With 11:53 left in an old rivalry matchup between Saint Francis and Robert Morris, the Red Flash had the Colonials dead to rights.
There was very little life on the Robert Morris bench as frustration mounted and the Colonials were once again stuck in their ways.
A sloppy first half permeated with turnovers and poor defensive rebounding trickled into the second half and the Red Flash had the Colonials on the ropes as they built their biggest lead of the evening after Carlos Lopez Jr. drained a three.
Eighteen points were the difference at that moment, but it was not as steep as the Red Flash envisioned it would be as the Colonials, little by little, snuck their way back into the contest.
“I thought our defense in the first half was so poor, and I tried to be as calm as I could be at halftime and explain the situation that we were in,” head coach Andy Toole said. “We traded baskets to start the second half, and then all of a sudden in the last 10 minutes of the game, our urgency on the defensive side really picked up and we found some momentum.”
At the most import of moments, Robert Morris’ top scorers showed their clutch gene, for what felt like was the first time all season.
That Red Flash lead slowly shrank in front of their very eyes and a come-from-behind victory became real for the Colonials when Steph Walker buried a corner three in front of his own bench with three minutes to go, putting some belief into his teammates. The deficit sat at five.
As the Colonials chipped away, they also started to come to form on the defensive side with Justice Williams and Markeese Hastings forcing turnovers and grabbing timely rebounds.
Then, as minutes turned to seconds on the clock, Josh Corbin, who had been held to just five points at the time, sank two momentous threes, including one from out near the Red Flash center logo to give the Colonials their first lead of the night at 70-69.
“The three in the corner by Steph earlier in the game was a tremendous shot, and then the two threes by Josh to give us a lead were huge,” Toole said.
Even as the Colonials surged ahead off of big-time shots, none was as seismic as the one that left the hands of Williams.
After a Cam Gregory bucket put Saint Francis back in the driver seat, the Colonials controlled their destiny. With the shot clock turned off, the Colonials managed to push the ball up court and Williams was found in the corner with an open look as he lifted it, and it sank in with two seconds to go.
“We had to win the game,” Williams said regarding that moment. “I was just trying to be in the right spot, and we work on that every day. I made the right read, my teammate made the right read, and that was just the end result.”
Jackson Last, who has continued to be impactful in other areas outside of the scoresheet was a critical reason for the open opportunity for Williams.
“They took the lead, and we were really just trying to come down and get some attacking in transition. Jackson got the ball in the corner and drove the baseline and kind of got trapped, and to his credit had great poise, and Justice was able to fill in behind and raise up and knock down that shot,” Toole said.
The comeback effort was a testament of what Williams believes this team is and can be moving forward.
“I know my guys are dogs,” he said. “Coach Toole instills in us to always keep fighting no matter if it’s in practice going against each other. Always keeping fighting to get the win and keep our head down, and that’s what happened.
Williams was an instrumental part in the win, not only for the game-winning shot, but his performance that ignited in the second half as he finished with 20 points.
“I was just trying to make as many plays as I could for my team, whether that was getting in the paint, making the right read or was for myself,” he said. “The defense [Saint Francis] played tonight, I was able to get into the paint and make some reads of the switching they did and make some threes.”
The victory was filled with a lot to be desired for about the first 30 minutes, but when it came down to it, the Colonials pulled out a gutsy win to avoid a disastrous loss on the road.
“Give a lot of credit to the guys, they really were able to find a way and it didn’t really seem like they would find a way,” Toole said.
At halftime, trailing by 10, the Colonials needed to find a way to turn things around and Toole stuck it on his veteran players.
“We need more from some of the guys that are main factors in our rotation, not only from scoring points, from an effort standpoint, from a defensive execution standpoint,” Toole said. “That’s what we talked about: as simple as guarding the ball, making layups and being able to finish possessions with rebounds. You can’t win games if you’re not going to take care of those. I don’t think the message completely got through until later in the second half.”
It came down to the guys who are expected to be the leaders on the roster and pull through in the biggest moments. Williams hit the critical shot, Hastings scored 19 points and eight pivotal rebounds, Corbin came through with two massive threes and Walker hit just his fifth triple of the season.
“Enormous keys for this team,” Williams said about that group. “Josh made those two big shots to help us lead. Steph made the three in the corner. Markeese had a couple big rebounds and a couple of big stops that also led to my three, so those plays were big.”
As the season continues, those four will be the primary scorers and playmakers and it took until being down 18 to a rival that sits in the bottom tier of the NCAA to finally realize that this team counts on their collective performance to thrive.
The last five minutes was an indication of what the Colonials can be as they look to revitalize a season that currently sits at 4-8.
“The thing that’s frustrating is we need those guys engaged from the tip. I’m thankful they stepped up and made those shots, but we need that effort across the 40 minutes,” Toole said.
With a quick turnaround, Robert Morris takes on a tough Cornell (8-2) team that will require the leaders of the Colonials to once again be at the top of their game.
