Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened a two-game swing through Brooklyn, N.Y., Thursday with a 78-57 loss to St. Francis Brooklyn at the Pope Athletic Complex.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Colonials could never get on track offensively, shooting just 31.3 percent (10-for-32) in the first half and 38.1 percent (24-for-63) overall. The Terriers (9-10 / 3-4 NEC) grabbed an early 10-3 advantage after Chauncey Hawkins converted a four-point play after drilling a three-pointer while getting fouled by junior guard
Jon Williams. St. Francis Brooklyn grabbed its first double-digit advantage, 20-10, at the 8:35 mark of the first half after a dunk from Christian Rohlehr, who scored eight points in the first 20 minutes as the Terriers owned a 41-25 lead at halftime.
NO SLOW DOWN
St. Francis Brooklyn shot 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the field in the victory, including 57.7 percent (15-for-26) in the second half. It was a balanced attack, as five Terriers scored in double figures. Deniz Celen and Hawkins each scored 15 points to pace St. Francis Brooklyn, while Unique McLean added 13. The trio combined to shoot 19-for-31 (61.3%) from the floor while grabbing 20 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists.
KEEP CONVERTING
Junior forward
AJ Bramah hit his first three shots from the field before missing a jumper with 4:10 left before the break. It stretched his streak for consecutive field goals to 16 dating back to RMU's tilt against Merrimack (1/18/20) at the UPMC Events Center. Bramah led Robert Morris (9-11 / 5-2 NEC) for the third consecutive game in scoring with a career-high 19 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists and notched a steal. Bramah shot 8-for-10 from the floor against the Terriers in stretching his streak for double-figure scoring games to 15.
TIP-INS
Bramah pulled the Colonials to within 44-34 at the 17:06 mark of the second half with a tip-in off a missed layup from senior forward
Yannis Mendy, but Celen converted a layup and Stevan Krtinic connected from beyond the arc to push the lead for St. Francis Brooklyn to 49-34. Robert Morris wasn't able to get its deficit to single digits in the second half. Sophomore guard
Dante Treacy contributed 13 points and three assists, while redshirt senior guard
Josh Williams finished with 10 points.
UP NEXT
Robert Morris will conclude its trip to New York City Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. tip against LIU at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat | YouTube
