Moon Township, Pa. – For the second consecutive day and fourth occasion in the last seven games the RMU men's basketball team lost a game in overtime, falling to Youngstown State Saturday at the UPMC Events Center, 70-66. The Colonials dip to 3-11 (.214) overall in 2020-21, including 2-9 (.182) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Clutch shooting for the Colonials again helped send the game to the extra session Saturday, as a floater in the lane from junior
Cameron Wilbon with 1.1 seconds left in regulation tied the contest, 58-58. RMU held a 62-60 advantage with 2:45 to go in overtime after another floater, this one courtesy of senior guard
Jon Williams, but Michael Akuchie answered on the other end for Youngstown State (10-10 / 6-10 Horizon League) with a layup off one of his UPMC Events Center record 24 rebounds. The Penguins grabbed the lead for good thanks to a pair of free throws from Darius Quisenberry with 1:14 remaining, and Naz Bohannon's layup with 38 seconds left gave YSU a four-point lead.
QUOTABLE
"Is anybody feeling a bad case of déjà vu here or what?" RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "The frustrations continue. We'll continue to work and continue to search to get better and try to get over the top on the tough games we're losing right now. We're battling at times. We really can't battle long enough. Everything is hard right now, but they've been resilient. They've come back after all this frustration and continued to fight. They sent the game to overtime and continue to give themselves opportunities and chances. They keep battling and keep grinding and they want to win. We want them to win. Again, can you combine the effort with some detail?"
GROUNDHOG DAY
RMU is one game shy of the school record for overtime games in a season. The Colonials went to the extra session five times during the 1988-89 season, going 2-3 (.400) in those contests. RMU finished 21-9 (.700) that season and went to the 1989 NCAA Tournament. The back-to-back overtime games against Youngstown State this weekend at the UPMC Events Center marks the second time under Toole RMU has turned the trick. In Toole's first season at the helm in 2010-11, the Colonials earned a 79-76 win in the extra session @ Ohio (1/2/11) to close out their non-conference schedule before dropping an 83-78 overtime decision @ Wagner (1/6/11) in their return to Northeast Conference (NEC) play.
QUOTABLE
"We talk a lot that there's two ways to learn," Toole said. "The easy way and the hard way. We've certainly embraced the hard way right now. If you just put everything in the rearview mirror, you don't learn the lessons. You keep getting taught the same lesson until you can show that you understand it. We're continually getting taught the same lesson. Hopefully we're building some scar tissue to be able to set the stage for a strong finish."
BULLISH
Senior forward
AJ Bramah was held without a field goal in the first half but registered his third consecutive double-double as well as the sixth in his last seven games. Bramah scored a team-high 17 points and corralled 16 rebounds, matching a season high. Bramah has grabbed at least 15 rebounds in a game five times during his two seasons with the Colonials, and he also added a career-high four blocks and a pair of steals Saturday against the Penguins. Freshman guard
Trayden Williams added a career-high 16 points off the bench, converting seven of his 13 attempts from the field. He also grabbed four rebounds and handed out three assists.
QUOTABLE
"We need to improve on defense and be more urgent on defense," freshman guard
Trayden Williams said. "It's the details. If we knock out the little things, we can be in a good position. We keep our heads high, because we know we're a good team. We just have to come back with more firepower against Oakland next week."
UP NEXT
RMU concludes the home portion of its 2020-21 slate with a two-game set against Oakland at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials and Golden Grizzlies will square off Friday, Feb. 12, at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 13, at 5:00 p.m.
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