Robert Morris defeats St. Francis Brooklyn in NEC quarterfinals

It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult.

Robert Morris, welcome to March Madness again.

AJ Bramah scored 22 points, and top-seeded Robert Morris rallied to beat No. 8 St. Francis Brooklyn, 59-58, in a Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinal Wednesday night at UPMC Events Center, surviving the Terriers’ last-second comeback attempt.

The Colonials, after falling behind in the second half, regained the lead but nearly wasted an eight-point advantage in the final minute, missing 3 of 4 free throws.

“That’s what conference tournament basketball is,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “It can be crazy, it can be wild, but the idea and the objective is to live another day.”

Robert Morris (18-14) will meet No. 4 Long Island University (15-17) in one semifinal-round game at 2 p.m. Saturday at UPMC Events Center.

The NEC Tournament championship game will be 7 p.m. Tuesday at the site of the highest-seeded team.

Robert Morris led 58-51 on a pair of Yannis Mendy free throws with 1 minute, 19 seconds left before St. Francis Brooklyn (13-18) outscored the Colonials, 7-1, the rest of the way but came up short when Larry Moreno’s short jumper at the final buzzer was off the mark.

“One bounce of the ball, and we’re all hooting and hollering,” St. Francis Brooklyn coach Glenn Braica said. “If it bounces a little to the right or the left, we’re all celebrating. Congratulations to Robert Morris. We wish them the best of the luck in the playoffs.”

Chauncey Hawkins’ 3-point shot with 17 seconds left pulled St. Francis Brooklyn within a point. After Robert Morris’ Jon Williams failed to add to the lead by missing the front end of a 1-and-1, Moreno misfired on a contested shot just outside the paint.

“It was a little frustrating,” Robert Morris senior guard Josh Williams said of the last seconds of the game. “I missed some free throws I should have made, I have to make, especially in my position as a leader and a senior. It was crunch time, and I’ve been in situations like that before.”

Josh Williams converted the front end of a 1-and-1 with 48 seconds left for a 59-53 Colonials lead, but he missed the second, then missed another front-end shot seconds later before his younger brother missed one at the 14-second mark.

“We’ve got to be able to step up and make some free throws at the end,” Toole said. “But we’re still confident they can do that.”

Josh Williams, who came in averaging a team-leading 13.5 points to Bramah’s 13.0, added 11 points for Robert Morris. Bramah led the Colonials with eight rebounds, though St. Francis Brooklyn controlled the glass 40-28.

Robert Morris forced 22 turnovers and committed 14. The Colonials struggled on offense at times when St. Francis Brooklyn switched to zone defense, something Braica said he rarely does.

“We were having trouble guarding them, so we took a shot at the zone,” he said. “It kind of threw them off a little. I don’t think they were expecting it. But they adjusted and found some answers.”

Hawkins led St. Francis Brooklyn with 23 points. Deniz Celen added 10 for the Terriers, who split the two-game regular-season series with the Colonials.

“I’m proud of how we fought against a really well-coached team. Every time we play them, it’s a war,” Braica said.

Robert Morris is making its 17th consecutive appearance in the NEC Tournament, the longest active streak in the conference. The Colonials own tournament records for appearances (36 of a possible 39), victories (43), semifinals appearances (23) and championships (eight).

They clinched the top seed this season in the final regular-season game by beating St. Francis (Pa.), 78-68, on Saturday at UPMC Events Center.

“The guys continued to focus on the things that were important even as it got a little shaky down at the end,” Toole said. “We gave up the lead, but were able to fight back and retake it, and it just showed some of the character and toughness of the team.

“We’re excited to be able to play on Saturday again.”

Bramah, making just his 11th start of the season and second in a row since November, made a layup during a 9-0 run to put Robert Morris in front for good, 50-49, with 5:29 left after St. Francis Brooklyn came back from a 14-point first-half deficit.

Robert Morris led 29-15 on a Bramah dunk with 3:31 to go in the first half before St. Francis Brooklyn outscored the Colonials, 12-4, the rest of the way to halftime.

Hawkins’ halfcourt 3-point shot at the buzzer pulled the Terriers within 32-27.

A Hawkins layup with 10:41 remaining in the game gave St. Francis Brooklyn a 42-41 lead, and the Terriers led by four twice, the last time coming on Celen’s hook shot in the lane for a 49-45 advantage.

Bramah, a 6-foot-7 junior and the Colonials’ second-leading scorer despite playing mainly in a reserve role, then fueled the Colonials’ decisive run, scoring eight points in the final 5½ minutes.