Robert Morris tops league-leading Youngstown State for 4th straight win

Three years into its Horizon League voyage, Robert Morris is finally making some noise in men’s basketball.

After settling for low seeds that resulted in early exits from the Horizon Tournament in their first two seasons in the league, the Colonials on Tuesday night enhanced their chance of securing a first-round bye with an 83-64 upset of league-leading Youngstown State at UMPC Events.

Josh Corbin scored all his game-high 19 points after halftime, including 13 during a big second-half run, as the Colonials won their fourth consecutive game, the longest conference winning streak for Robert Morris since joining the league in 2020.

The victory guaranteed the Colonials (15-15, 10-9) of opening the Horizon Tournament with a home game for the first time. Now, they want to secure the final remaining bye.

It doesn’t figure to be easy.

“We’re definitely excited to be in this position,” said Robert Morris’ Kahliel Spear, who along with Enoch Cheeks scored 15 points apiece. “Whether we get the bye or not, we came into this game knowing it could be our last at home. I knew how important this game was.”

Robert Morris, which closed within a half-game of fifth-place Oakland, will play its final regular-season game on Thursday at IUPUI, which has won just one league game and occupied last place in the league standings.

“We’ve got to be ready for IUPUI. That’s really all we’ve talked about,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said.

In their first meeting, the Colonials held on to beat the Jaguars, 77-70, on Jan. 9 at UPMC Events Center.

Oakland, at 10-8 in the league, has a pair of home games remaining Thursday against Wright State and Saturday against Northern Kentucky.

Robert Morris and Oakland split their two regular-season games, the Colonials winning 68-63 on Jan. 29 at UPMC Events Center and losing 69-65 on Jan. 12 at Oakland.

Spear, who registered four blocks and five rebounds while playing with four fouls for some of the second half, said the Colonials have one thing in mind for their final regular-season game.

“We know we need to go out and have a strong performance against IUPUI and keep this momentum rolling into the playoffs,” he said.

Michael Green III contributed 11 points for Robert Morris, which won nine Northeast Conference Tournament championships to earn automatic NCAA Tournament bids prior to joining the Horizon League. Freshman Stephaun Walker finished with nine points and seven rebounds for the Colonials.

Robert Morris was a No. 12 seed in its first season in the Horizon Tournament and bowed out in the first round before entering last year’s tournament as a No. 10 seed and beating Youngstown State in the first round before losing to Cleveland State in the quarterfinals.

All three games were played away from the Colonials’ Moon campus.

Youngstown State (22-8, 14-5) is seeking its first trip to the NCAA Tournament and already has clinched a first-round bye in the Horizon Tournament. The Penguins entered the night having won seven of their past eight games and leading second-place Cleveland State by one game.

Dwayne Cohill led Youngstown State with 18 points. Adrian Nelson added 12 and Malek Green chipped in 10.

Robert Morris used the 3-point shot in the second half to surge to their latest victory, connecting on 7 of 11 after halftime after making just 1 of 5 in the first half. Corbin led the way with 5 of 7 behind the arc. He also contributed six rebounds and five assists.

“Today, for whatever reason, we were able to get him some good looks, some easy looks in transition as well,” Spear said. “He played very well today. So proud of him for not letting his confidence get down.”

Toole was proud of the Colonials’ second-half showing after a no-so-robust first half.

“We were excellent on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We were able to maintain that throughout the entire 20 minutes. (Corbin) hit those two 3s in transition, which were massive. Our activity on the defensive side was really good, so much better in the gap in the second half, and that allowed us to get out and run.”

Youngstown State led by as many as seven points in the first half before settling for a 36-32 halftime advantage. The Penguins rode seven consecutive points by Cohill to open the second half but couldn’t shake Robert Morris.

Trailing, 41-36, the Colonials got hot and put together a 23-2 run, scoring 19 consecutive points along the way, to seize a 59-43 lead with 11:41 remaining.

Chris Ford’s breakaway dunk on an assist from Jackson Last early in the run put the Colonials ahead 45-43, and Robert Morris withstood a Youngstown State rally that pulled the Penguins within 64-55 with 7 minutes, 18 seconds left before the Colonials pulled away.

The victory, which offset a 78-56 loss to Youngstown State on Jan. 5, gave Robert Morris a 14-13 edge in the series.