Robert Morris men’s basketball snapped a three-game winning streak Thursday night at the UPMC Events Center. Hosting Northern Kentucky in the third of four straight home games, RMU (11-13, 6-7 Horizon League) fell 65-52 and dropped back below .500 in conference play.
One of the Horizon League’s top teams, Northern Kentucky (15-9, 10-3 Horizon League) held Robert Morris below 30% from behind the three-point arc, a key ingredient to success for the Colonials this season. RMU shot 5-of-19 (26.3%) from long range and never materialized a consistent offensive threat.
NKU led 31-26 at halftime following a second-consecutive low scoring first 10 minutes of action, totaling 15 points but ahead by two on the Norse. Both teams shot fairly well in the first 20 minutes, paced by a 44% clip from Robert Morris on 11-of-25 attempts and 2-of-7 (28.6%) from deep. The Norse shot 41.4% and the exact same percentage as RMU from three-point land, making two additional shots in 14 attempts.
After becoming the 14th player in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds on Saturday, Kahliel Spear totaled 10 in the first half and a game-high six rebounds as RMU out-rebounded NKU 19-12. Enoch Cheeks added seven points and four boards.
Marques Warrick added 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting to pace Northern Kentucky. A dynamic scorer in his own right, Warrick and the Norse led by as much as nine and recorded five steals.
RMU dealt with turnover problems, giving the ball to NKU nine times. Nine ballooned to 19 as the Colonials continued to play sloppy basketball and fail to put together stops down the stretch. The Colonials were able to grab a three-point lead, 39-36, at the 14:54 and 13:47 marks, but these would be the last time RMU led by that many and eventually never took the advantage back.
Warrick scored 21 points to push Northern Kentucky to victory and double-digit conference wins. Trey Robinson more than doubled his typical six points per game average to register 13 as a solid complimentary piece. Chris Brandon dominated RMU on the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds including three on the offensive end.
Spear totaled a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 35 minutes. Cheeks scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-16 (50%) shooting. Jackson Last and Stephaun Walker finished a combined 2-of-12 from the floor as RMU shot 39.6% overall.
Robert Morris returns to the floor Saturday night to close four straight at home against Wright State beginning at 7 p.m.
