YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Compared to its last outing against Cleveland State, there was much more to be happy about for the Robert Morris men’s basketball team on Wednesday night.
They protected the basketball better, shot with better accuracy from the field and received a stronger effort from the bench.
One thing however that they cannot be happy about is the overall result, which was again, a loss.
The Colonials (2-8) fell by a final of 81-70 on the road at Youngstown State (5-4) on Wednesday.
As mentioned earlier, RMU looked much better than it did on Saturday. The problem was the Penguins simply looked even better.
Youngstown State opened the game on an 8-0 run. The Penguins played very efficient for a majority of their offensive possessions, shooting 42.1% from three point range. Starting guards Darius Quisenberry and Michael Akuchie led the way with 23 and 13 points respectively.
RMU also had a hard time down low with junior big men, Garrett Covington and Jamir Thomas, who dominated at times in the paint, finishing the night with 10 points each and combining for 12 rebounds.
The Colonials refused to go down without a fight, cutting the Penguins lead to single digits in the final minutes of the game and even getting things as close as 76-70 with 45 seconds remaining. While their effort to battle back was admirable, there just wasn’t enough time to complete a comeback.
Jalen Hawkins and Sayveon McEwen were excellent off the bench for Robert Morris, contributing 17 and 13 points. Hawkins’ 17 points were a new career high. While the duo provided a strong effort offensively, it was not enough to overcome the tough night in the field for the Colonials starting lineup.
The RMU starting five shot just 15-46 from the field (32.6%). The Colonials were able to hang around in the first half thanks to sharp shooting behind the arc, going 6-11 (54.5%) from downtown. However, the rims were not as kind in the final 20 minutes where they shot 4-17 (23.5%) from deep.
The road trip continues for Robert Morris. Up next they will take on Florida Gulf Coast down south in the sunshine state. The Eagles (2-9) should be a much needed change of pace for the Colonials. Maybe some sunshine and a win will be what it takes for RMU to turn its season around.
