Robert Morris notches their first win of the season against Lancaster Bible

Kahliel+Spear+drives+against+Lancaster+Bible+College.+Photo+credit%3A+Tyler+Gallo

Kahliel Spear drives against Lancaster Bible College. Photo credit: Tyler Gallo

Ethan Morrison

MOON TOWNSHIP– Robert Morris (1-7, 0-2 Horizon) was in search of their first win of the season on Wednesday night against Lancaster Bible (4-4, 2-0 United East) in their first of two home games before they conclude their non-conference schedule at the UPMC Events Center.

They did just that tonight, notching their first mark in the win column defeating the Chargers by a score of 99-51.

Kam Farris led the way for the Colonials, putting up 27 in the winning effort. Five different players on the Robert Morris roster reached double figures in the matchup.

Head Coach Andy Toole spoke on the team’s effort after the game.

“It was great to get the win first and foremost. I thought our guys came out and did a nice job of having good activity as well as sharing the basketball which led to some really simple plays and some simple shots.”

Kahliel Spear started the game off fast with a two-handed slam but RMU had some troubles with ball control early on turning the ball over on back-to-back possessions.

They found their groove, however, leading by seven out of the first media timeout of the game.

The Colonials came out in the zone defense once again and gave the Chargers fits as they were shooting under 30-percent early on in the game. That allowed Robert Morris to extend their lead to eight points by the under 12 media timeout.

Robert Morris continued to wear down the LBC shooters and jumped out to a 15-3 run.

Kam Farris struggled shooting early on but hit his first three-pointer of the game during this run.

RMU continued to dominate down the stretch in the first half of play, leading by 20 at the under-four media timeout.

Farris capped off the first half for the Colonials by nailing two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. He would lead the way for them in terms of scoring for the half with 14 points.

“He’s a fantastic shooter,” Toole said on Farris. “When he’s open everyone on the team knows that it’s going to go in. He’s not going to go seven for 10 every night and people are going to limit his ability to get some of those shots. Some things that we have to work on with him are is his ability to hunt some of those and find some of those, whether it’s in transition on offense or penetration things of that nature. With his ability to shoot it, it opens up driving lanes for other guys and just helps the offense flow.”

As for Lancaster Bible, they struggled from the field shooting just 29-percent. Jordan Shewbridge led the Chargers in scoring with 22 points shooting 4-for-11 from beyond the arc.

The Colonials came out firing from beyond the arc in the second half going on an 11-2 run.

Enoch Cheeks and Kam Farris each knocked down two triples apiece just four minutes into the second half. By the 15 minute mark of the second half, the Colonials led by 42.

Throughout the rest of the game, Robert Morris maintained control getting some solid contributions from Michael Green in his first game back.

“[Green] is a big part. Not having him for the last three was hard, your rotations change and it’s been hard to get some rotations down. Mike went out and Kam came back against Davidson, Jaron [Williams] wasn’t available for Milwaukee or the game tonight,” Toole said. “Brandon [Stone] played minutes against Davidson and Green Bay but in Milwaukee or tonight. It’s just constantly being shuffled and it’s hard on them to figure out when their rotation will come and it’s equally as hard on the coaches to figure out how to create the rotations.”

Robert Morris is back in action on Saturday as they take on the red hot Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at 7:00 p.m. at the UPMC Events Center as they cap off their 2021 home non-conference schedule.

RMU looks to return Brandon Stone and Jaron Williams when they hit the floor Saturday evening.