MOON TOWNSHIP — The Robert Morris and Youngstown State rivalry in men’s basketball has seen its level of intensity rise over the last handful of meetings and Saturday provided another rendition of the matchup.
A Penguins (5-3, 2-0) team that is loaded with fifth-year talent, leaned on that experience to outlast the Colonials (2-6, 0-2), 71-57.
It was a rather tightly contested and entertaining first half between these two foes, but the Penguins looked like the superior team in the second as they ran away with the game to start 2-0 in the Horizon League.
With Youngstown State owning a two-point leading heading into the second half, the Penguins took control early. Graduate seniors Ziggy Reid and Brett Thompson were at the forefront of the Penguins offensive onslaught with Reid making his presence known inside as he was nearly automatic from the floor and Thompson being troublesome from the outside.
Thompson seemed unguardable as he dropped 17 points, along with three triples and dished out four assists.
Reid was masterful inside as he was nearly automatic, scoring 6 of 7 from the floor on his way to 14 points.
However, no one had a more impactful performance to help the Penguins pull away than DJ Burns as he posted a double-double with team-highs 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Burns was a pivotal factor on the glass for a Penguins team that had a plus five rebounding differential entering the game and that continued as YSU pulled down 43 boards compared to 34 for RMU.
For Robert Morris, it just could not buy a bucket in the second half as the Colonials only put up seven points in the first eight minutes of the half.
What worked in the first half for the Colonials, a disruptive defensive effort, was invisible in the second half as the Penguins made lightwork of the Colonials. The Penguins capitalized on Colonial mistakes as they finished with 12 points on eight turnovers in the second half.
Attempting to claw back, Robert Morris did finally see some shots fall, but it was a little too late. Stephaun Walker scored a team-high 20 points, along with nine rebounds.
Justice Williams finished with 15 points as Markeese Hastings added 10.
After stumbling out of the gate to start conference play at Northern Kentucky, Robert Morris’ effort in the first half showed signs of life and improvement as the Colonials found its rhythm for longer spurts.
Even as Youngstown State incited a 12-0 run midway through the opening half, Robert Morris did not crawl into a hole like it did against the Norse. Instead, the Colonials answered with its own 9-0 run, which included RMU’s first three of the game, off the hand of Josh Corbin.
Coupling the offensive scoring was that aforementioned disruptive defense that forced a deal of turnovers from the Penguins as they turned it over seven times in the first half.
Crisp ball movement opened up lanes underneath, allowing Walker, who was scoreless from the field at NKU, to run the baseline and score in the paint. The Colonials totaled 16 points in the paint in the first half compared to just two for YSU.
As the Colonials capitalized on its mobility, they also penetrated the interior of the defense and exploited the high and mid post more than normal. After Wainwright missed last game with an injury, he came off the bench and pulled the trigger on a mid-range jumper, along with Hastings and Williams.
Although the Colonials found a formula to be successful against the Penguins in the first half, it basically disappeared in the second frame as Youngstown State adjusted and took away those lanes as RMU remains winless in the Horizon League.
