Robert Morris men look to secure 1st victory in Horizon League Tournament

As Robert Morris approaches its second appearance in the Horizon League men’s basketball tournament, securing its first postseason victory in the league could depend on several points.

When the 10th-seeded Colonials (7-23) meet No. 7 Youngstown State (18-13) in a first-round game Tuesday night at Beeghley Center in Youngstown, Ohio, Robert Morris coach Andy Toole will be expecting no letdown from his players, three days after the Colonials closed the regular season with a 10-point loss at Wright State.

Afterward, Toole expressed disappointment in the Colonials’ second-half performance after they led Wright State by as many as eight points after halftime before stumbling.

“We had about 24 minutes of good basketball, and then some chinks in the armor exposed themselves,” he said. “The effort and the fight was where it needed to be, but we just couldn’t sustain effort over 40 minutes. Guys believe they can play, but it’s got to be day-in and day-out.”

Then, too, Robert Morris, despite its underwhelming record, has been better when limiting its opponents’ to fewer than 70 points, where the Colonials own a 7-3 mark.

They are 0-20 when allowing 70 or more.

Also, the Colonials will be looking to senior forward Khaliel Spear, named Monday to the all-Horizon third team, for another stellar effort against Youngstown State.

The last time the teams met, Feb. 13 in Youngstown, Robert Morris came away with one of those under-70 victories, a 73-68 decision behind Spear’s career-high 27 points.

The 6-foot-7 senior leads Robert Morris in scoring (14.5 ppg.) and rebounding (7.6 rpg.) this season.

“We have to be ready to go,” Toole said. “Good teams apply the pressure in the right places. Youngstown State has been playing some really good basketball, and if there’s any time to flip the switch that everyone thinks can be flipped, now would be the time.”

In that regular-season finale — a 71-61 loss Saturday at Wright State — Robert Morris hung tough for much of the game. But a second-half collapse allowed Wright State to pull away and top the 70-point plateau.

“Sustained effort is one of our standards,” Toole said. “If you’re not sprinting back at full speed on defense, then you give up a transition 3. Where we get ourselves in trouble is we have a tendency to let one bad thing spiral into something more. We just weren’t able to get stops or defend when we needed to.”

In other Horizon Tournament first-round games Tuesday, No. 11 Green Bay (5-24) plays at No. 6 Detroit Mercy (13-14), No. 12 IUPUI (3-25) visits No. 5 Oakland (19-11) and No. 8 Illinois-Chicago (13-15) travels to No. 9 Milwaukee (10-21).

Regular-season champion Cleveland State (19-9) is the tournament’s top seed and drew a first-round bye, as did No. 2 Purdue Fort Wayne (20-10), No. 3 Northern Kentucky (18-11) and No. 4 Wright State (18-13).

After joining the Horizon a year ago, Robert Morris bowed out of its initial tournament go-round, losing a first-round game to Antoine Davis and Detroit Mercy, 83-73.

Davis, who ranks third in Division I in scoring this season, poured in 46 points for the Titans.

Meanwhile, Robert Morris is 3-9 this season in games decided by eight points or fewer. Included are a pair of overtime losses at UPMC Events Center.

One of the victories occurred in the Colonials’ last meeting with Youngstown State, that five-point road victory that limited the Penguins to less than 70 points.

It marks the 25th meeting between the teams, who are tied in the all-time series, 12-12. Coincidentally, the outcomes of 17 games have been decided by eight points or less, including 16 of the past 20.

Before its five-point victory over the Penguins in the latest meeting, Robert Morris dropped a 64-60 decision to Youngtown State on Jan. 5 at UPMC Events Center.