ALTOONA, Pa. -- Robert Morris ended the non-conference portion of the schedule on a high note with a 75-67 win over St. Francis Wednesday night in Loretto, Pa. Wednesday's win was only the second of the season, the first against a Division I opponent for the Colonials who moved to 2-9.
"That's about as good of a Christmas present as you can get," coach Andrew Toole said. "Really proud of our effort tonight. We were a little bit sluggish to start, but to our guys credit there was great communication.
Robert Morris used a 19-5 run late in the first half to overtake the Red Flash catapulted by junior forward Matt Mayers scoring the first five of those points. Mayers would record his first double-double on the evening and finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe while hauling in 11 boards.
"Matt is still coming along and has a lot of room to grow, but I thought he made some huge plays in the first half and finished in the second half," Toole said. "He had a couple great wall-ups defensively, so hopefully this will give him some confidence and he can build off of that effort."
The ability for the Colonials to withstand a late St. Francis surge was just what the doctor ordered for a team that's been largely unable to finish late in games.
Fifth-year guard led Robert Morris with 21 points and added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Colonials shot 48.3 percent from the field and held the Red Flash to a mere 38.6 percent shooting percentage on the night.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE SCHEDULE
The Colonials return to Horizon League competition on the against Oakland Dec. 30th.
THE CONTENT
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