Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team dropped its second consecutive home game Friday, falling to Oakland, 71-68, at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials dipped to 6-19 (.240) overall during the 2021-22 season, including 4-12 (.250) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Golden Grizzlies never trailed in the second half after owning a 39-35 edge at halftime, but the majority of the second 20 minutes it was either a one or two possession game. Jalen Moore gave Oakland (17-8 / 10-4 #HLMBB) a 47-40 advantage with a fastbreak layup, but a 12-3 surge helped the Colonials close to within 53-52 with 12:04 to go. Junior forward
Brandon Stone and sophomore guard
Kam Farris hit consecutive three-pointers for RMU, while Stone's layup on a feed from senior forward
Kahliel Spear made it a one-point affair. Junior forward
Jaron Williams followed for the Colonials with a triple and a layup to tie the score, 58-58, but Trey Townsend answered on the next possession to push the Golden Grizzlies back in front, 60-58.
QUOTABLE
"Really liked our fight in the second half on the defensive side," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "You can't fault the effort or the mentality that they guys competed with tonight. Those guys are giving everything they can give. We just need to be a little smarter in situations, especially at the end of the game. The effort that our guys are giving and the way they are continuing to battle, I respect that greatly. It's a good reflection of who they are and what they're about. We just came up short a few possessions. Again."
THE LAST MINUTE
Spear provided a dunk with 51.6 seconds remaining to pull the Colonials to within 67-64, but out of an Oakland timeout, Blake Lampman found a streaking Townsend in the paint, who converted with 22.8 seconds left to push the lead to 69-64. Farris hit a pair at the stripe just over seven seconds later to again pull RMU to within three, 69-66, and after Moore missed the front end of a one-on-one, Spear came down with the carom for the Colonials. Out of an RMU timeout, Townsend immediately fouled junior guard
Michael Green III, who sank both attempts at the chalk to make it 69-68 in favor of the Golden Grizzlies. Jamal Cain was then fouled and sent to the stripe for Oakland, and he sank both to settle the final score. The last few seconds weren't without drama, however, as Moore was sent to the free-throw line with 2.6 seconds left and missed the front end of a one-on-one opportunity. Spear came down with the rebound and heaved the ball full court, hitting the backboard and rim before bouncing away.
QUOTABLE
"The effort was where it needed to be to win the game, but the details weren't," Toole said. "Turnovers are killer. When we put our offensive keys on the board before the game, the first one was value the basketball. Get a shot on the rim. Kick it up there if you have to. The last key was ball strong. So two keys are how you have to take care of the ball. There were a few times where they dug out a 50-50 ball that we needed. Those are things that make a difference. There is such a fine line between winning and losing. Throwing the ball away because you think you see something that might work two out of 10 times is a great recipe to not win games. If it's seven out of 10 times, well, do it all day long."
THE CORE FOUR
Oakland was led by Cain, who scored a game-high 29 points while recording four steals. He shot 10-for-19 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from deep, and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Townsend added 18 points, Micah Parrish 15 and Moore nine. The quartet took 90 percent (54-of-60) of the shots Friday for Oakland, which shot 48.3 percent (29-for-60) overall.
PURE. HONEST. STONEY'S.
Stone paced RMU against Oakland by scoring 12 of his career-high 17 points in the first half. He knocked down seven of his eight shots from the floor, including 3-for-3 from deep, and also added a career-high eight rebounds, a steal and a block. Stone, who also scored 17 points in a 72-70 victory over Wright State (11/26/19) as a freshman at La Salle, is the seventh different member of the Colonials this season to lead the team in scoring in a game. Spear notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and also dished out a career-high five assists, while Mayers posted 11 points and six rebounds.
UP NEXT
RMU opens a new week Sunday, Feb. 13, with its third game in five days, traveling to Youngstown State for a Noon tip at the Beeghly Center. The Colonials will then return home for their final two home games of the 2021-22 regular season to conclude a stretch of four out of five at the UPMC Events Center.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | RMU Athletics Gameday App
