Dropping it first four games to commence Horizon League play this season was not on the agenda for Robert Morris. It took until the new year to finally get on the favorable side of the standings by walloping IUPUI 92-48.
Josh Corbin, Steph Walker, Markeese Hastings, Justice Williams, Chris Ford, Alvaro Folguieras and TJ Wainwright all poured in double digit performances.
The win followed two difficult road losses at the hands of Milwaukee – a game in which they trailed 18-4 early on – and Green Bay.
Looking to revitalize his team, Andy Toole decided to make some changes to his starting lineup against Green Bay and IUPUI to avoid another disastrous opening few minutes.
Therefore, he promoted Wainwright as a starter for both games and then opted to thrust Ford into his first-ever collegiate start against Green Bay.
“We didn’t feel like the initial group that started the majority of the games this year was getting off to the starts we needed,” Toole said in response to being asked about the decisions. “We said, ‘who can we infuse that can create some energy.”
While Toole continues to experiment with his starting rotation, the victory over IUPUI also served as an important cornerstone for what Toole expects from his team, and something that the Colonials have thrived on under his tutelage: defense.
“It really started on the defensive side,” Toole said after the win. “It was our best consistency defensively as well as giving multiple efforts on possessions to protect the rim, protect the paint, contest shots and get rebounds. That’s what you have to do in order to win Division I games.”
That philosophy will need to be revered again by the Colonials in the coming days with an important two games in three days stretch with Wright State visiting Moon Township on Wednesday followed by the conference-leading Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Friday.
Since joining the Horizon League, Wright State has been one of the most challenging opponents for Robert Morris as they have won just once in six meetings.
Wednesday night’s matchup will be no different in terms of difficulty for the Colonials as the Raiders have built one of the top offensive teams in the country.
The numbers speak for themselves: first in the country in field goal percentage (56.7 percent), fifth in effective field goal percentage (58.8 percent) and 18th in scoring (84.8 points per game).
Then, there’s Trey Calvin. The graduate senior has carved up the competition so far this season, leading the Horizon League with 19.9 points per game. He has yet to file a game under double digit points and his 7.6 field goals per game is tied for sixth in the country.
Calvin is supported by another top scoring threat in fellow grad senior Tanner Holden, who puts the ball in the hoop at a high clip of 58.8 to lead the Horizon League. Holden averages 17.1 points per contest, providing the top one-two scoring punch in the league.
As Robert Morris and Wright State square off Wednesday, the Colonials won’t have to wait long for their next formidable opponent with Purdue Fort Wayne hitting the UPMC Events Center floor on Friday.
Even after falling to Wright State on Saturday in a high-scoring, 106-98 game, the Mastodons still sit ahead of the back with a 4-1 record in conference and a 13-3 mark overall as they slot in at 115 in the NET Rankings.
Leading the way for the Mastodons is their performance beyond the arc, knocking down a conference-leading 154 triples as they average 9.6 makes per game.
Redshirt senior guard Quinton Morton-Robertson has been the catalyst from deep as he is 9th in the nation in 3-point percentage, hitting 46.7 percent of his shots.
With Morton-Robertson contributing from 3-point range, Rasheed Bello and Jalen Jackson pace the Mastodons, averaging 15.1 points per game, respectively.
As a team, the ‘Dons shoot 51 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from outside the arc, both second in Horizon League play.
For Robert Morris, the next three days are going to be taxing as the Colonials look to garner momentum in Horizon League play.
