Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team returned to Horizon League play Thursday, dropping a 79-61 decision to Oakland in Rochester, Mich., at the Athletics Center O'Rena. The Colonials slipped to 2-10 (.167) overall during the 2021-22 campaign, including 0-3 in #HLMBB action.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Sophomore guard
Kam Farris connected from beyond the arc with 15:59 remaining that helped RMU trim its deficit to 48-47, but the Golden Grizzlies used a 23-6 run to take control. Oakland shot 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) from the floor during the surge and got 10 points from Jamal Cain, who garnered game-high honors in both scoring and rebounding with 22 points and 14 boards. Also notching a double-double for the Golden Grizzlies was Jalen Moore, who scored 15 points and added 10 assists. He contributed six points during the deciding run for Oakland.
QUOTABLE
"We just ran out of gas and weren't able to sustain the effort for a full 40 minutes," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "They made some adjustments to their zone, and we weren't able to attack it the way I think we did earlier in the game. We had some good looks that we didn't make and then had a few possessions where we turned it over, and they took advantage. Oakland is a very good team, and they wore us down over 40 minutes. I thought we moved the ball well and were able to step into some shots, but we weren't able to make shots in the second half the way we were in the first half."
FAST START
RMU shot 57.7 percent (15-for-26) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action as the first half featured nine ties and a pair of lead changes. It was a balanced offensive performance for the Colonials, who received eight points each from Farris and junior forward
Jaron Williams. Williams, who had missed four of the last five games, helped offset the losses of fifth-year guard
Rasheem Dunn and junior forward
Justin Winston, as each missed Thursday's tilt against the Golden Grizzlies. RMU fell behind, 5-0 and 10-5, before using a 10-4 surge to grab a 15-14 advantage after sophomore guard
Enoch Cheeks knocked down a three-pointer. Blake Lampman answered the triple by Cheeks with one of his own to push Oakland (8-4 / 3-0 #HLMBB) back in front, 17-14.
QUOTABLE
"We've got to keep guys engaged and keep coaching the guys that are available to play," Toole said. "Whether you're going to play four minutes or 40 minutes, we need to have our guys ready to go every time we step on the court. We have to appreciate every time we get on the court and go play, because you never know when that could be taken away with everything that is going on with COVID. I can tell from a player's perspective there is some frustration. It's kind of déjà vu. We have to keep doing the best we can with the guys we have available."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Williams contributed 12 points and four rebounds off the bench in 26 minutes, with Farris garnering team-high honors in scoring for the Colonials with 14 points. He also added four assists as RMU notched 19 assists on its 25 field goals. Junior guard
Michael Green III was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Dunn and finished with nine points and six dimes, while senior forward
Kahliel Spear finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
RMU had its game Saturday, Jan. 1, at Detroit Mercy canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests among tier I individuals within the UDM program. The Colonials are next in action Wednesday, Jan. 5, by opening a five-game homestand at the UPMC Events Center with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Youngstown State.
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