Robert Morris Falls To Duke In NCAA Second Round
By Larry Snyder
The Robert Morris University men’s basketball team brought the game back to within 10 points midway through the second half Friday, but Duke University was unstoppable as they claimed their NCAA Tournament match-up 85-56 at Time Warner Cable Arena.
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After being down 42-25 at the half, Robert Morris (20-15) went on a 10-0 run to cut Duke’s lead to 54-44 with 12:10 remaining in the contest. RMU’s run was helped in large part by a pair of three-pointers by junior Rodney Pryor. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard led RMU’s offense with 23 points.
The Blue Devils (30-4) came roaring back to put the game out of reach by outscoring the Colonials 31-12 to close out the evening. The assault started with freshman forward Amile Jefferson’s transition layup with 8:29 remaining.
Over the course of the evening, Duke outshot RMU 63 percent to 36 percent from the field. They also won the battle of the boards 40-28. The Blue Devils made 10 of 21 three-pointers.
For the Colonials, freshman Marcquise Reed was the second leading scorer with 22 points. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard added four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Senior guard Lucky Jones came off the bench to contribute seven points and three rebounds. Sophomore guard Kavon Stewart was the assists leader with six.
“What I tried to explain to them (afterward) was one of the reasons that we push so hard and we demand so much and hold you to such a high standard is because these are the games that we want to compete in,” head coach Andrew Toole told rmucolonials.com. “These are the games we want to be in and we want to play better than we played tonight.”
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The victory was the Blue Devils’ 100th win in the NCAA Tournament and kept the Tournament streak intact as No. 1 seeds are 124-0. They also improved their record to 33-6 in the NCAA Tournament when they play in their home state.
Duke senior Quinn Cook led the way with 22 points. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard hit 8-of-12 shots including 6-for-10 from behind the arc. Freshman center Jahlil Okafor added 21 points in 21 minutes played in the game.
“We’ve played in some big-time games and earned a spot here in the NCAA Tournament,” Cook told goduke.com. “I just told them to be themselves.”
Starting freshman guard Tyus Jones put up 10 points as did junior center Marshall Plumlee and Jefferson off the bench. Freshman forward Justise Winslow hauled down 11 rebounds to lead the squad, and tied with Jones for the most assists with seven apiece.
The Duke Blue Devils move on to play the San Diego State University Aztecs in the round of 32. The match-up will take place Sunday, March 22 at Time Warner Cable Arena.
From The Clipboard: Jones closed out his Robert Morris career with 1,632 points and 846 rebounds. He ranks fourth all-time in points and is the team’s all-time leading rebounder…RMU obtained 15 points off second chances while Duke has just eight…The Blue Devils bench came through with 21 points. The Colonials reserves offered up seven…The officials were James Breeding, Steve Olson, and Larry Scirotto.