After the way the Robert Morris men’s basketball team started its Northeast Conference match-up with Mount St. Mary’s, it is more surprising the score was not more lopsided at its conclusion.

The Colonials (3-15, 1-4) suffered a 76-52 loss against The Mount (7-11, 4-1) Thursday night in the friendly confines of Charles L. Sewall Center; although, RMU did show the resolve to make an attempted comeback after trailing by 30 at halftime.

That is the only silver lining to draw from this game. Well, at least they tried to come back and make it somewhat of a close game. 

Without leading scorer Rodney Pryor to carry the load offensively, the Colonials struggled mightily to create opportunities. Pryor and starting center Andre Frederick were unable to play in the game due to suffering from concussion-like symptoms after colliding with each other in practice on Monday, according to head media relations director Jim Duzyk.

Even when the Colonials were able to get open looks at the hoop, which was no small feat, no one for seemed to be able to confidently and consistently knock down jump shots.

Okay, it’s not like they were shut out in the first 20 minutes, but it was closer to zero than 30. RMU shot 5-of-23 from the field, including 0-of-5 from 3-point range. At the first half’s conclusion, the Colonials trailed 43-13.

The Mountaineers used a 32-5 run after the game was tied at four to blow the contest wide open, and the result was essentially determined by halftime.

Robert Morris outscored Mount St. Mary’s 39-33 in the second half to, at the very least, put up a fight up until the final. They were led by freshman guard Matty McConnell, who finished with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting (2-of-3 from beyond the arc), five rebounds and three steals.

Overall, the Colonials shot 39.5 percent from the floor, 2-of-9 from the three-point line, while The Mount shot a modest 45 percent, made up for by seven made threes.

What should be more concerning than the lack of made shots were the lack of assists in the game. RMU made only five baskets off of assists, compared to Mount St. Mary’s 15 over the course of 40 minutes. That points to the Colonials’ apparent point of guys creating their own offense in isolation, as opposed to moving the ball constantly to create good looks.

Robert Morris will conclude its short homestand with a 4 p.m. match-up with Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 16.