Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team concluded the home portion of its 2021-22 non-conference schedule Saturday, falling to Florida Gulf Coast at the UPMC Events Center, 85-74. The Colonials slipped to 1-8 (.111) overall.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Colonials grabbed an early 12-8 advantage, with sophomore guard
Enoch Cheeks connecting for a pair of three-pointers, while junior forward
Matt Mayers provided a flush on a feed from guard
Michael Green III. The Eagles responded with a 14-0 surge to open up a 22-12 advantage midway through the first half. Caleb Catto scored five points to bolster FGCU (9-3), while Kevin Samuel contributed four points.
A GAME OF RUNS
The lead remained in double digits for the Eagles, 28-18, before RMU used a 10-2 run to close to within 30-28 at the 4:02 mark of the first half. The spurt was fueled by fifth-year guard
Rasheem Dunn, who scored eight of those points, while Cheeks added a fastbreak layup. Florida Gulf Coast weathered the storm, scoring the next eight points of the contest to push its lead back to double digits en route to a 44-35 cushion at the break.
QUOTABLE
"Another frustrating game," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "There were stretches of time where I thought we played pretty well and played hard, but we're just not able to do it long enough. Hats off to (FGCU). They executed well and they shot the ball well. We can't get stops. It's a commitment on the defense side, whatever defense it is. Man, zone, press. It doesn't matter if you're not going to be able to communicate, to be disciplined, to rebound. It doesn't matter what defense you play. That's where it gets so frustrating."
INSIDE OUT
The FGCU combo of Tavian Dunn-Martin and Kevin Samuel combined for 49 points in the victory for the Eagles, with each recording a double-double. Dunn-Martin finished 9-for-18 from beyond the arc en route to a 31-point performance while also dishing out 12 assists. Samuel converted nine of his 11 shots from the floor in scoring 18 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. RMU closed to within 53-45 with 14:51 to go after a hook shot in the paint from junior forward
Justin Winston, but on the next possession Dunn-Martin dropped in another three-pointer, helping keep the Colonials at bay and the advantage in double digits for the Eagles. Florida Gulf Coast owned a 40-26 advantage in rebounding, grabbing 13 offensive caroms as a team.
SPEARMINT
Senior forward
Kahliel Spear led four Colonials in double figures against the Eagles with 20 points and 11 rebounds, his third double-double of the 2021-22 campaign and fourth of his RMU career. He shot 8-for-11 from the floor and also added a pair of assists and a block. Dunn added 16 points and seven assists, Cheeks finished with 11 points, four boards and three dimes and Winston scored 10 points.
QUOTABLE
"We have to have some guys we can rely on on the defensive side, and I don't know what the answer is," Toole said. "It's a mindset. We get into practice settings and we want to do a rebounding drill or a toughness drill, and everybody gets hesitant. You are what your habits are. So when we get hesitant in those moments in practice, you're going to get hesitant in those moments in a game. We're just giving up too many layups. We need some rim protection. There's two ways to protect the rim. Charge takes and blocked shots. Enoch took a charge tonight, which might be our first charge of the year in a game."
UP NEXT
RMU has a week off before opening a four-game road trip with a 2:00 p.m. tip Sunday, Dec. 19, at Bowling Green. The Colonials will also visit Saint Francis U Wednesday, Dec. 22, before concluding the trip with a pair on the road in Horizon League action.
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