The Robert Morris men’s basketball team, coming off a dramatic overtime win over Youngstown State Wednesday night, will travel to Loretto to play Saint Francis at 1 p.m. Saturday in a nonconference matchup.
And it could be the last time the two teams play, at least for a while.
The Red Flash, from the Northeast Conference, are participating in their final year of Division 1 basketball competition – as well as other sports — and will drop down to Division III beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.
The university cited reasons such as the transfer portal, Name, Image, Likeness (NIL), rising costs and an effort to reinforce academics for the move.
Division 1 basketball programs typically will not schedule Division III programs, other than possibly for an exhibition game, so Saturday’s game may be the last where these two former Northeast Conference rivals face each other.
Saint Francis enters the game at DeGol Arena with a 2-10 record and is led by Skylar Wicks, who is averaging 19.1 points per game. Robert Morris is 9-4 overall and 2-1 in Horizon League play.
The Colonials notched their seventh consecutive home victory this season Wednesday with a thrilling 80-77 win over Youngstown State in a Horizon League game at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township.
The Penguins controlled the first half largely on the back of Chris Carroll, who finished the game with a game- and career-high of 31 points. Youngstown State held a double-digit lead until RMU chipped away, and YSU took a 36-32 lead going into halftime.
Youngstown State maintained the lead until midway through the second half when the Colonials went on a 9-0 scoring run and eventually took their first lead. Robert Morris’ comeback was driven by scoring 25 points off YSU turnovers and double-digit scoring from four players – Ryan Prather, DeSean Goode, Nikolaos Chitikoudis and Josh Hill.
But the Penguins would not go away easily, as they shot 58.1% from the field and forced a 69-69 tie at the end of regulation.
In overtime, the game remained tied at 74-74 until YSU’s Vlad Salaridze, who finished with 15 points, hit a free throw to give the Penguins a lead with under 40 seconds remaining.
Robert Morris took the lead with 12 seconds remaining on the clock on Prather’s 3-pointer. A final desperation shot by Salaridze was off the mark, and the Colonials held onto the lead to break YSU’s five-game win streak.
Robert Morris was led by Prather’s 19 points, as well as Goode’s double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Chitikoudis added his own double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Hill also scored 10 points for the Colonials.
RMU women to host Point Park Friday
The Robert Morris women’s basketball team will take on the Division II Point Park Pioneers in a crosstown game at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, at the UPMC Events Center.
The Pioneers, from the Mountain East Conference, will enter the game with a 3-5 overall record and are led by Camille Fulz and Elizabeth Boyd, both of whom average 13.1 points per game.
Robert Morris is 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the Horizon League after defeating Detroit-Mercy 60-52 in a conference game played Tuesday at home.
The Titans played a physical game, causing 22 RMU turnovers that resulted in 20 points for Detroit. A first-half defensive battle by both teams led to a 26-16 RMU lead at the break.
The second half saw the Colonials continuing a 12-0 scoring run from late in the previous half and taking a 32-16 lead. Detroit continued applying defensive pressure, which held the Colonials without a 3-point basket for the first time since 2020.
But RMU outrebounded the Titans 44-33 and worked the inside game for 42 points, as well as hitting 12 of 15 free throw attempts. Myriam Traore led a balanced RMU attack with 13 points, Aislin Malcolm added 11 and Noa Givon had 10 points and nine rebounds. Bailey Kuhns and Jada Lee also scored 10 points each for Robert Morris.
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