The Robert Morris men’s basketball team, coming off a much-needed overtime win over the weekend, will host the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, at the UPMC Events Center on the Robert Morris campus in Moon Township.
The Horizon League matchup will feature the 12-8 Colonials against the 8-12 Panthers, who enter the game on a two-game losing streak.
Both teams have 4-5 records in league play, and a win will place one of them into the thick of the conference race. The Panthers’ leading scorer is Seth Hubbard, who averages 16.6 points per game. Robert Morris will be looking for a little revenge after losing to Milwaukee 74-72 in Wisconsin on Dec. 6.
The Colonials’ most recent outing was a 92-89 overtime road win over Northern Kentucky Saturday in a game that featured eight lead changes.
Late in the first half, RMU went on a 10-0 run that resulted in a 34-22 lead, which led to the Colonials’ largest lead in the game of 12 points. Robert Morris was able to hold onto a 41-34 halftime lead.
The second half featured a Norse comeback on several small runs, which tied the game and led to several additional lead changes as the game progressed. Northern Kentucky’s Donovan Oday was a force in the game, scoring a career- and game-high of 38 points — the highest scoring effort in the Horizon League this season.
The Colonials’ Ryan Prather answered with 23 points, his third consecutive game scoring 20 points or more. Oday’s shot with six seconds remaining tied the score at 81-81 and Prather’s shot at the buzzer missed the mark, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, Prather’s jumper and two free throws were the difference as Robert Morris outscored the Norse 11-8. Northern Kentucky was held scoreless in the last minute and a half to secure the win for RMU. For the game, Robert Morris shot 46.2% from the field and 39.3% from 3-point range, while holding the Norse to shooting only 23% from the arc.
Nikolaos Chitikoudis scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for RMU; Kaleb Brown added 14 points of his own, while DeSean Goode had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Ta’Zir Smith chipped in 11 points. LJ Wells scored 18 points for Northern Kentucky, now 14-7 overall and 6-4 in the Horizon League.
RMU women drop one at Cleveland State
The Robert Morris women’s basketball team returns home to host Youngstown State at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township.
Youngstown State comes into the key Horizon League game with a 13-6 overall record and is 6-3 in conference play, while the Colonials are 12-6 overall and 5-4 in the league.
The Penguins are led by Casey Santoro, who is averaging 12.5 points per game, and Sarah Baker, who has an 11.0 ppg average.
The Colonials will be looking to bounce back from a 68-61 conference road loss at Cleveland State Sunday. RMU led by 12 at one point in the first half but the Vikings trimmed that deficit to 38-36 at halftime.
The Vikings took control in the second half, as they continued to dominate the paint with 28 points, as well as hitting 22 free throws. In addition, Cleveland State forced 19 Colonial turnovers, which resulted in 16 points.
Colbi Maples led the Vikings with 15 points. Mariam Traore was Robert Morris’ leading scorer with a game-high of 18 points. Aislin Malcolm scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Eva Levingston added 10 points, and Ava Leroux had seven rebounds for the Colonials.
Be First to Comment