Robert Morris men lose Horizon League opener to Youngstown State

Robert Morris was looking to match its best 10-game start to a men’s basketball season Wednesday night in a Horizon League opener against Youngstown State.

The Penguins, however, had other ideas.

With Horizon League commissioner Julie Roe Lach on hand, Juwan Maxey scored 16 points, including five 3-point shots, and Youngstown State rolled to a 72-58 victory over the Colonials at UPMC Events Center in one of two conference openers.

Four more league games were scheduled Thursday as the Horizon joined the Big Ten and Missouri Valley as the only major conferences to begin play this early in the season.

“I don’t love these games where they’re at,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “We don’t even know our team yet, and now we’re playing a conference game.”

Forget that Robert Morris (6-4, 0-1) four times had begun a season with a 7-3 record — the last occurring under Toole in 2011-12 while the Colonials were a member of the Northeast Conference — but couldn’t match it again.

This one mattered to Toole for more than just that.

“I said it to the commissioner before the game — not that it affected winning or losing; we didn’t deserve to win the game — we don’t know our team yet, and now you’re playing a really important game at this stage of the season.

“The argument is, ‘Oh, well, Northwestern and Iowa played one last night.’ That’s great. You can come in seventh place in the Big Ten and play in the NCAA Tournament. You can’t come in seventh place in the Horizon League and play in the NCAA Tournament. All these games where you’re fighting for a seeding, potential byes, home-court advantage in the first round, those matter.”

All of that aside, Toole was quick to apologize for not having his team ready to go.

“I didn’t do a good enough job of being able to prepare them for what they were going to see tonight,” he said. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure that we have a better plan to be able to attack what we’re facing, defensively.”

Jason Nelson added 13 points, Nico Galette scored 12 and E.J. Farmer chipped in 10 for Youngstown State (4-5, 1-0), which shot 45.9 % (28 for 61).

Gabe Dynes, a 7-foot-3 sophomore, came off the bench to contribute 7 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Penguins. His presence in the lane clearly altered RMU’s shot selections.

“Dynes in the middle of the floor creates a little bit of an issue with his size,” Toole said. “They have great length and athleticism. They’ll continue to challenge you on every catch, possession and dribble.

“I don’t think we handled it very well. That’s on me.”

Kam Woods, the North Carolina State transfer in his second game back from a sprained ankle that kept him sidelined for five games, paced Robert Morris with 14 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists but also seven turnovers.

“We hope he can make us better,” Toole said. “The frustrating thing is when you add guys back into the lineup, it kind of shuffles the deck as you get recalibrated again. Kam did some good things, and he made some gambles that I didn’t love. He’s got to get the rust off and get acclimated a little bit with where our rotation is going.”

In Woods’ absence at point guard, D.J. Smith played steady. He started again Wednesday with both players logging 30 minutes each.

While Woods, who shot 5 for 15, was healthy again, Toole said senior guard Justice Williams, who has yet to play this year following offseason knee surgery, will be lost to the team for the rest of the season.

“Justice won’t be back this year,” Toole said.

Williams started 29 of 31 games last season for RMU, finishing third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and second in assists (76).

Amarion Dickerson added 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks for Robert Morris, which shot 34.5 % (20 for 58). Dickerson came into the game ranked third in Division I in blocks with 23.

The teams combined to make just 9 of 46 3-point shots, six by Youngstown State (Maxey went 5 for 8) and three by Robert Morris.

Alvaro Folgueiras, who ranked third in D-I with 94 rebounds, pulled down 11 caroms for Robert Morris, his seventh double-digit effort of the season.

Youngstown State enjoyed a 35-21 halftime lead, taking control of the first half with a 20-4 run that erased a two-point deficit and gave the Penguins a 27-13 lead with 4 minutes, 44 seconds left in the half.

They stretched their advantage in the second half to 60-38 on two free throws by Ty Harper with 5:49 remaining before Robert Morris went on a 14-2 run to get within 62-52 on a steal and layup by Josh Omojafo with 2:59 to go.

It was as close as the Colonials would get.

“We battled for a majority of the first half,” Toole said. “They made that little run there to get the lead. It gets frustrating when you’re not scoring.”

More so when you’re not winning.

Robert Morris, which lost its second in a row following a six-game winning streak, travels to Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday before returning home for three games, two of which are against its final two nonconference opponents: Towson on Dec. 17 and St. Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 21.