ALTOONA, Pa. -- It should act as no surprise as Robert Morris kicked off the post season picking up where they left off against Youngstown State beating them 77-73 in the first round of the Horizon League Basketball Tournament.
Tuesday night's win marked the eighth of the season and fifth in the Horizon League with three of those wins now coming against the Penguins. It was the first Horizon League Basketball Tournament win in program history while doubling as head coach Andrew Toole's 200th career victory with the Colonials.
Robert Morris never trailed in a game that saw them up by 20 points 6:52 remaining in the game.
"We haven't been up 20 very much this year," Toole said following the game. "These guys were great. They were talking in the huddle about maintaining focus and doing the right stuff. We were able to get enough stops down the stretch and let the clock run out. Everyone that touched the court was able to step up and did the things necessary for us to win and continue to play."
Senior forward Kahliel Spear led the Colonials with his ninth double-double on the season scoring 19 points and hauling in 13 rebounds. Robert Morris also got double figures from four others on the night with sophomore guard Kam Ferris and Enoch Cheeks pitching in 12 a piece while juniors Matt Mayers and Michael Green III both added 10 points.
"I think we did a good job with decision making," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole said. "We made a lot of the right reads at the right times, and that allowed us to be able to get good shots. Today we did a good job of seeing the game better and understanding where our opportunities were to get good shots or make extra passes. That was key for us being as efficient as we were on offense."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE SCHEDULE
The Colonials will take on No. 1 seed Cleveland State Thursday night at 8 p.m. Robert Morris lost 78-77 at home against Cleveland State earlier in the season while losing 75-68 in their second matchup.
THE CONTENT
Visit our Robert Morris team page for everything.
