Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team opened a two-game homestand by earning its second consecutive win at the UPMC Events Center with a 77-63 triumph over Milwaukee Thursday. The Colonials improved to 4-16 (.200) overall during the 2021-22 season, including 2-9 (.182) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Panthers fell behind, 9-3, before using a 10-2 surge to grab a 13-11 advantage that was emphasized by a dunk from Moses Bol at the 11:03 mark of the first half. The Colonials regrouped, outscoring Milwaukee, 13-2, over the next four minutes to grab their first double-digit advantage, 24-13. Senior forward
Kahliel Spear tied the game with a dunk of his own and scored six points during the salvo, while junior guard
Michael Green III knocked down a three-pointer. The Panthers were able to close to within seven on a pair of occasions before a 9-2 run opened up a 35-21 lead for RMU with 2:05 to play before halftime. The Colonials eventually owned a 39-23 edge on Milwaukee (7-14 / 5-7 #HLMBB) at the break and owned their largest lead, 65-35, with 8:10 remaining courtesy of a triple from sophomore guard
Chase Cook.
QUOTABLE
"Probably our best performance of the season on the defensive side, in terms of consistency for a full 40 minutes," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "I thought we made multiple second efforts a lot of times. Guys guarded the ball better. They're a really good team in the paint. They got some opportunities in there but I thought for the most part we did a good job of standing up, being strong in the paint and guarding the entire half court. Credit to our guys for the effort they made on that side of the floor. Hopefully that's something we can build on."
DEFENSE, REBOUNDING
The Colonials held the Panthers to a shooting percentage of 34.4 percent (22-for-64) from the field, including just 1-of-12 (8.3%) from beyond the arc. The only triple in the contest for Milwaukee came at the 13:37 mark of the first half when Devon Hancock knocked one down to tie the game, 9-9. The Panthers ended the game by missing their final nine shots from deep, including 0-for-6 in the second half. RMU also owned a commanding 52-36 edge on the glass, with the 52 caroms the highest for the Colonials against an NCAA Division I opponent since grabbing 56 in an 89-46 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (2/28/13) at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
QUOTABLE
"We've shot the ball relatively well for the majority of the year, we just don't get enough shots," Toole said. "I looked at the shots in the first half and I think we took 40 shots. We didn't shoot a great percentage but we had 12 offensive rebounds and only had three turnovers. Now we're getting a lot of shots on the rim, and sometimes that can be the difference in a game. It's certainly something we need to keep in the front of our mind is turnovers. When we get shots on the rim, it allows you to set your defense. When you're taking shots within the context of your offense, sometimes it's easier to get back and set your defense versus constantly playing in transition."
AT THE FOREFRONT
Spear paced the Colonials Thursday with a career-high 25 points, knocking down 11 of his 14 attempts from the field, including a variety of dunks, while also grabbing nine rebounds. It marked the fifth time this season Spear has eclipsed the 20-point plateau. Green III added 13 points for RMU, junior forward
Matt Mayers recorded nine points and seven boards and junior forward
Justin Winston contributed eight points and five rebounds. Milwaukee was led by Joey St. Pierre, who finished with nine points and seven caroms.
QUOTABLE
"It's definitely good for morale," Spear said. "With the exception of the Purdue Fort Wayne game, every game we've played in conference has been close. As long as we stay focused and on the right path, we can continue to build and not settle on anything. I think back to my freshman year in college, everything was really fast. It was a learning curve. I've had to learn how to slow the game down myself. I do that by knowing the plays, knowing the scout so I can see things a couple of steps ahead and I'm not trying to react to everything on time. The more you play and the more experience you get the more the game slows down. It becomes easier to make those decisions."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
RMU shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) from the field in the second half and overall on the game knocked down 42 percent (29-for-69). Spear has scored in double figures in each of RMU's nine home games at the UPMC Events Center during the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds while converting 71.7 percent (66-for-92) of his attempts from the field. Against the Panthers Thursday, the Colonials owned a 42-34 advantage in the paint, the 13th time in the last 14 games RMU has eclipsed the 30-point plateau in points in the lane.
UP NEXT
The Colonials wrap up the month of January with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Green Bay Saturday, Jan. 29, at the UPMC Events Center.
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