Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened its Northeast Conference schedule Thursday with an 89-78 victory over Central Connecticut in New Britain, Conn., at Detrick Gymnasium.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU (5-9 / 1-0 NEC) scored its most points in an NEC opener in almost 15 years in the win over the Blue Devils, shooting 52.5 percent (32-for-61) from the field, including 46.7 percent (14-for-30) from beyond the arc. It marks the most points in a league opener since a 90-85 win @ Quinnipiac Dec. 10, 2005. Owning a double-digit lead at the break, 47-37, the Colonials used a 12-5 run midway through the second half to grab their biggest lead of the contest, 71-55, with 8:11 remaining. Sophomore guard
Jon Williams capped the run with a three-pointer.
NEW BRITAIN, COLONIALS
Robert Morris improved to 15-6 (.714) all-time against Central Connecticut (1-13 / 0-1 NEC) at Detrick Gymnasium. The Colonials have won seven consecutive games and improved to 7-1 under RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole at the facility. Robert Morris also improved to 8-2 (.800) in NEC openers in 10 seasons under Toole and 21-18 (.538) all-time in program history.
QUOTABLE
"It was a good offensive performance but a poor defensive performance," Toole said. "We were able to get a couple key stops late to get the win. There's a maturity to being able to score and still being able to do your job defensively. I'm not sure we're there yet. We forget about being able to complement those good offensive possessions with stops. We're not always going to shoot like we did tonight. We have to defend when we need to defend."
MY TURN
Redshirt senior guard
Josh Williams, who tied for game-high honors in scoring with 20 points, had knocked down five three-pointers in each of RMU's last two games of the non-conference schedule. He finished 4-for-6 in the win and watched as his younger brother,
Jon Williams, posted a 5-for-7 performance from beyond the arc against the Blue Devils.
Jon Williams scored a season-high 17 points in the victory and also notched four rebounds and six assists.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Junior forward
AJ Bramah recorded his fourth double-double of the 2019-20 season in his NEC debut, contributing 14 points and 14 rebounds off the bench in the win over CCSU. He shot 7-for-9 from the floor in the victory and has now scored in double figures in each of his last nine games, averaging 12.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game during that stretch.
QUOTABLE
"AJ provides great energy," Toole said. "He had a couple big offensive put backs, and those were big buckets because the game was still in the balance. I thought that allowed us to get settled in. Our guys were aggressive shooting, and we want them to be able to feel that comfort as long as it's in rhythm."
THREE IN A ROW
Robert Morris has now connected for at least 10 three-pointers in each of its last three games after tying a season high with 14 triples at Central Connecticut. The Colonials also hit 14 three-pointers in a 102-62 victory over Geneva (11/27/19) at the UPMC Events Center. RMU has also drained at least 10 three-pointers in four of its last five contests and five of its last seven.
WRAP IT UP
Robert Morris travels to North Andover, Mass., for its first-ever meeting with Merrimack Saturday, Jan. 4, at 4:00 p.m. It concludes a stretch in which the Colonials have played 12 of their first 15 games on the road. RMU opens a four-game homestand at the UPMC Events Center with just its fourth home game of the campaign Thursday, Jan. 9, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against St. Francis Brooklyn.
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