Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team continued a four-game homestand Saturday by pushing its winning streak to four with a 94-62 victory over Wagner at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials improved to 4-0 in the Northeast Conference with the win for the second time in three years, the third time under 10th-year RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole and the seventh time overall in program history.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Seahawks grabbed a 20-15 lead at the 7:09 mark of the first half after Curtis Cobb III knocked down a three-pointer, but Wagner (4-11 / 1-3 NEC) converted just one field goal the rest of the half and RMU used a 20-2 run to grab a 35-22 advantage at the break. Redshirt senior guard
Josh Williams knocked down a trio of three-pointers during the spurt and shot 5-for-7 from downtown in the first 20 minutes of action.
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"An outstanding performance from a shooting perspective," Toole said. "To make 10 three's in the second half is pretty remarkable and is something we're not going to rely on night in and night out. At the first media timeout we talked about defending the three-point line. From there I thought we did a good job for the remainder of the game getting those three-point shots contested or getting guys off the line."
THREE IS FOR ME
Robert Morris (8-9 / 4-0 NEC) shot 61.8 percent (21-for-34) from the field in the second half, converting 10 of its 17 attempts (58.8%) from beyond the three-point arc. The Colonials established a season high in triples with 15 as
Josh Williams finished 7-for-10 from deep while guards
Jon Williams,
Dante Treacy and
Jalen Hawkins each hit a pair. It marks the fifth time under Toole RMU has connected for at least 15 three-pointers in a game, while the Colonials also improved to 49-18 (.731) the last 10 seasons knocking down at least 10 triples in a contest.
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"Guys were swinging the ball, and the ball had energy today because everyone was sharing it," Treacy said. "My role is to distribute, look for guys and get them going. I just try to get our guys going."
WHITE HOT
Redshirt senior guard
Josh Williams paced Robert Morris by tying for game-high honors in scoring with 21 points. In RMU's 4-0 start in the NEC, Williams has shot 71 percent (22-for-31) from deep. He has hit at least five three-pointers in three consecutive games as well as five of the last six contests. Overall on the 2019-20 campaign, Williams owns seven games in which he has drilled at least five three-pointers in a game, with the Colonials 5-2 (.714) in those tilts.
THREE IN A ROW
While
Josh Williams connected for at least five three-pointers in his third consecutive game, junior forward
AJ Bramah matched a career high in scoring for the third straight contest with 16 points. He also led the Colonials with seven rebounds. Bramah tied a career high on the strength of a 10-for-14 performance at the free-throw line while converting all three of his attempts from the field. Bramah has now scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games.
DISTRIBUTING
Treacy tied a career high with 14 points in the victory over Wagner and also dished out six assists. Combined, the trio of Treacy,
Josh Williams (5) and
Jon Williams (4) finished with 15 assists against just two turnovers. Senior forward
Yannis Mendy added 13 points for the second consecutive game as four Colonials reached double figures.
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"Dante is a guy who last year was completely pass first," Toole said. "All summer long, we yelled at him and
Jon Williams about shooting the ball. We constantly talked to them about being aggressive as shooters, because that would open up some of the passing. If people have to respect you and close out on you as a shooter, then your drop offs and extra passes become available. That's how you have to play in college basketball today. Dante has been growing into that role as the season has gone on, and he was great today."
UP NEXT
RMU returns to action Saturday, Jan. 18, by welcoming Merrimack to the UPMC Events Center for a 4:00 p.m. tip. The Colonials will conclude their homestand Monday, Jan. 20, with a 5:00 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart in a game that can be seen live on CBS Sports Network.
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