Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team concluded a four-game road trip Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak with a 72-38 victory over Green Bay at the Resch Center. In recording its first road win of 2023, the Colonials improved to 9-12 (.429) overall during the 2022-23 season, including 4-6 (.400) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU led at halftime, 19-17, and freshman forward
Stephaun Walker opened the scoring after the break by converting a three-point play. He converted in the lane on a feed from junior guard
Enoch Cheeks and was fouled in the process, finishing off the triple by hitting his opportunity at the free-throw line. It was part of an 11-0 stretch to open the second half that gave the Colonials a 30-17 edge with 16:14 remaining. Fifth-year forward
Kahliel Spear scored the final six points of the run, including a turnaround jumper to cap the surge.
QUOTABLE
"We've talked so many times over the years how hard it is to win an NCAA Division I game," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "It doesn't matter if it's at home or on the road. It doesn't matter about the record. You have to go and play the game. I think we thought it was going to come easy offensively in the first half, but Green Bay makes you work and after watching their games on tape they're a solid defensive team. In the second half we did a better job moving the ball to get open looks. Hopefully tonight kickstarts a good stretch for us, especially after how we played in the second half."
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
A program that has hung its hat on defense, RMU put forth its best defensive performance since joining the Horizon League as well as one of its finest in program history. The Colonials held Green Bay (2-19 / 1-9) to a shooting percentage of 21.6 percent (11-for-51) in allowing just 38 points. It marks the third occasion under Toole RMU has held an opponent under 40 points and the first time Feb. 3, 2011, a 91-38 victory over Bryant at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The 38 points also marks the fewest points the Colonials have yielded in a road game in their NCAA Division I history. The previous record came in a 74-40 triumph @ Fairleigh Dickinson (1/24/09). The overall school record for scoring defense came in Toole's first game as a head coach, when RMU earned a 55-30 win over Saint Peter's (11/13/10) at the Chuck.
QUOTABLE
"Defense usually determines whether you win or lose and offense determines by how much," Toole said. "I thought our defense carried us through the first half when our offense wasn't clicking. We have to keep working and keep getting better. Our focus needs to be about preparing and doing the right things to make us successful. We'll look forward to a good week of practice and get ready for some tough games coming up at home."
WISCONSIN 500
Spear wrapped up a stellar four-game road trip for the Colonials Saturday by joining the RMU 500-Rebound Club in the first half against the Phoenix. His first board of the contest, which came on the offensive glass at the 14:00 minute mark and was followed by a layup that gave RMU a 10-4 lead, helped Spear become the 19th member of the exclusive club at Robert Morris. He led all scorers Saturday with, ironically, 19 points while also compiling six rebounds, two assists and a block. In his fifth season at the NCAA Division I level, Spear owns 617 career rebounds, including 505 in three years with the Colonials. He has also scored 1,132 career points, and is 40 points shy of becoming just the 14th student-athlete in program history to eclipse career totals of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds at RMU.
QUOTABLE
"We pressed a little bit in the first half on the offensive side, and that's where you just have to continue to be in the right spots, make the right decisions and make the right plays," Toole said. "When you do that good things usually happen. For the majority of the game our defensive energy was really good. When the ball finally did start going in the basket in the second half and we settled down offensively, I think that really energized us defensively. We all need each other on the offensive side and we all need each other on the defensive side."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Colonials smothered the ability of Green Bay to convert from beyond the arc, as the Phoenix finished just 2-for-21 (9.5%) from downtown. In fact, over 36 percent of the offense for Green Bay came at the free-throw. The Phoenix finished 14-for-16 (87.5%), with eight different student-athletes heading to the stripe. None of those was Randy Tucker, however, who paced Green Bay with 11 points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
RMU closes out January with a pair of games at the UPMC Events Center as part of a four-game homestand. The Colonials welcome Detroit Mercy Friday, Jan. 27, for a 7:00 p.m. tip to open the home stretch.
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