Robert Morris men drop 3rd straight with loss to Northern Kentucky

In the Northeast Conference, the Robert Morris brand emanated with other marquee programs in the loop. Now that the Colonials have jumped to the higher-profile Horizon League, coach Andy Toole has a message, yet again, to anyone who is up for listening.

Can you hear him, players (wink-wink)?

With Toole at the helm, Robert Morris won the Northeast championship in its final season before joining the Horizon in 2020. Presently, the Colonials are near the bottom of the Horizon standings after finishing last a season ago in their first-year voyage.

“The good teams in this league are trying to get ready to play their best basketball as we close in on the conference tournament,” Toole said.

Count Northern Kentucky among the title contenders.

Marques Warrick equaled his career-high of 30 points and got seven rebounds to power the Norse past Robert Morris, 78-62, on Thursday night at BB&T Arena in Highlands Heights, Ky., the Colonials’ third consecutive loss and fourth in the past five games.

Trevon Faulkner added 10 points to go with six rebounds and five assists for Northern Kentucky (17-11, 13-6), which won for the fifth time in the past six games.

The Norse sit in third place in the 12-team Horizon, just 1 1/2 games behind league-leading Cleveland State and a game in back of second-place Purdue Fort Wayne, which has won eight straight.

“Northern Kentucky was locked in tonight, and they’re ready for this time of year,” Toole said. “We’re going up against another team in Wright State that’s looking to do the same thing.”

Wright State is the last team to have beaten Purdue Fort Wayne, posting a 12-point victory on Jan. 30. The Raiders will welcome Robert Morris for a 7 p.m. Saturday game.

“For us, it’s another opportunity to put on the jersey and go out and compete,” Toole said. “You only have so many times to do that at this level of basketball. Hopefully, our guys can take advantage of that.”

Northern Kentucky led Robert Morris by as many as 29 points in dominating the Colonials from the start.

Kam Farris’ 14 points off the bench paced Robert Morris (7-22, 5-15), which also got 12 points from Kahliel Spear, 11 from Mike Mayers and 10 from Enoch Cheeks.

Spear, the Colonias’ top scorer (14.5 ppg.) and rebounder (7.6 rpg.), earlier in the day was named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team.

Warrick’s explosive performance ignited Northern Kentucky as the Norse evened the season series with Robert Morris after the Colonials prevailed in the first game, 74-64, on Jan. 15 at UPMC Events Center.

Warrick scored 21 points in a losing cause in that game.

In his latest effort, Warrick shot 10 for 19, including 7 of 10 from 3-point range.

“We weren’t ready to play,” Toole said. “A number of the 3’s he took, we just stood around and watched him. They were the aggressor and locked in, and we just weren’t able to fight back. They pressed our guys every time, and we just didn’t give the game the effort it deserves.”

Toole has seen enough of the late-game collapses and numerous lapses in judgement. He has said as much often this season, but still, there are some signs of life. The Colonials have lost a number of games by narrow margins.

“Where it gets frustrating for me is if you give it your best for 25 minutes and then run out of gas, then that’s OK,” he said. “We just want to roll the dice and hope someone misses or hope we’re going to get a call. We don’t control the things we can control, and that’s been something that has creeped in all season long, unfortunately.”