Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team concluded its 2019-20 regular season Saturday with a 78-68 victory over Saint Francis U at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center. Thanks to the win, RMU clinches its second consecutive winning season, improving to 17-4 overall, including 13-5 in the Northeast Conference. The Colonials also clinch the No. 1 seed in the 2020 NEC Tournament, which opens Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Robert Morris shot 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from the field in the first half and was aided by an 8-for-15 performance in the first 20 minutes of action from beyond the arc. Redshirt senior guard
Josh Williams knocked down three triples, while guards
Jon Williams and
Sayveon McEwen each added a pair. McEwen earned his first career start Saturday against the Red Flash (20-9 / 13-5 NEC) and scored eight points in the victory in 13 and-a-half minutes.
THE RUN
The Colonials owned a 24-21 advantage at the 9:14 mark of the first half after Isaiah Blackmon converted a trio of attempts at the free-throw line for SFU to make it a one-possession game. Senior forward
Yannis Mendy hit a floater in the lane to spark a 17-6 surge that gave RMU its biggest lead in the first half, 41-27.
Josh Williams scored 10 points during the run, while junior forward
AJ Bramah capped it with a dunk off a feed from junior forward
Charles Bain.
QUOTABLE
"A great team effort from our guys, on both sides of the ball," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "That's what you need if you're going to beat a team like Saint Francis. I thought we really did as well as we could to control the tempo of the game. They're so good in transition and on the break. Our guys had a maximum amount of urgency tonight to get the win."
CHARGING BACK
Josh Williams hit a three-pointer with 15 minutes to play that gave the Colonials their largest advantage of the afternoon, 54-37, and Robert Morris still owned a double-digit advantage 66-55, with 5:36 to play after sophomore
Dante Treacy converted a three-point play. The Red Flash responded with an 8-2 run to close to within 67-63 after a layup from Ramir Dixon-Conover.
THE BIG SHOT
On the following possession for the Colonials, sophomore guard
Jalen Hawkins broke free and nailed a three-pointer from the wing in front of the RMU bench to stem the tide, pushing the advantage to 70-63. Robert Morris was able to seal the win at the free-throw line, going 6-for-6 in the final three minutes.
QUOTABLE
"Anytime Robert Morris and Saint Francis get together it's going to be an intense, hard-fought game, and today was no different," Toole said. "Last Tuesday we didn't break anything to that. I thought we needed to respond a lot better, and I thought our urgency to do some of the little detail stuff was a lot cleaner."
LEADING THE WAY
Josh Williams led the way with a team-high 23 points as the Colonials snapped a nine-game losing streak to Saint Francis. Bramah added 12 points and nine rebounds, while
Jon Williams contributed 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Keith Braxton scored a game-high 24 points for the Red Flash and also registered a double-double with 12 rebounds. Blackmon added 21 points for SFU but finished just 5-for-19 from the floor, including 3-for-12 from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
Robert Morris opens the 2020 NEC Tournament Wednesday, March 4, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against St. Francis Brooklyn at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center. Tickets are on sale now via
Ticketmaster.
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