Robert Morris looks ahead to matchup with Purdue Fort Wayne after leading scorer enters transfer portal

Robert Morris’ longest homestand of the men’s basketball season continues Sunday with a visit from Purdue Fort Wayne. Can the Colonials avoid a letdown after nearly beating Horizon League preseason favorite Cleveland State on Friday night in a tough, 78-77 setback?

“Really proud of the fight the guys showed for 40 minutes,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “That, from here on out, has to be a non-negotiable.”

It will be the third of five consecutive scheduled games at UMPC Events Center for Robert Morris (2-12, 0-5), which has lost three in a row and five of its past six.

The Colonials will be playing their second game without leading scorer Rasheem Dunn, who left the team on Wednesday night with the intention of entering the transfer portal following Robert Morris’ 64-60 loss to Youngstown State to kick off the current homestand.

Dunn, a 6-foot-2 guard and the team’s third defection this season, was averaging 12.8 points per game with 12 starts for Robert Morris. Despite missing all six of his 3-point attempts, Dunn, a transfer from St. John’s, scored a team-high 15 points against Youngstown State before his departure.

He follows the losses of a pair of little-used players, 6-7 forward Mattia Acunzo, a Toledo transfer from District 10 power Kennedy Catholic, who left the team in December, and 6-3 guard Ferron Flavors Jr., an Oklahoma State transfer, who left in November.

Robert Morris lost a handful of players last season to the transfer portal, including leading scorer and rebounder AJ Bramah, who enrolled at Arizona State before changing his mind and deciding on Nevada, where the 6-7 forward was dismissed earlier this season for what the school said was “conduct detrimental to the team.”

The loss of Dunn further shortened Robert Morris’ depleted bench for the Horizon League game against Purdue Fort Wayne (6-7, 2-3).

“Some of the uncertainty that has gone on in the last two years makes it challenging to create any continuity and makes it challenging to build the right habits,” Toole said. “You show up to practice and are you going to have nine today or could you have 10 to go five on five? Are you going to get shut down? Is someone going into quarantine? You never know. The only way we can make the best of it is to stay positive.”

Amid the turmoil, Toole was encouraged by the Colonials’ effort Friday against Cleveland State, when Khaleil Spear scored 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

“These guys have sacrificed a lot to be on the court,” Toole said. “They were hopeful this year would be different, and here we are in January of 2022 talking about what the definition of vaccination is and whether or not you’re going into quarantine. We want to make sure the fight is the level it needs to be at, and then we’ll figure it out from there.”

Robert Morris has had just one game this season affected by covid-19 protocols, a Jan. 1 Horizon League game at Detroit Mercy, which was canceled and will not be rescheduled.