MOON TOWNSHIP – On a day that Robert Morris recognized its three seniors – Markeese Hastings, Josh Corbin and Jackson Last – the Colonials looked to buckle down and avoid a season sweep against the visiting Cleveland State Vikings.
With Robert Morris lurking in the shadows for a majority of the game, the Colonials tied it up with less than a minute left on an Alvaro Folgueiras third chance putback.
However, Drew Lowder had other plans as he was cold-blooded for the Vikings with an intense drive and finish with 1.1 seconds left in the game to thrust the Vikings back ahead as they snuck away with a 73-71 win.
Lowder scored all of his 10 points in the second half as he scored some critical buckets, along with Tristan Enuruna dominating the Colonials yet again in the post with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Even as the Colonials (10-19, 6-12 HL) tied the game, an invisible lid sat atop the rim that prevented the Colonials from taking over. A chance for Corbin to take the lead late in the second half on a tiple rattled in and out. Earlier on, Folgueiras couldn’t put away two extra chances on the lay-in.
RMU shot 40 percent from the floor while adding 12 triples on the day. Corbin and Justice Williams led the charge with 17 points apiece and nine combined 3-pointers.
Last time out, Robert Morris had difficulties guarding the daunting presence of Enaruna as he scored 28 points.
Without Stephaun Walker in the lineup, it was up to Folgueiras and Hastings to apply the defensive guard. An early three fouls for Folgueiras sidelined him for the latter portion of the opening half.
The offensive vision by Cleveland State (17-12, 10-8) was on display as Enaruna was located on a variety of occasions, along with the lane clearing out for him after receiving a pass that allowed him to throw down the slam.
That followed up a play that saw Jalin Rice fly in from the top of the key, grab a dish from Enaruna, and finish at the rim. Rice also added two assists in the opening half, including a bounce pass that found Dylan Arnett who then went up with the two-handed dunk.
Robert Morris simply struggled to rotate and cover the Vikings offense as they exposed the Colonials primarily in the paint with 24 of its first-half points coming in that area.
Trying to stay afloat, the Colonials relied on their three ball, and it was cashing in. The Colonials buried six triples in the first 20 minutes with Williams and Corbin rising up and nailing two treys apiece.
With the Colonials balancing out its scoring, Corbin led the way with eight points in the opening half. To go along with his shooting from beyond the arc, he also got towards the hoop to score with a driving right-handed shot to keep the game within five points late in the opening half.
However, a 6-0 run by the Vikings, which saw Tevin Smith and Enaruna both lose their defenders to score driving baseline, gave way to a 42-31 lead at the break.
The second half opened up with both squads trading buckets and the Colonials unable to come up with a stop. Corbin once again added a pair of beautiful triples, but Enaruna and the Vikings had all the answers with the 6-foot-8 senior terrorizing the Colonials inside.
Lowder joined the shooting party for the Vikings as he hit a pair of mid-range jumpers, along with a circus-like floater from under the cup as the Vikings reached went back up over double digits at 59-49.
Robert Morris finally started to build momentum after Last connected on a straightaway three. Two possessions later, Chris Ford poked out an offensive rebound to Last who kicked it to Corbin for a deep three as the Colonials brought the game within two points.
As the Colonials hung around, trialing by just a few points, they finally found a shot to fall from Folgueiras on a third-chance opportunity that tied the game at 71-71.
With the game and shot clock separated by once second, it was Lowder that held the ball and then took it to the cup with the clutch finish to seal it for CSU.
Robert Morris closes out its home slate against Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
