MOON TOWNSHIP – Twenty-one days separated Robert Morris from its last win and the Colonials were in store to end that schneid when Division-III Saint Vincent visited the UPMC Events Center.
In a confidence boosting day on its home floor, Robert Morris cruised to a 95-46 victory.
As the Colonials (3-8, 0-2) sought its first win in quite some time, Saint Vincent looked to keep its unblemished season intact even in what was an exhibition contest for the Bearcats.
The Colonials found a well-rounded scoring effort with its best shooting performance of the season as they hit 54.7 percent of its shots from the field.
Josh Corbin and Markeese Hastings led the charge with 16 points apiece. Steph Walker also added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Alvaro Folgueiras contributed in a big way for the Colonials, recording his first career double-double as he ended the day with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
It was a game filled with a lot of local flavor and WPIAL products for Saint Vincent, including Bishop Canevin’s three-time WPIAL champ Jaden Gales, but the biggest storyline of the afternoon was the coach versus son matchup.
Robert Morris associate head coach Mike Iuzzolino had the task of coaching against his son, Mike, who is a junior guard for the Bearcats and started his 11th game of the season. Iuzzolino poured in 15 points, along with 2 triples.
For the Colonials, it was a matter of running out of the gate, seizing control and never looking back. They took advantage of the obvious mismatches, especially in the size category as the Colonials outrebounded the Bearcats 60-20 and scored 50 of its points in the paint.
It’s 49 first-half points were the most this season for Robert Morris as it relied on the open looks and strong penetration into the painted area. TJ Wainwright was a key factor to that success with 11 points in the first half, including two physical takes to the hoop and a triple. Wainwright finished with 14 points.
On the other end, Saint Vincent was searching for answers as the Bearcats attempted to compete with its lone D-I opponent of the season. The Bearcats’ leading scorer, sophomore Dev Ostrowski, continued that trend as he tallied a team-high 11 points in the first half. He ended the afternoon with 15 points.
In the second half, Robert Morris opted to find a heap of its scoring from outside the arc as Wainwright and Josh Corbin led the 3-point party. The Colonials drained 9 threes on the afternoon.
Folgueiras also played a significant role in the second half as he orchestrated his best performance of his young collegiate career with with the double-double, including a throw-down slam.
As the Colonials put together its best 40 minutes of basketball of the season, they dug into their bench, giving time to Tanner O’Grady (Upper St. Clair), who added a late layup for his first points of the season, Vasilije Serafimoski and Cyril Arvanitis.
Robert Morris will continue its local tour as it travels to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday. The former NEC rivals will tip-off at 7 p.m.
