Robert Morris tops St. Francis (Pa.), secures No. 1 seed for NEC Tournament

Robert Morris is No. 1.

The Colonials, having already extended the Northeast Conference’s longest active streak for consecutive NEC Tournament appearances, went a step further, securing the No. 1 seed by holding off St. Francis (Pa.), 78-68, on Saturday at UPMC Events Center and sending the Red Flash into the second slot.

Robert Morris will face No. 8 St. Francis Brooklyn in a first-round game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at UPMC Events Center.

The victory ended St. Francis’ eight-game winning streak and avenged a 15-point loss to the Red Flash just 12 days earlier. The Colonials had lost nine in a row in the series.

Robert Morris coach Andy Toole tweaked the Colonials starting lineup, inserting juniors AJ Bramah and Sayveon McEwen, in an effort to slow the team’s late-season slump that produced three losses in the previous four games.

“It was a great team effort from our guys on both sides of the ball,” Toole said. “We got contributions from everyone, which is what you need if you’re going to beat a team like St. Francis.”

Josh Williams paced Robert Morris (17-14, 13-5) with 23 points. Bramah added 12 and Jon Williams had 10.

The teams finished tied for second place in NEC, a game behind Merrimack. But Merrimack, in its first season of Division I, is ineligible for the tournament while it plays through a four-year D-I reclassification period.

Robert Morris, which shot 50% (27 for 53) overall and 43.5 from 3-point range (10 for 23), won the tiebreaker with St. Francis by virtue of a victory over Merrimack.

Robert Morris converted six of its first eight 3-point shots, including two each by McEwen and Jon Williams, to grab the eary momentum and put St. Francis (20-9, 13-5) on its heels.

The Colonials led by as many as 14 points in the first half.

“We’ve got to come out Wednesday with the same energy, the same intensity as we did today,” Josh Williams said. “We can’t look past that game.”

Robert Morris withstood a late second-half surge by St. Francis that saw the Red Flash cut a 17-point lead to four with 4 minutes left before Jalen Hawkins’ 3-point shot slowed their momentum and gave Robert Morris a 70-63 lead.

Keith Braxton, the reigning NEC Player of the Year, led St. Francis with 24 points and 12 rebounds to become the first NEC player to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.

Isaiah Blackmon, the NEC’s leading scorer, added 21 points and Myles Thompson scored 10 for the Red Flash.

“Two high-level talents right there,” Josh Williams said. “It’s both of their senior years and they want to go out winning a championship, too. … They’re going to be focused. We’ve got to keep running bodies at them if we see them in the championship, and we’ve got to keep playing with the same intensity.”

No. 2 St. Francis opens the NEC Tournament with a first-round game at home Wednesday against the No. 7 Bryant.

Ramiir Dixon-Conover’s layup with 4:04 left pulled St. Francis within 67-63, but Hawkins’ deep 3-pointer from the left corner gave Robert Morris a bit more breathing room, and the Colonials held on down the stretch.

Robert Morris opened up a 45-35 halftime lead, mixing a successful inside-outside attack.

Three Robert Morris players connected on at least two 3-pointers, led by Josh Williams’ 3-for-5 effort. Bramah and Yannis Mendy did much of the inside work, combining to shoot 8 for 12 mainly from in close.

Blackmon picked up two quick fouls in the early going of the second half but remained in the St. Francis lineup for a time. He tiptoed his way through the rest of the game after picking up four fouls with St. Francis pressing to take the lead.