Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team claimed its ninth Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament championship Tuesday with a 77-67 victory over Saint Francis U in front of 4,034 fans at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials improved to 20-14 (.588) and earns the league's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Myles Thompson opened the game with a turnaround jump shot for SFU (22-10) for the first basket of the contest, but that would be the only lead the Red Flash would hold in the game. Junior forward
AJ Bramah answered on the other end with a layup off an offensive rebound to tie the game, and the Colonials grabbed their first lead, 4-2, on their next possession courtesy of a layup from senior forward
Yannis Mendy. Late in the first half, Robert Morris used a 7-2 surge to grab a 34-25 lead at halftime, its biggest lead at that point in the contest. Bramah opened the run with a dunk, while sophomore guard
Jalen Hawkins drilled a three-pointer.
QUOTABLE
"I couldn't be prouder of our guys," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "I'm so happy for them that they were able to achieve this goal of winning the NEC Tournament and getting to go to the NCAA Tournament. One of the toughest teams I've ever coached mentally. Guys are locked in each and every day, and as the season went they raised their level each and every time they were challenged. It's as competitive a group from top to bottom that we've coached. I'm just so happy for these guys. Holding (SFU) under 70 points is a tough, tough task, and these guys rose to the challenge."
M-V-P
Sophomore guard
Dante Treacy garnered 2020 NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors after pacing the Colonials in the win over Saint Francis U with 18 points. He also added three rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. In three games of the tournament, Treacy averaged 12.3 points, 5.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game while shooting 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from the field, including 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from beyond the arc.
QUOTABLE
"A lot of blood, sweat and tears," Treacy said. "That's kind of cliché but it's true. I went home for summer and just worked. I didn't take a day off. I worked with my brother and my pops. I stuck to that and when I came back this year I worked even harder."
EXTENSION
RMU grabbed its first double-digit lead when redshirt senior guard
Josh Williams splashed a three-pointer to give the Colonials a 37-25 cushion to open the scoring in the second half. The lead for RMU swelled to 49-32 with 15 minutes remaining after junior guard
Jon Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a putback.
Josh Williams finished with 17 points in the victory as one of four Colonials to reach double figures in scoring. He shot 5-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. Adding 12 points each were Bramah and Mendy, who each shot 5-for-8 from the floor and each also posted two steals.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Robert Morris allowed an average of 63.7 points per game in the 2020 NEC Tournament, with opponents shooting just 32.1 percent (18-for-56) from beyond the arc. The Colonials converted 49.1 percent (81-for-165) of their shots during the tournament in averaging 74.0 points per contest. Bramah paced the Colonials with averages of 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 67.7 percent (21-for-31) from the field, while
Josh Williams averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 rebounds and knocked down a team-high nine three-pointers in the three games.
UP NEXT
The 2020 March Madness Selection Show takes place Sunday, March 15, at 6:00 p.m. on CBS. The Colonials will host a special viewing party at
The Yard in Robinson that is open to fans beginning at 5:00 p.m. RMU will give out 200 NEC Championship t-shirts for fans. Ticket information will become available after the release of the full bracket during the selection show. There will be a designated amount of tickets reserved for students, and students can expect to receive information via e-mail regarding details on how to obtain tickets.
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