RMU falls again on road swing
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Robert Morris may not be able to grab many wins by the time finals week hits in early December, by one thing is certain: Andrew Toole will know exactly what he has in his team by the time the Colonials get a week off.
Lucky Jones scored 19 points and pulled down rebounds, but RMU didn't have an answer for Javon McCrea in a 81-66 loss to Buffalo. McCrea had 18 points and 12 rebounds as Buffalo dominated the glass and generally frustrated Robert Morris for 40 minutes.
The loss dropped Robert Morris to 0-2 as part of a five-game stretch that included last Saturday's loss to Cleveland State, Tuesday's trip to Buffalo, a trip to Delaware on Saturday, a trip Youngstown State on Wednesday and then a home game against Toledo on December 7. Delaware is among the top teams in the CAA, while Youngstown State is 5-1 and Toledo is 6-0.
By the end of that stretch, Toole should have a pretty good idea of what kind of make-up his Colonials have. Through the first two games of this swing, it hasn't been all that pleasant at times, including stretches Tuesday night against Buffalo.
Of course, Tuesday's game wasn't without complications. Toole spent part of Monday night hospitalized for a kidney stone and stayed seated on the bench for the entirety of the game. Assistant Joey Gallo handled the bulk of the head coaching duties, though Toole was still making decisions and issuing plenty of directions.
The Colonials were tied with Buffalo at 38 entering halftime, but McCrea's physical presence and Buffalo's ability to keep possessions alive ended up being Robert Morris' demise. Buffalo had 18 offensive rebounds which led to a 10-point advantage on second chance points.
The game was close through the first ten minutes of the second half, as Buffalo was clinging to a 53-50 lead with 11:51 remaining. But the Bulls closed on a 28-16 run, bolstered by a stretch where RMU scored eight points in eight minutes while the Bulls scored 25.
Robert Morris went 3-of-11 from the floor in that eight minute stretch while Buffalo went 8-of-10, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Jones was a bright spot for Robert Morris, as was freshman Jeremiah Worthem, who provided 13 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes. Karvel Anderson chipped in 11 points and Anthony Myers-Pate had 10. But Worthem and Desjuan Newton were the only true sparks off the bench. David Appolon had three turnovers in 12 minutes, Charles Oliver was 0-for-6 from the floor, and a hobbled Mike McFadden played just 12 minutes.
Out of Robert Morris' 3 traditional big men: McFadden, Stephan Hawkins and Aaron Tate, the Colonials got four points on 1-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds and 10 personal fouls in 41 combined minutes.
Robert Morris' tip against Delaware on Saturday is at noon.
Attendance: 2,539
Robert Morris (3-4)
Players
Min
FG
3P
FT
Rebounds
PF
A
TO
B
S
Pts
L. Jones
32
6-13
3-4
4-6
2
6
8
3
3
3
0
0
19
A. Myers-Pate
31
3-6
0-1
4-4
1
2
3
3
3
2
0
2
10
D. Newton
25
2-4
1-2
0-2
1
3
4
2
0
0
1
0
5
J. Worthem
22
5-9
0-1
3-4
0
4
4
1
1
1
0
1
13
K. Anderson
21
4-10
0-4
3-3
1
3
4
3
0
0
2
3
11
C. Oliver
16
0-6
0-5
2-2
0
1
1
2
1
1
0
1
2
A. Tate
15
1-1
0-0
0-0
0
3
3
3
0
1
0
0
2
S. Hawkins
14
0-4
0-0
0-0
2
1
3
4
1
0
0
0
0
D. Appolon
12
0-0
0-0
2-4
0
0
0
1
2
3
0
0
2
M. McFadden
12
0-2
0-0
2-2
1
0
1
3
0
1
1
0
2
Team Rebounds
1
Totals
Shooting Pct.
200
21-55
38.2
4-17
23.5
20-27
74.1
9
23
33
25
11
12
4
7
66
Buffalo (2-2)
Players
Min
FG
3P
FT
Rebounds
PF
A
TO
B
S
Pts
J. Oldham
36
3-9
1-4
6-10
0
4
4
0
7
2
0
3
13
J. Freelove
31
5-13
1-4
1-1
1
2
3
1
2
0
0
0
12
J. McCrea
28
7-11
0-0
4-7
5
7
12
4
0
3
5
1
18
W. Regan
28
1-2
0-0
8-12
2
4
6
3
0
1
0
0
10
J. Skeete
23
4-8
3-5
4-4
0
4
4
3
3
2
0
0
15
S. Evans
22
3-9
1-5
0-0
3
1
4
1
3
3
0
1
7
J. Moss
14
2-5
0-0
2-5
3
3
6
4
0
0
0
0
6
X. Ford
9
0-0
0-0
0-0
1
0
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
A. Nuiriankh
5
0-0
0-0
0-0
1
0
1
3
0
1
0
0
0
D. Much
3
0-1
0-1
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
C. Raley-Ross
1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Team Rebounds
4
Totals
Shooting Pct.
200
25-58
43.1
6-19
31.6
25-39
64.1
18
27
49
22
15
12
6
5
81
Officials:
Tim Stewart, Kevin O'Connell, Lamont Simpson
ColonialsCorner publisher Andrew Chiappazzi can be reached at achiappazzi@yahoo.com.