Alvaro Folgueiras scores 35 to propel Robert Morris past Northern Kentucky
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Robert Morris made another strong statement Saturday in its bid for a first-round bye in the Horizon League Tournament, and Alvaro Folgueiras spoke the loudest.
Folgueiras scored a career-high 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double, Kam Woods scored five straight points late to give Robert Morris the lead for good, and the Colonials held on to beat Northern Kentucky, 81-76, at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Ky., for their 12th victory in the past 15 games.
“It was a complete team effort and battle,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “This (win) is a tribute to the effort these guys made today.”
Robert Morris (18-8, 10-5), which overcame the absence of foul-plagued shot-blocker Amarion Dickerson for much of the game, remained tied with Youngstown State for the fourth and final conference tournament bye with five regular-season games remaining. The Colonials visit conference leader Cleveland State on Wednesday.
The Vikings handed the Colonials an 80-69 loss Jan. 8 at UPMC Events Center. A month later now, Toole said his group has moved on.
“The guys are ecstatic,” he said. “This is a competitive group.”
Woods, who added 15 points to go with seven assists, tied the score at 74-74 with a 3-pointer before his step-back jumper gave Robert Morris a 76-74 lead as the Colonials outscored Northern Kentucky, 10-2, during the final 1 minute, 51 seconds.
Dickerson, the nation’s second-leading shot-blocker, fouled out with 6:07 remaining.
“Alvaro was a monster out there,” Toole said. “He kind of picked up the slack for his guy, ‘Mar’ (Dickerson), who had some tough calls there and was saddled with some foul trouble.”
Dickerson, coming off a school-record eight blocks against Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, finished with just five points, one rebound and one block in 16 minutes.
But the Colonials relied on Folgueiras to lead the way, and the 6-foot-9 sophomore responded with a career day.
He made 12 of 14 field-goal attempts, including 3 for 4 from behind the 3-point arc, and also converted 8 of 10 free throws, while contributing two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
“He shot the ball incredibly well. He was impressive,” Toole said. “Alvaro is such a good passer that you have to make a choice. Do you want him to shoot the ball or do you want him to pass it? At times, they kind of looked at him to shoot it.”
Most of the time, Folgueiras’ shots found the bottom of the net.
“He made some huge 3s that kept us in the game in the second half,” Toole said.
Northern Kentucky (11-14, 6-8), which on Wednesday ended Cleveland State’s 13-game winning streak — the nation’s third-longest at the time — was led by Trey Robinson’s 19 points.
The Norse, who led by as many as 13 points with 5 minutes gone by in the second half, also received 17 points from Josh Dilling, 14 from Dan Gherezgher and 12 from Sam Vinson.
Robert Morris completed a season sweep of Northern Kentucky. In the first game Dec. 29, Folgueiras and Dickerson combined for 48 points and 34 rebounds in RMU’s 97-93 triple-overtime victory at UPMC Events Center.