The Robert Morris men’s basketball team will play its most important game of the season thus far when it travels to Fairborn, Ohio, to battle first-place Wright State at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22.
Wright State, 17-10 overall and 12-4 in the Horizon League, is led by Michael Cooper, who averages 13 points per game, while three other players are also averaging double-digit points per game totals.
Robert Morris enters this key conference game in third place with an overall record of 18-10 and 10-7 in league action. The two teams are evenly matched as Robert Morris boasts the league’s fourth-best offense and third-best defense, while Wright State comes in with the fifth-best offense and second-best defense. The Colonials defeated the Raiders, 72-66, on Feb. 4 at the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris is on a four-game win streak after defeating the second-place University of Oakland Golden Grizzlies at home Sunday. In what was the most dominating performance of the season for “Bobby Mo,” the Colonials trounced the Grizzlies 93-69.
The first half was played in a manner that was expected between two of the league’s top teams. A closely fought half saw five ties, and it wasn’t until the latter portion of the half that RMU was able to open an eight-point lead and then go into halftime with a 42-38 lead.
The second half was a completely different story, and the Colonials quickly took a 48-38 lead. Oakland crawled back in on a 6-0 run, but Robert Morris answered with a 15-2 run and never looked back.
The blowout victory was due to a combination of great defense and a blistering offense. The Colonials held Oakland’s top two scorers to only 11 points and outrebounded the Grizzlies 39-26. In addition, the Grizzlies averaged 83 points per game and were held to only 69. Robert Morris shot 58% from the field and 43% from the 3-point line, scored 50 points in the paint and put on a passing exhibition with 31 assists.
Five Robert Morris players scored in double digits. Nikolaos Chitikoudis led the Colonials with a double-double of a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds. DeSean Goode also had a double-double game with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Ryan Prather added 18 points and 10 assists.
Ta’Zir Smith came off the bench to score 18 points and freshman Darius Livingston, playing for the injured Albert Vargas, chipped in 15 points. Livingston was named the league’s top freshman for the second straight week and Prather was named the league’s top player for the week – the second week in a row he’s captured that honor.
Be First to Comment