Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team opened a four-game homestand at the UPMC Events Center Friday with an 85-77 victory over Detroit Mercy. The Colonials improved to 10-12 (.455) overall during the 2022-23 season, including 5-6 (.455) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Tied, 55-55, with 10:21 remaining, fifth-year forward
Kahliel Spear converted a driving layup on a feed from junior guard
Enoch Cheeks to push the Colonials in front, 57-55. Spear scored 17 of his team-high 25 points in the second half, including a hook shot that gave RMU a 59-55 edge with 9:12 to go. Detroit Mercy consistently made it a one-possession game the rest of the contest, but each time the Colonials came up with a big bucket. Junior guard
Josh Corbin drained a three-pointer with 6:17 remaining that gave RMU a 66-61 advantage before the Titans closed to within 66-65, but Spear answered with a dunk thanks to a dime from junior guard
Michael Green III to keep UDM at bay.
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"So proud of the effort of all the guys that touched the court," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "You need everybody's contributions in order to be successful in a game like that. We're continually trying to earn respect in this league. We're trying to establish ourselves as a team that can be in contention for a championship. What are we doing this for if we're not trying to accomplish that goal? Each and every time we have a win like this, that helps inch us a little bit closer. We still have a long way to go. There's still a lot of important games we have to play and big-time possessions we have to execute on. When guys start to see it and feel it, maybe there is a little more belief and a little more trust in what we need to do to win."
BALL MOVEMENT
Cheeks converted a three-point play with 4:24 on the clock in the second half to give the Colonials a 73-67 edge, but Damezi Anderson answered, connecting for a three-pointer to again make it a one-possession contest. Corbin came through on the next possession for RMU, hitting his own triple from the corner, while Green III connected for a trifecta of his own to give the Colonials a 79-70 edge with 2:48 to play. Cheeks added a floater in the lane with just under a minute-and-a-half to play that pushed the RMU advantage to 81-73 to help seal the triumph. The Colonials registered a season-high 24 assists in the win as Cheeks finished with eight dimes for the second consecutive game, matching a career high.
THE LINE DANCE
The NCAA Division I leading scorer, Antoine Davis, entered Friday's tilt averaging 26.4 points per game for Detroit Mercy (8-14 / 4-7 #HLMBB) and got hot after the Titans fell behind early, 10-2. He buried three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to catapult UDM in front, 12-10, with 11:58 remaining in the first half. It was part of an 18-2 run that also saw Davis add two more three-pointers to give the Titans their biggest lead of the contest, 20-12. Sophomore guard
Jackson Last snapped the funk for the Colonials with a triple of his own, one of three he hit in the first half that kept RMU within striking distance. Davis finished with a game-high 29 points, shooting 10-for-21 from the field, including 9-for-11 from beyond the arc.
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"We just tried to get him off the line as much as we could," Toole said. "He shoots almost as well if not better from three than from two, so at least you're saving yourself a point if you can get him off the line. We wanted to put multiple bodies on him and get the ball out of his hands as much as we could. Usually we don't put ourselves in that much rotation, and I thought we were able to scramble and that helped us a ton. He's so talented and so gifted. I'm not sure we limited him, but I thought our ability to speed him up at times was really important for us. He had 29 points, which is a great game, but we were able to get the win, which is what was most important."
ELEVATION
Spear paced the Colonials with 25 points, finishing 10-for-14 from the field while going a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line as RMU connected on 92.3 percent (12-for-13) at the stripe. Spear was one of five Colonials to score in double figures, with Corbin adding 20 and Green III finishing with 13. Last scored 12 on the strength of a 4-for-6 performance from beyond the arc, while Cheeks finished with 11.
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"We know Kahliel and (Enoch) are the guys on our team, and we're going to follow their lead every day," Last said. "But they can't always do it on their own. They're going to need some help. Like you saw tonight, they were sending a lot of double teams at Kahliel and E was having a rough night initially but ended up making some huge plays down the stretch. That's the connectivity we talked about. We know we have each other's back. Tonight it was me and Josh that stepped up in the first half, but on any given night it might be somebody else. That's the great part about this team. Since we've become connected we really feel like we have each other's backs."
UP NEXT
RMU continues a four-game homestand and concludes January by hosting Oakland at the UPMC Events Center Sunday, Jan. 29, in a 1:00 p.m. tip.
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