MOON TOWNSHIP – The Colonials welcomed Cornell for a Friday afternoon edition of basketball right before the holiday break.
Robert Morris is coming off of an emotional win on the road versus a former conference rival in Saint Francis where the Colonials had to dig deep to remove an 18 point deficit in order to come back and secure the hard fought victory.
The momentum gained from that emotional win over a rival however was not enough to push them past the fast paced Cornell Big Red as the Colonials fell in the last game before the break by a final score of 90-85.
Starting out strong and using that momentum the Colonials got from the last game was evident as they would open up a 12 point lead in the first half. Over the course of the end of the first half and the early parts of the second half Cornell would go on a 27-6 run to take the lead from RMU.
Robert Morris was led by Josh Corbin who had 22 points and three assists. Right behind Corbin was Stephaun Walker who had 20 points and nine rebounds, one shy of a double double. Justice Williams also put up 15 points with five assists.
Having a five point lead coming out for the second half the Colonials needed to remain composed and have that same intensity they did in the first half.
Head Coach Andy Toole Spoke about the team’s opening of the second half
“The first play of the second half, we are trying to get the ball inside to Steph (Stephaun Walker) we eventually got it there but Justice is kicking the ball to the wing, did we just black out at halftime” Toole Said. “That mental engagement is the thing we aren’t fully grasping yet, being locked in for the two hours, you don’t get a chance to warm up”.
The opportunity was there was the win tonight with the Colonials having a big lead at one point in the game.
Coach Toole was able to speak upon the frustrating aspect of tonight’s game.
“I thought we gave the effort that was necessary to beat Cornell, but we have too many times where one guy breaks down and one guy doesn’t handle his responsibilities”.
A big part of the loss was the team’s inability to make free throw shots. RMU went 11-23 for 47.8% from the charity stripe. With the game being so close down the end the Colonials needed those shots in such a close game. The team overall have done well from the free throw line but just not tonight.
Head Coach Andy Toole had some thoughts about the team’s free throw shooting.
“It’s something we’ve done well all year, and then to go to the line and miss 12 of them in a two possession game it crushes you, on game days we have our guys make 100 free throws, guys come in and get their free throws in, so when you go the line and go 11-23 it is just a killer”.
Having a 12 point lead early on and then losing it you have to stay in the moment and keep your mind locked in to maintain focus and composure. In the end it didn’t matter for the Colonials but they were able to tie it late.
I was able to ask Coach Toole about how a player stays locked in when a team goes on a big run.
“I think we just have to keep coaching, keep giving them the right information, keep trying to communicate the right stuff, keep challenging them to raise their levels, going into a rotation to try and get the right pieces out there that will be able to compete and execute”.
With a busy week now behind them with three games in six days, the Colonials will now have a few days off before getting into the conference portion of their schedule.
Coach Toole was able to comment on what he has learned over the course of the last week.
“We have a long way to go, we are still not grasping the importance of every possession, we are still not committed on the defensive side, today might have been our closest 40 minute effort to what we need, but we have to keep getting better”.
The Colonials will have a week off to get some things organized before Horizon League play picks up after the break.
Robert Morris will be back in action Friday, Dec. 29, when they take on Milwaukee on the road with tipoff set for 8 p.m.
