Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team wrapped up a three-game road trip Saturday, dropping a 77-69 decision to Milwaukee at UWM Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisc. The Colonials dipped to 0-7 during the 2021-22 campaign, including 0-2 in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Fifth-year guard
Rasheem Dunn knotted the game, 61-61, with 6:16 to go on a layup, but the Panthers used a 12-2 surge to grab a 73-63 advantage. Jordan Lathon ignited the run with a three-pointer, while Josh Thomas added a pair of triples of his own to bolster Milwaukee (2-6 / 1-1 #HLMBB). RMU trimmed its deficit to 73-67 after a dunk from senior forward
Kahliel Spear and a layup from Dunn, forcing the Panthers to call a 30-second timeout. Out of the break, Donovan Newby was sent to the free-throw line after a foul with 1:40 to go, and he sank both to keep the Colonials at bay.
QUALITY START
The Colonials jumped out to a 10-3 advantage early in the contest, which was bolstered by five points from junior forward
Matt Mayers. RMU grabbed its biggest advantage, 13-5, after a three-pointer from Dunn, and the lead remained at eight, 20-12, with 9:12 left before the break thanks to another triple, this one courtesy of freshman forward
Tristian Jeffries. The Colonials knocked down a season-high 10 three-pointers, including four from sophomore guard
Kam Farris, who scored 14 points in the first half before leaving the game early after halftime with an injury.
QUOTABLE
"We've got to figure out a way to get over the hump, and we've got to figure a way to execute on both sides so that with five or six minutes left we don't have those types of breakdowns," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "The effort should never waver and should always be consistent. You may not play well but you can always play hard. We did play hard today, but we need to find a way to play hard and well. The daily habits of consistency and being reliable with the mindset we need to have in order to be successful is only going to help us moving forward. We just need to get some more guys locked in to be one point better than our opponent."
A GAME OF RUNS
Milwaukee grabbed its first at the 5:43 mark of the first half, 25-22, after a three-pointer from Patrick Baldwin, Jr. The trifecta capped an 11-0 run for the Panthers, and featured three consecutive triples from Baldwin. As a team, Milwaukee knocked down 14 of its 25 attempts (56%) from downtown, with Baldwin going 6-for-6 and Newby finishing 4-for-8. Baldwin returned from injury for the Panthers and garnered game-high honors with 26 points while also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Dunn had his most efficient game in an RMU uniform, scoring a season-high 21 points to pace the Colonials. He shot 9-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and also added six rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. In addition to the aforementioned Farris with 14 points in his 15 minutes of action, Spear added 10 points and seven rebounds.
QUOTABLE
"We have too many self-inflicted wounds at times, and those have been difficult to overcome," Toole said. "I liked the way we competed tonight, but we just have to keep getting our guys together during practice and keep working to get better. We'll keep working until we get the results we want."
UP NEXT
RMU returns home to the UPMC Events Center for its next two games. The Colonials will host Lancaster Bible Wednesday, Dec. 8, and Florida Gulf Coast Saturday, Dec. 11. Each game tips at 7:00 p.m.
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