Robert Morris men rack up another Horizon League win
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In a season of few victories, Robert Morris finally has won back-to-back games for the first time.
Michael Green III scored 21 points, Enoch Cheeks notched a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and the Colonials held off Green Bay, 62-60, on Saturday night at UPMC Events Center.
It was the second consecutive Horizon League men’s basketball victory for Robert Morris (5-16, 3-9), which was coming off a 77-53 rout of Milwaukee on Thursday. The Colonials also evened the season series with Green Bay, which scored a 70-58 home victory over Robert Morris on Dec. 2.
“It’s conference basketball, and it’s almost February. It’s going to be a grind,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said.
The Colonials have nine scheduled league games remaining with an eye on improving their conference tournament seeding, and Toole is warming up to his club’s improved play.
“For the most part, our effort tonight was really good,” he said. “We just didn’t seem to have a lot of flow, offensively, and credit to that goes to Green Bay. They did a great job slowing us down. But we were able to get some stops late and get on the backboards. Some of the effort plays that separate winning and losing we made tonight, and that was the difference.”
Cheeks’ basket early in the second half put Robert Morris in front for good 33-31 after the Colonials went into halftime trailing 27-26.
The lead swelled to 39-31 with 15 minutes, 37 seconds left on a dunk by Southmoreland’s Brandon Stone, but Robert Morris couldn’t pull away.
Green Bay (4-16, 3-8) drew within a point four times, the last with 3 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Kamari McGee that cut the gap to 61-60.
Green III immediately was fouled and sank 1 of 2 attempts before Green Bay called time out to set up a potential winning shot. But the Phoenix weren’t able to fine one, and Robert Morris claimed the win.
Green III shot 8 for 14, including 4 for 8 from 3-point range, where Robert Morris finished 7 for 20 compared to just 1 of 10 for Green Bay.
Stone added 11 points, including 7 for 8 from the free-throw line, and contributed seven rebounds. Kahliel Spear grabbed eight boards for Robert Morris, which is scheduled for a pair of road games this week at Illinois-Chicago on Thursday and IUPUI on Saturday.
Robert Morris held a 43-30 edge in rebounding after also dominating the glass 52-36 against Milwaukee two days earlier.
“They say defense decides whether you win or lose, and the offense determines by how much,” Toole said. “(Thursday), we defended really well, our offense was rolling and we won by a lot. Tonight, we defended, the offense wasn’t rolling and we won by a little.
“The defense is really what’s key. We’ve been trying to preach that all year long, and we haven’t always really embraced it. I think the last couple of games the guys have done a really good job of trying to lock down and get the stops when necessary.”
Cade Meyer led Green Bay with 16 points, McGee added 15 and Japannah Kellogg III contributed 11.
Kam Farris, Robert Morris’ third-leading scorer who had 20 points in his most recent game — a 75-73 loss to Wright State on Jan. 13 — sat out for the fourth consecutive time with a noncovid illness.