Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team snapped an eight-game slide Friday by earning an 88-82 double overtime victory over Oakland at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials improve to 4-11 (.267) overall on the 2020-21 campaign, including 3-9 (.250) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Senior guard
Jon Williams hit a pair of free throws with 34.5 seconds left in the first overtime to tie the game, 77-77. RMU forced a shot clock violation on the next possession for the Golden Grizzlies, but a jumper just inside the three-point line on the wing as time expired from Williams was off the mark. The Colonials won the tip in the second extra frame, with junior forward
Cameron Wilbon providing a slam to open the scoring on a feed from junior forward
Kahliel Spear. Two possessions later, junior guard
Dante Treacy knocked down a triple from the wing in front of the RMU bench to open up the biggest lead of the contest at that point for the Colonials, 82-77.
QUOTABLE
"An incredible battle both ways," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole. "Unbelievable effort by our guys to keep fighting, keep fighting, keep fighting. Making plays and the stops we needed down the stretch. Just really proud of the guys on how they fought and how they stayed together. The guys in that locker room have great character. Guys want to win. Some of our young guys, they don't know it yet but they have some toughness that we're trying to get out. Guys are fighting and guys are working. It's a tribute to them and their character."
BALANCED OFFENSE
Six Colonials scored in double figures in the victory, led by Spear, who registered his first double-double in an RMU uniform with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. He also blocked three shots for RMU, extending his streak for games with at least one block to five. During the last five games, Spear has racked up 11 rejections and leads the Colonials in the category with 19. Senior forward
Charles Bain also came up big for RMU with 12 points, including a pair of big three-pointers. His first trimmed RMU's deficit to 71-66 with 3:31 to go in regulation, while the second tied the game, 75-75, with 2:42 remaining in the first overtime.
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"(Kahliel) played great," Toole said. "That's the stuff that he's capable of. The consistency piece is what we're continuing to talk to him about, but that last rebound and the tip-in he had to make it a six-point game, those plays were huge. I still think he had some opportunities to finish some other stuff around the rim, but he can continue to grow and develop from what he did tonight, which is pretty incredible."
FREE BASKETBALL
For the first time in school history RMU went to overtime for the third consecutive game, and the win Friday marked the program's fifth overtime contest of the season. That ties a season record, as the 1988-89 Colonials as well as the 1999-00 squad each went to five overtimes. RMU improved to 10-9 (.526) in 11 seasons under Toole when playing free basketball as well as 32-31 (.508) overall in 45 years as an NCAA Division I program when playing overtime. In double overtime, the Colonials improved to 1-1 (.500) under Toole when playing 10 extra minutes of hoops. During the 2018-19 campaign, RMU dropped a 97-94 double OT decision @ Fairleigh Dickinson (2/2/19).
QUOTABLE
"It felt good to get back in the win column," Williams said. "The way that we did it was RMU basketball. That's how we win games. It's not always pretty and it's not always cute, but it's gritty. We grinded that one out and it felt great to do it that way. I'm anxious to get back out on the court tomorrow and do it again."
MO CHEEKS
Freshman guard
Enoch Cheeks gave RMU a huge spark off the bench Friday with a career-high 15 points. He knocked down five of his six shots from the field, including a 2-for-3 performance from beyond the arc. Freshman guard
Trayden Williams added 10 points, three assists and two steals as the reserves for the Colonials outscored the Oakland (8-16 / 8-9 Horizon League) bench, 31-5.
Jon Williams and Treacy each added 10 points for RMU and also combined for 14 assists.
UP NEXT
The Colonials conclude their two-game set as well as their home regular-season schedule Saturday with a 5:00 p.m. tip against the Golden Grizzlies.
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