The Robert Morris men’s basketball team continues Horizon League play Saturday afternoon with a trip to Youngstown, Ohio, for a matchup against the Penguins of Youngstown State.
Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins enter the game with a 12-12 overall record and are 5-8 in conference action. Youngstown State features one of the best players in the Horizon League in Cris Carroll, who is averaging 17.3 points per game, while shooting 50% from the field and 42% from 3-point range.
The Colonials, who improved to 15-10 overall and 7-7 in the conference with a 72-66 victory over visiting Wright State Wednesday, defeated the Penguins 80-77, in overtime, on Dec. 17 at the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris is positioning itself to make a late-season run to defend its Horizon League championship, and the Colonials made major strides with Wednesday’s win over Wright State. The Raiders came into the game in first place and had won 10 of their last 11 games. They also featured the league’s top defense and one of the upper-echelon offenses.
RMU used a strong defensive effort that resulted in one of Wright State’s worst shooting performances for a half this season, and the Colonials led 40-27 at halftime.
Wright State battled back in the second half, primarily on the play of Michael Imariagbe, who had a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Raiders also caused 10 RMU turnovers and executed nine blocks, which eventually resulted in Wright State taking a 58-57 lead with seven minutes remaining.
Robert Morris continued to go toe-to-toe with the first-place Raiders by shooting 45% from the 3-point arc and winning the rebound battle 40-35. Ryan Prather was also a catalyst for the Colonials, as he scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.
As the tight game moved into the stretch run, it was RMU’s defense that stepped up again, limiting Wright State to only one field goal in the last four minutes, which secured the win. Nikolaos Chitkoudis also recorded a double-double for RMU by scoring 12 points and adding 12 rebounds.
Colonial women drop heartbreaker to first-place UW-Green Bay
The Robert Morris women’s team will host the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township.
The Panthers are 7-16 overall and 3-9 in the Horizon League and are led by Jorey Buwalda, who averages 12.7 points and eight rebounds per game. These two teams played Jan. 2 in Milwaukee, and the Colonials came away with a 62-52 victory. The Colonials enter the game 15-8 for the season and are 8-6 in conference action.
Robert Morris is coming off a heartbreaking 61-58 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix at the UPMC Events Center on Thursday. UW-Green Bay came into the game in first place and undefeated in the Horizon League at 13-0 and on a 10-game winning streak.
RMU led 45-42 lead with 7:41 remaining, but Green Bay went on a 9-0 run, eventually allowing the Phoenix to take a 51-45 lead. The Colonials were not done and came back to regain the lead 58-55 with only 30 seconds remaining, a lead that they would hold until the Phoenix’s Kamy Peppler tied the game at 58-58 with a 3-point shot with 11 seconds remaining.
Robert Morris could not score on its final possession, and Peppler hit a buzzer-beating 3-point shot to win the game for Green Bay and extend its win streak to 11 games, as well as remaining undefeated in the Horizon Leage. Green Bay shot 40% from the 3-point arc for the day. Robert Morris outrebounded UW-Green Bay 42-36 but shot only 32% from the field in the loss. The Colonials were led by Bailey Kuhns, who had a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds. Mariam Traore added 16 points while Aislin Malcolm chipped in 15.
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