Robert Morris men's basketball team stomped by St. Francis (Pa.)

LORETTO — The much-anticipated Northeast Conference showdown between Robert Morris and St. Francis (Pa.), teams fighting for a No. 1 seed in the fast-approaching NEC Tournament, wound up being nothing more than a blowout victory.

For the hot-shooting host Red Flash, that is.

Isaiah Blackmon scored a career-high 30 points, and St. Francis shot 50% en route to a resounding 86-71 victory Tuesday night at DeGol Arena, sending the Red Flash to their ninth consecutive victory against Robert Morris dating to the 2015-16 season.

“It’s always tough to come in here when they’ve got a really good team,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “It’s a good rivalry, and we’ve had some great games against them, some tough losses. Last year, we were in two one-possession games that ended in losses. This one didn’t go as planned, either.”

St. Francis (18-8, 11-4) extended its winning streak to six and moved into a second-place tie in the NEC standings with Robert Morris (15-13, 11-4), a game behind conference-leading Merrimack, the first-year Division I school that is ineligible for the conference tournament.

The Warriors (18-10, 12-3) lost at Bryant, 61-52, on Tuesday night.

Robert Morris and St. Francis were two of just three teams that entered the night having clinched a berth in the NEC Tournament, which begins March 4. The teams will play a rematch Feb. 29 in the regular-season finale at RMU’s UPMC Events Center.

Mark Flagg had 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and Keith Braxton added 19 points and six rebounds for St. Francis.

“It was a game where we got a lot of contributions from a lot people,” St. Francis coach Rob Krimmel said. “It’s a game we’ll enjoy until 12 o’clock tonight (Wednesday morning) and then get back to practice.”

Charles Bain led Robert Morris with 17 points. AJ Bramah (14) and Yannis Mendy (12) also were in double figures for the Colonials, who were coming off a controversial last-second 72-71 home loss to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday at UPMC Events Center.

After that outcome, Toole criticized the officiating crew following a blown call on an inbounds play in the final seconds, prompting the NEC on Monday to issue him a reprimand and impose sanctions against two of the three referees working the contest.

On Tuesday, Toole remained calm on the Robert Morris sideline, despite watching the Colonials fall behind St. Francis by as many as 23 points in the second half.

“We were behind all night,” Toole said. “We just weren’t engaged with what was going on. The more we tried to get some energy or some life going, it seemed like we were in quicksand. We just weren’t able to handle their offense. I’m disappointed in our energy. It’s frustrating. You can’t have that situation. Guys have got to be ready to go.”

Robert Morris, which had won six consecutive games before the loss to FDU, will try to regroup in time for a rare Friday night game against Mount St. Mary’s at UPMC Events Center.

It marks the fourth game in 10 days for the Colonials.

“Obviously, you walk into this kind of game, and there’s a lot of pressure and anxiety,” Toole said. “Guys just want to play well. When you’re playing against a good team that gets off to a hot start, some of it is just knowing they want to win the game so bad, it can be a negative.”

A furious first-half pace saw St. Francis run to a 41-31 halftime lead behind Blackmon’s 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 4 for 6 from 3-point range.

The Red Flash, who made 36 of 72 shot attempts, used an 11-2 spurt to start the second half. A Braxton layup with 5 minutes, 11 seconds left gave St. Francis a 79-56 advantage.

“Braxton and Blackmon are major handfuls,” Toole said. “They’re seniors that seem to be on a mission. They were ready to go from the tip. We seemed to be a step slow.”

Robert Morris, which shot 46.6% (27 for 58), was outrebounded 40-32.

Robert Morris had won 14 consecutive games in the series during a seven-year span before the teams split a pair of games during the 2014-15 season leading up to the start of St. Francis’ current run of dominance against the Colonials.

“I think we have a couple more to catch up to the streak they had against us,” Krimmel said. “But it’s a rivalry game, and we don’t have to say too much to get our guys ready to play.”