Robert Morris unable to climb back as they fall to the Mountaineers

Junior guard Matty McConnell was absent from the lineup Thursday night for the Colonials. He and Head Coach Andy Toole could only watch as the Colonials fell to the Mountaineers by the largest margin of any conference loss this year. Sophomore guard Dachon Burke recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, but it was not enough for the Colonials. Greg Alexander led the game in scoring with 15 points for the Mountaineers.

The Robert Morris Colonials (13-11, 7-4) fell to the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (13-11, 7-4) in Northeast Conference (NEC) play 67-42 Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. The loss marked the first time the Colonials dropped back-to-back games in NEC play this year.

Robert Morris did not lead in the game for one second as they were worn out by the active Mountaineer defense.

Mount St. Mary’s scored 19 points off the bench and outscored Robert Morris 23-6 with points off of turnovers.

Junior Robinson wasted no time making his presence known when he was fouled after making a three-point shot on the first possession of the game. Robinson, the NEC leading scorer was only held to 13 points, but with three other teammates scoring at least 12 points, the Mountaineers were able to steal a win against the Colonials in Pittsburgh.

Robert Morris shot 9% from behind the three-point line in the first half. Struggles for the Colonials looked like they continued from their game Sunday against Wagner when they were outscored 45-22 in the second half.

To say the Colonials struggled from the field in the first half would be a compliment. Robert Morris was 6-for-31 from the field in the first half with 10 turnovers. The Colonials finished the half shooting 1-for-11 from behind-the-arc.

Mount St. Mary’s was the opposite in the first half. They were relentless on the offensive end, going 16-for-32 from the field, including 7 made three-point shots in the first half.

The Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers took a 40-15 point lead over the Robert Morris Colonials at the end of the first half.

At one point in the first half, the Mountaineers went on a 27-0 run against the Colonials after the Mountaineers led 6-4.

The Colonials came out in the second half to cut the lead to 44-24 with 11:45 left after the second media timeout. With 7:49 left in the second half, the Colonials had already scored more points in the second half than the first half. The Colonials and the Mountaineers both scored 27 points in the second half.

The Colonials finished the game shooting 17-for-57 overall. The Colonials also continued their struggle this season behind-the-arc as they shot 3-for-21. They turned the ball over 19 times.

The loss drops the Colonials to a four-way tie for second place with St. Francis (PA), St. Francis Brooklyn, and Mount St. Mary’s. Both Mount St. Mary’s and St. Francis have the tiebreaker against Robert Morris.

The Colonials continue their home stand Saturday, February 3 against Fairleigh Dickinson at PPG Paints Arena.