MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Although Thursday night’s game against St. Francis Brooklyn was being played on the Robert Morris campus at UPMC Events Center, it still had to feel somewhat unfamiliar for the Colonials, considering that 12 of their first 15 games have been played on the road.
They got comfortable quickly.
Andy Toole’s team continued its winning ways as the Colonials dominated the Terriers, 78-52, in a game RMU (7-9, 3-0) never trailed. The Colonials collected their fifth win in six games to start a four-game homestead.
As he’s been for Robert Morris the last eight games, senior guard Josh Williams was Colonials best player right from the opening tip. After an uncontested layup to open up the scoring, Williams hit two straight three pointers to give RMU an early 8-0 lead.
The closest St. Francis got was when they narrowed the score to 14-12. Robert Morris answered with a 10-2 run.
With the shot clock about to expire, sophomore guard Dante Treacy hit a desperation 3-pointer to extend the lead to five and then senior Yannis Mendy served a nice dish to AJ Bramah for a layup. Following another 3-pointer from Williams, a dunk from Bramah and a layup from Jalen Hawkins, Robert Morris had a 28-17 with less than six minutes left in the half.
Right before the half, Williams hit a long-range three to push the lead back to 10. Then right before the halftime buzzer, junior forward Charles Bain hit a jumper from the corner and Robert Morris went into the half with a 39-30 lead.
In the first half, the Colonials shot 53.6% from the field (15 of 28) and 45.5% from three (5 of 11). That hot shooting continued in the second half.
Once again, Williams was the man that got things going for Colonials as his barrage from beyond the arc continued. Williams hit a corner three to extend the lead to double digits, 44-33. Two trips later, Williams got in the paint and found Mendy for a layup to extend the lead to 14, 49-35.
With 11:24 left in the game, the lead grew to fifteen as sophomore guard Jalen Hawkins hesitated in the lane and was able to convert on a layup. The Colonials ability to get into the paint seemingly at will was a huge key to their offensive success tonight. Tonight, Robert Morris outscored St. Francis, NY in the paint, .
The biggest lead for Andy Toole’s team was when they got it to 27 following another 3-point pointer from Williams.
Leading scorers for Robert Morris were Williams with 20, Bramah with 16 and Mendy with 13. Williams also led all RMU rebounders with eight.
Next up for Robert Morris is a home game on Saturday against Wagner. Tipoff from UPMC Events Center is scheduled for 1 p.m.
