Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team concluded the home portion of its 2020-21 schedule Saturday, dropping an 86-81 decision to Oakland at the UPMC Events Center. The Golden Grizzlies earned a split in the two-game set, dropping the Colonials to 4-12 (.250) overall, including 3-10 (.231) in the Horizon League
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Less than five minutes into the contest, Oakland grabbed a 16-6 advantage after a Rashad Williams layup. The lead eventually swelled to the largest of the game for the Golden Grizzlies, 41-22, as Williams was the driving offensive force. He finished with 14 points in the first half on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. Williams garnered game-high honors with 23 points and in the two-game set against the Colonials shot 13-for-27 from downtown, a success rate of 48.1 percent.
QUOTABLE
"A tough loss," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "We made too many mistakes and had too many self-inflicted wounds to come back and win the game. You can be there on (Rashad's) catch, and you can be guarding him with the ball, but he's still able to elevate it and get it to a place where he can make a shot. There's very few guys that can do that. Jon, Trayden, those guys are literally blanketed on him, and he's still able to get it a place where he can get a release off. It's a special talent, because he needs zero space to get a shot off."
WILLIAMS VS. WILLIAMS
While Rashad Williams finished 7-for-10 from beyond the arc Saturday, senior guard
Jon Williams matched the performance for RMU in scoring a career-high 22 points. He also added three rebounds and six assists Saturday and was honored during pregame ceremonies, along with senior forward
Charles Bain, with each family introducing the pair of seniors as part of the starting lineup on the video board at the UPMC Events Center. Thanks to his seven triples against the Golden Grizzlies, Williams pushed his career total for three-pointers to 201, becoming the 11th RMU student-athlete in program history to knock down at least 200 field goals from beyond the arc. He is tied for 10th with former guard Karvel Anderson (2012-14).
QUOTABLE
"Senior Night is always hard," Toole said. "It's emotional. To have a guy like Jon, who has started every game in his career and meant so much to this program. To have a guy like Charles, who is in the rotation, off-and-on again starter and has made some big shots. Those two guys mean a lot to this program and will continue to mean a lot to this program as we move forward. We knew that the Williams family and the Bain family would come through with high-level intros, and it brought a smile to those guys' face. Not exactly the way we would want to have it done, but it was the best we could with the circumstances."
CHARGE
Despite falling behind by 19 in the first half, RMU closed to within five, 71-66, with 4:37 to play after a driving layup from freshman guard
Trayden Williams. The bucket capped an 11-4 surge for the Colonials. Micah Parrish helped stem the tide for the Golden Grizzlies with a pair of free throws, and after an empty possession for RMU, Williams pushed the Oakland lead back to double-digits, 76-66, with a three-pointer from the corner.
BACK-TO-BACK
Junior guard
Dante Treacy posted back-to-back double figure scoring efforts with a season-high 16 points Saturday against the Golden Grizzlies. He also added three rebounds, a team-high seven assists and four steals. Bain also reached double figures in consecutive games for the first time this season by matching a season high with 12 points while adding seven rebounds.
QUOTABLES
"One thing about this group is that we're resilient,"
Jon Williams said. "We always have that fight in us and we're always going to play hard. We do respond well to Coach Toole. He's an intense guy, and that's where our identity is. It's that intensity and that toughness."
UP NEXT
RMU concludes its regular season with a pair of games at Detroit Mercy. The Colonials open a two-game series with the Titans Friday, Feb. 19, at 6:00 p.m. before concluding the set Saturday, Feb. 20, with a 5:00 p.m. tip.
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