Robert Morris men dominate Wagner for 4th win in row

The Northeast Conference preseason basketball poll tabbed Robert Morris fifth among the league’s 11 men’s teams.

The Colonials are beginning to look like one of the best in the NEC as the schedule unfolds into the second half of the season.

Josh Williams scored 21 points, and Robert Morris bulled its way to a 94-62 victory over Wagner on Saturday at UPMC Events Center, the Colonials’ season-high fourth consecutive win.

“We’ve just got to keep our focus for as long as we can,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “It doesn’t get any easier, and that’s what we’re trying to remind these guys.”

A.J. Bramah added 16 points, Dante Treacy 14 and Yannis Mendy 13 for Robert Morris (8-9, 4-0), which entered the day with a half-game lead in the Northeast Conference.

Robert Morris, which shot 56 percent, made 15 of 31 3-point shots, including 10 of 17 in the second half.

“Honestly, an outstanding performance from a shooting perspective,” Toole said. “To be able to make 10 3s in the second half alone is pretty remarkable. It’s not something we’re going to rely on night-in and night-out.”

Robert Morris will have a week off before continuing a four-game homestand Saturday against league-newcomer Merrimack at UPMC Events Center, where the Colonials are 4-1 since moving into the $50 million building.

The only loss came Nov. 12 in its inaugural game, a 71-57 loss to Pitt.

Curtis Cobb III led Wagner (4-11, 1-3) with 23 points. Alex Morales added 13 for the Seahawks, who were coming off an 80-62 loss at St. Francis (Pa.) on Thursday.

Wagner has lost three in a row and four of its past five games.

While Williams continued to lead the way in scoring for Robert Morris — he came in averaging 14.9 points — there have been plenty other contributors during the Colonials’ current winning spree.

“We’ve just started having fun with it,” sophomore point guard Treacy said. “Sharing the rock, guys swinging the ball, we had 23 assists and (only) eight turnovers today.”

Robert Morris took advantage of Wagner’s cold shooting, particularly during a scoreless stretch of 6 minutes, 25 seconds that spanned the conclusion of the first half and the start of the second.

The Colonials turned a five-point deficit into an 18-point lead with 18:27 left before a pair of free throws by Morales ended Wagner’s scoring drought.

The Seahawks got as close as 12 points on a jumper by Chase Freeman at the 15:55 mark to trail 44-32, but the Colonials then pulled away, leading by as much as 94-58 in the final minutes.

“We’re trying to talk about getting good shots every time down,” Toole said.

Robert Morris finished a torrid 33 for 59 (55.9 percent) overall compared with 24 for 56 (42.9) for Wagner, which was 6 for 19 (31.6) from 3-point range.

“They made a couple 3s early, and we said we have to defend that 3-point line,” Toole said. “We can’t allow them good, clean looks from 3. After that first timeout, we did a good job of contesting shots and getting guys off the 3-point line. That was really the key to the defensive side.

“Offensively, the ball was moving, and shots were going in. That makes everything click.”

Robert Morris trailed Wagner midway through the first half but surpassed the Seahawks on a Williams 3-pointer at the 4:52 mark to go up 22-20.

After Morales’ layup pulled Wagner even at 22-22, Mendy’s layup put Robert Morris back in front for good with 3:06 left before halftime.

After trailing 20-15, Robert Morris went on a 20-2 run to take a 35-22 halftime lead, holding Wagner scoreless for the final 4:23 of the first half while finishing with a 13-0 burst.

Bramah made 5 of 6 free throws to account for the Colonials only points in the final 2:21.

“Guys just get to settle in,” said Robert Morris guard Jon Williams, younger brother of Josh Williams. “As much as we want to win the first round, to the first media timeout, sometimes you have to wake up. After we wake up, we’re hard to stop.”

Falling behind early has been a bit of a trademark of this Robert Morris team. It’s not ideal, Jon Williams said, but he hopes the Colonials can continue to rally for the rest of the season.

“The last couple years,” Toole said, “we’ve gotten off to good starts, and we haven’t been able to finish the way we want. Obviously, some of our guys are very experienced in terms of how many minutes they’ve played in NEC basketball games, so we’re hoping they understand.”