Defensive woes plague Robert Morris in loss to Bowling Green

Dec 19, 2021 • 11:12 pm

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Bowling Green capitalized on 20 Robert Morris turnovers to take down the Colonials 100-74 Sunday afternoon.

The Falcons scored 24 points off those turnovers and that was the difference for the Colonials who had five players score in double-figures on the afternoon.

Junior forward Matt Mayers earned his first start in a Robert Morris uniform and promptly scored a team-high 15 points for the Colonials. Cam Ferris and Enoch Cheeks joined Mayers in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. Michael Green III and Justin Winston notched double-digits coming off the bench with 14 and 11 apiece.

"It's just so hard, because if you see a bright spot from someone, we give it back in other areas," Robert Morris head coach Andrew Toole said. "You have to be able to do all of it, which is execute on the offensive end and get a stop on defense. That's the part that has become such a challenge from a coaching perspective. It's the urgency to making decisions. We're making the game a lot harder than it needs to be. You have to trust in the game plan and trust in your teammates."

It was another poor defensive showing for the Colonials, typically a program predicated on stellar and suffocating defense.

"It was the inability to guard your guy. As simplistic as it sounds, sometimes that's how it has to be. We refuse to keep it simple," Toole said. "Too many of our guys went one-on-one and didn't get any resistance. We talk to our guys all the time about defending, and we just can't get over the hump. There's the understanding piece, which is a huge part. I don't think we fully understand or fully embrace some of the things we're trying to do."

Robert Morris fell to 1-9 on the season with the loss and have yet to win a game against a Division I team this season.

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