RMU Men’s Basketball: Four Stars Who Helped The Colonials Advance In NCAA Tournament
By Larry Snyder
The Robert Morris University men’s basketball team proved they belong in the Big Dance as they came from behind in their First Four match-up Wednesday to defeat the University of North Florida 81-77 at UD Arena.
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The two keys to the game for RMU (20-14) was 60 points on the scoreboard from senior guard Lucky Jones, junior guard Rodney Pryor and freshman guard Marcquise Reed. The other was UNF committing 19 turnovers to the Colonials five on the night. Robert Morris collected 21 points off those miscues while North Florida could claim just five.
After being down 32-29 at the half, the comeback in the second-half was the result of 9-0, 13-1, and 7-0 runs that allowed the Colonials to overtake the Ospreys. Head Coach Andrew Toole also had RMU make the adjustment by changing to a match-up zone in the second half.
“We made sure coming into halftime that we remembered this is a blessing to be out here, to enjoy the moment,” Pryor said on rmucolonials.com. “Guys had their heads down and things like that, but we reiterated going out and having fun and enjoying it.”
The victory marked the second time that RMU has won a play-in game in the tournament. Robert Morris defeated the Georgia Southern University Eagles 64-54 in March 1983.
Let’s go back and take another look at the four players that helped the Colonials win their seventh consecutive contest.
1) Jones made his presence known by coming off the bench and putting up 21 points in 31 minutes. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound senior added seven rebounds, five steals, one assists and one blocked shot.
2) Pryor was the second leading scorer with 20 points. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard from Evanston, Illinois also had three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
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3) Reed took care of business with 19 points against the Ospreys. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Landover, Maryland native chipped in one rebound, two assists and two steals.
4) Freshman Elijah Minnie had a double-double by leading the team with 10 rebounds and scoring 12 points. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward also had one assist, one steal, and one blocked shot on the evening.
For the Ospreys, Beau Beech finished with 28 points including 6-of-10 from the three-point line. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound junior guard was third on the squad with seven rebounds. Senior guard Jalen Nesbitt brought his career to a close at UNF with 14 points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
Rounding out UNF’s attack was sophomore guard Dallas Moore, who contributed 13 points and was the leader in assists with five. North Florida had the advantage in rebounds 42-31, assists 15-11, and blocked shots 4-2.
Up Next: Robert Morris travels Friday, March 20 to Charlotte, N.C. to play the South Region No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils (29-4) at 7:10 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena.
From The Clipboard: Sophomore guard Kavon Stewart led the way with six assists for RMU and he supplied seven points…The Robert Morris bench out scored North Florida’s reserves 23-15…The game was tied four times for a total of 3:52…The officials were Michael Stephens, Mike Eades, and Alfred Smith.