Youngstown, Ohio – The RMU men's basketball team earned its first Keeps Horizon League Tournament victory in program history Tuesday, earning a 77-73 win over No. 7 seed Youngstown State in the first round at the Beeghly Center. The Colonials improved to 8-23 (.258) overall during the 2021-22 season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU never trailed, grabbing an early 7-2 advantage and using a 10-0 spurt that featured seven consecutive points from junior guard
Michael Green III to grab a 33-23 lead at the 2:19 mark of the first half. Sophomore guard
Chase Cook ignited the surge with a three-pointer, and the Colonials eventually entered the break with a 35-26 cushion. Out of the gates after halftime, RMU scored the first seven points, forcing Youngstown State (18-14) to call a timeout and the Penguins trailing, 42-26. Junior forward
Jaron Williams scored five of those points, including a three-pointer that opened the scoring in the second half.
QUOTABLE
"I think we did a good job with decision making," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "We made a lot of the right reads at the right times, and that allowed us to be able to get good shots. Today we did a good job of seeing the game better and understanding where our opportunities were to get good shots or make extra passes. That was key for us being as efficient as we were on offense."
EXPANSION
The Colonials grabbed their biggest lead, 62-42, with 6:52 remaining when junior forward
Matt Mayers provided a dunk. The Penguins spent a good portion of the second half in a full-court press, which paid dividends in the final two minutes. Senior forward
Kahliel Spear hit the front end of a pair of free throws that gave RMU a 67-52 lead, but a 10-1 surge by the Penguins helped YSU close to within 68-62 with 1:11 to play. Dwayne Cohill, who scored a game-high 25 points for Youngstown State, and Shemar Rathan-Mayes each hit three-pointers, while Michael Akuchie and Will Dunn each converted layups. RMU sealed the win at the free-throw line, with Green III going 3-for-4 in the final 27 seconds, while a dunk from sophomore guard
Kam Farris gave the Colonials a 77-70 edge with 7.3 seconds to go.
QUOTABLE
"We haven't been up 20 very much this year," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "These guys were great. They were talking in the huddle about maintaining focus and doing the right stuff. We were able to get enough stops down the stretch and let the clock run out. Everyone that touched the court was able to step up and did the things necessary for us to win and continue to play. We talked about being more urgent and engaged. I thought our urgency dipped when they hit a couple of three-pointers, but we were able to ratchet it back up when we needed to in order to finish the win. Hopefully we're in that position again where we have to maintain a lead at the end of a game."
BALANCE BEAM
Spear led five Colonials in double figures in the win with 19 points and 13 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the 2021-22 campaign, in extending his streak of double-figure scoring games to 10. Farris and sophomore guard
Enoch Cheeks each scored 12 points, while Mayers and Green III each contributed 10. Cheeks dished out five assists and also grabbed six rebounds, Spear notched three steals and a pair of blocks and RMU knocked down 53.8 percent (28-for-52) of its shots from the floor.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
The win marked No. 200 for Toole in his 12-year coaching career at RMU and also helped the Colonials improve to 7-5 (.583) all-time at the Beeghly Center. The Colonials won both of the matchups in the arena during the 2021-22 campaign, and an amazing 17 of the last 21 meetings between RMU and YSU have been decided by eight points or less. The Colonials lead the all-time series, 13-12 (.520).
UP NEXT
RMU travels to take on No. 1 seed Cleveland State Thursday, March 3, at the Wolstein Center. Tip is 8:00 p.m.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | RMU Athletics Gameday App
