On Thursday night, Robert Morris dropped a home contest to the Green Bay Phoenix, the Horizon League’s top team.
Green Bay opened the game with an early three-point bucket from Rich Byhre, and the Phoenix were off and running from there. The Colonials kept things close throughout the first eight minutes of the game, with early baskets from Josh Corbin, Justice Williams, and Alvaro Folgueiras. After some time passed in the half, Green Bay’s Noah Reynolds caught fire. Reynolds hit a three pointer with 8:24 to go in the first half, building his personal point total to 12 and extending Green Bay’s lead to 11, 26-15.
Throughout the rest of the first half, RMU’s Markeese Hastings and Stephaun Walker contributed with buckets, and at the break, Green Bay led 32-27.
In the second half, Hastings came out firing, hitting two-straight three pointers to give RMU the lead, 33-32. The Phoenix answered with a quick 11-2 run, retaking the lead. Green Bay maintained its advantage throughout the bulk of the half, and the Colonials hung around behind buckets from Jackson Last, Williams, and others.
Last hit a huge three pointer with just under six minutes to play, cutting the deficit down to just two points, 57-55. After Reynolds converted two more free throws, the lead was back up to four shortly after, and Reynolds was up to 29 points. With 4:30 to go, Walker was called for an offensive foul, and RMU trailed by five.
In the final four minutes, Williams lobbed a pass over the top of the defense up to Hastings, who finished with an acrobatic layup at the rim, cutting Green Bay’s lead down to just one. After another Reynolds free throw, Corbin drove in for RMU, hit a floater, and tied the game with less than three minutes to play. In the final minute, Hastings tied the game with another big bucket, backing down his defender and making a layup. After the two teams traded two free throws apiece, the game was tied 65-65 with 23 seconds to play.
On the final possession in regulation, Green Bay’s Reynolds, the star of the game, missed his chance at a game-winning field goal with just a few seconds left on the clock. After a Green Bay offensive rebound, the Colonials held strong and forced overtime.
In the extra period, RMU’s Last fouled out, and shortly after, Green Bay grabbed two offensive rebounds on the next possession, converting a layup on the second and taking a 68-67 lead. Green Bay continued to score in the paint, earning another bucket from Clarence Cummings to improve the lead to 72-70. The two teams traded buckets throughout the overtime period, and in the final 30 seconds, after Green Bay built its lead up to four, RMU’s Williams turned the ball over on an attempted pass into the lane. Green Bay, for the first time, had won a game in Moon Township. The Phoenix won the game 81-76.
Hastings finished the game as RMU’s leading scorer with 25 points, and also grabbed four rebounds. Corbin added 23 points, going 2 for 9 from three-point range but making 13 of his 14 free-throw tries. For the Phoenix, Reynolds went 10-21 from the field to finish with a game-high 32 points with just two turnovers. Three other Green Bay players added double-digit scoring nights, and the Phoenix won the rebounding battle 38-37.
With the loss, the Colonials fall to 9-15 overall and 5-8 in Horizon League play, while Green Bay, led by first-year head coach Sundance Wicks, improves to 16-9 overall and 11-3 in Horizon League Action. This makes two wins for the Phoenix over Robert Morris this season, as Green Bay took down the Colonials on New Year’s Eve.
Robert Morris will now host Milwaukee on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. That game will be televised on ESPN+ live from UPMC Events Center.
RMU does whatever it takes to lose every close game. That game was there for the taking. Too many mistakes, missed foul shots down the stretch hurt them. If Green Bay and Oakland are the two best horizon teams the best the automatic qualifier from that league should get is a 16 seed playoff game. Green Bay was a one man team and had no size or quality depth.