched a double-double in his NCAA Division I debut with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Combined, Mendy and Bramah recorded nine offensive caroms.
NEVER QUIT PART DEUX
Marshall owned its biggest lead of the contest at the 5:46 mark of the first half when West hit a jumper to give the Thundering Herd a 28-16 edge. The Colonials answered with a 9-0 surge to close to within 28-25 and eventually trailed at halftime, 33-27. In the second half, Robert Morris tied it, 38-38, on a three-pointer from guard
Josh Williams and eventually erased the double-digit deficit. Guard
Jalen Hawkins knocked a pair at the free-throw line at the 15:53 mark of the second half to give RMU a 40-39 advantage.
JOIN THE CLUB
Josh Williams joined the 1,000-Point Club at the 18:51 mark of the second half, as his three-pointer helped him eclipse the plateau. Williams scored 489 points in two seasons at Akron and has scored 519 points in a Robert Morris uniform. He is the 26th member of the RMU 1,000-Point Club. Williams finished with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in his 2019-20 debut.
QUOTABLE
"(Josh) is obviously a great shooter," Toole said. "He's a guy we look to to make plays or decisions late in games that are going to help put us over the top. Josh is a guy that is going to be at the top of every scouting report for our opponent. He made some key baskets when we made our charge in the second half."
UP NEXT
RMU continues play in the MABC Invitational presented by FieldTurf by traveling to South Bend, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 9, for a Noon tip against Notre Dame at the Joyce Center.
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