Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team concluded its non-conference slate Wednesday with a 75-67 victory over Saint Francis U in Loretto, Pa., at DeGol Arena. The Colonials improved to 2-9 (.182) overall during the 2021-22 season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Maxwell Land converted in the lane to give the Red Flash (4-7) a 22-16 lead with 6:21 to go before halftime, but the Colonials responded with a 19-5 surge to grab a 35-27 lead with under a minute to play before the break. Junior forward Matt Mayers scored the first five points of the run, and back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore guards Kam Farris and Enoch Cheeks pushed RMU in front, 27-22. Fifth-year guard Rasheem Dunn capped the spurt with a three-pointer before Myles Thompson connected from deep as time expired in the first half to settle the score after 20 minutes at 35-30 in favor of the Colonials.
STEPPING ON THE GAS
RMU scored the first six points of the second half to grab its first double-digit advantage, 41-30, at the 17:53 mark after a layup from Dunn, and a 12-4 burst helped give the Colonials their largest lead of the contest, 55-39, with 12:07 to play. Mayers started that run with a three-pointer, while sophomore forward Brandon Stone also connected from beyond the arc for RMU. Senior forward Kahliel Spear helped keep the cushion at 16 with 7:40 remaining with his lone field goal, a dunk after an offensive rebound that gave the Colonials a 64-48 advantage.
QUOTABLE
"That's about as good of a Christmas present as you can get," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole said. "Really proud of our effort tonight. We were a little bit sluggish to start, but to our guys credit there was great communication. Everybody on the bench and in huddles was communicating about continuing to work and continuing to fight. We did a really nice job on the defensive side of making their life difficult. We talked in the pregame mean what you say and say what you mean. Defense. Effort. Toughness in the paint. Our guys did the heavy lifting. Hopefully this is something we can build on."
PERFECTION
Mayers recorded his first career double-double Wednesday against the Red Flash with 16 points and 11 rebounds and became the second member of the Colonials in as many years to produce a perfect shooting night on the road. Mayers finished 6-for-6 from the field, connecting on his lone three-point attempt, and was also 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. Mayers joins Farris on the active roster to produce a perfect shooting night away from home, as Farris finished 6-for-6 from the field, including 5-for-5 from international waters, for 17 points in a 102-88 triumph @ Purdue Fort Wayne (12/26/20) in the first Horizon League game for the Colonials. Also producing a perfect shooting game on the road in program history for RMU were guards Bubba Donnelly (1991-95), Tony Lee (2004-08) and Jimmy Langhurst (2006-10).
QUOTABLE
"Matt is still coming along and has a lot of room to grow, but I thought he made some huge plays in the first half and finished in the second half," Toole said. "He had a couple great wall-ups defensively, so hopefully this will give him some confidence and he can build off of that effort."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Dunn led all scorers in the contest for RMU with 21 points as part of a complete performance, as he added six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. His defensive rebound after SFU missed a pair of three-point opportunities late and two free throws with 19 seconds to go helped seal the win for the Colonials. Cheeks added 13 points and eight caroms for RMU, which shot 48.3 percent (29-for-60) from the field in the triumph. More importantly, the Colonials put forth their best defensive effort of the season, holding the Red Flash to a field goal percentage of 38.6 percent (22-for-57).
UP NEXT
RMU returns to Horizon League play to close out a four-game road trip. The Colonials visit Oakland Thursday, Dec. 30, for a 7:00 p.m. tip before traveling to Detroit Mercy to open the 2022 calendar year with a 3:00 p.m. tip on New Year's Day.
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