Robert Morris men come up short at Wright State
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Even with its late-game miscues, the Robert Morris men’s basketball team nearly kept its long winning streak alive Sunday at Wright State.
But the Colonials weren’t able to come through.
Andrew Welage’s jumper and Jack Doumbia’s free throw in the final 11 seconds completed a run of 10 unanswered points that carried Wright State to a 66-64 victory over Robert Morris at Nutter Center in Fairborn, Ohio, ending the Colonials’ second six-game winning streak of the season.
“Slow decisions and not enough pace, offensively, cost us,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “But we still had our chance.”
Brandon Noel, the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, led Wright State (12-12, 6-7) with 17 points.
Kam Woods’ 22 points paced Robert Morris (16-8, 8-5). Amarion Dickerson added 17 for the Colonials, who committed nine of their 15 turnovers in the second half and went scoreless for the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
“As you come down the stretch, you can’t turn the ball over,” Toole said. “Wright State hasn’t turned people over a lot this season, but they were able to turn us over 15 times.”
Three days after erupting for a 56-point rout of IU Indianapolis that came amid a stretch of four last-minute victories, Robert Morris was involved in yet another close outcome.
But Welage’s shot gave Wright State a one-point lead, and Robert Morris couldn’t counter when Woods’ reverse layup missed the mark and Wright State’s Doumbia grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
He made the first free-throw attempt but missed the second, keeping play alive and forcing Woods’ unsuccessful, full-court shot.
“We didn’t get a great look,” Toole said. “I don’t know if I should’ve called timeout. The ball was in Kam’s hands. He’s made the plays all year, and we trust him to make those plays or make that pass. It just didn’t work out for us.”
Wright State pulled within 64-63 on Alex Hulbregtse’s 3-point shot with 1:54 left before neither team scored until Welage’s go-ahead bucket.
D.J. Smith’s 3-pointer for Robert Morris was off the mark, and he later missed on a 1-and-1 situation from the free-throw line with 27 seconds left.
“We had a great shot in the corner that didn’t go in and the front end of a one-and-one that didn’t go in,” Toole said. “Those are tough plays that change the dynamic of how the rest of the game plays out.”
For much of the day, it looked as though Robert Morris would continue its surge toward a first-round bye in the Horizon League Tournament.
The Colonials opened the game by making nine of their first 11 shots but still were clinging to a 36-34 halftime lead.
A 13-2 run midway through the second half put RMU ahead 55-45, and the Colonials maintained control until Wright State’s late run dashed their hopes for another victory.
Robert Morris dropped into a fourth-place tie with Youngstown State in the Horizon League standings with seven regular-season games remaining, including four at UPMC Events Center beginning Wednesday against Detroit Mercy.
The top four teams in the standings earn a first-round bye in the Horizon Tournament, which begins March 4.
Robert Morris’ latest winning streak included a three-point victory Jan. 12 against Wright State at UPMC Events Center and three two-point victories on the road against Milwaukee and Youngstown State and at home against Oakland.
The other wins came at Green Bay in a game that saw Robert Morris score 28 unanswered points to open the second half, and the 106-53 rout of IU Indy on Thursday at UPMC Events Center.
Toole said Wright State’s ability to outhustle Robert Morris to a number of “50-50” balls contributed to the Colonials’ woes.
“That’s the stuff that kills you,” he said. “They had 17 second-chance points for the game, and 15 were in the first half. If you cut that number in half, you probably have a sizable halftime lead.”
As it was, the Colonials settled for a two-point advantage.
“We talked about all the decisions across the board that affect the outcome at the end,” Toole said. “We certainly weren’t at our best, but we had a chance to steal one, and we weren’t able to do it.”