Dec. 15, 2009
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Robert Morris used a 14-1 second half run to break open a close game and claim a 78-70 win over Cleveland State on Tuesday night in the Wolstein Center.
CSU fell to 4-7 this season, the Colonials improved to 4-5.
Norris Cole led the Vikings with 22 points, while Trevon Harmon scored 17 points with five assists. D'Aundray Brown added added 11 points and matched his career-high with six assists. He also made a game-high four steals.
"We got off to a good start, but then really struggled until the final five minutes," head coach Gary Waters said. "We play with energy and passion and we play hard, but what we need to do is start to complete the plays.
"We have a tough game coming up on Saturday and I have to get the team ready for that both inside and outside. We have had good practices and know we need to go out and get things to go right."
Things started out well for the Vikings as Cole hit a jumper and a three-pointer to give the Vikings a quick 5-0 lead. They Vikings pushed the lead to as many as eight points (12-4) with 13 minutes to play on a Nigel Ajere jumper, but RMU rallied all the way back to take a 28-27 lead with 3:36 to play in the half.
RMU led at the half, 34-32.
A Ron Robinson layup opened the second half scoring and gave the Colonials a four point lead with 19:27 left.
However, just 21 seconds later, the lights in the arena went out unexpectedly, forcing a 17 minute delay to the game.
RMU pushed its lead to five points (41-36) on a Josiah Whitehead free throw with 16:33 to play, but a 6-1 run by the Vikings evened the contest at 42-42 with 15:44 left in the half.
However, Robert Morris scored 15 of the next 16 points to take control of the game, opening up a 57-43 lead with 8:58 left. The Vikings would come no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Forced to foul down the stretch to stop the clock, the Vikings could not cut into their deficit as the Colonials hit 10-of-12 free throws in the final 1:30.
Tonight's loss was CSU's second consecutive loss in the Wolstein Center, the most since CSU dropped four straight to end the 2006-07 season.
CSU shot .407 (24-59) for the game, while Robert Morris hit 22-of-41 (.537), including 9-of-17 in the second half. The Colonials were the seventh team to shoot 50-percent or better from the field.
The Colonials held a decided advantage at the free throw line, hitting 29-of-39 (.744) compared to 14-of-23 (.609) for the Vikings.
CSU was also outrebounded, 33-31, for the eighth time this season.
The Vikings will return to action on Saturday (Dec. 19) when CSU hosts West Virginia at 2:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. It will be the first doubleheader of the season as the CSU women's squad will play Indiana at 4:30 p.m.
