Robert Morris Uses Explosive Second Half to Overcome Early Foul Trouble Against Detroit Mercy

After droppings its last Horizon League game to drop to 2-2 in league play, Robert Morris (11-5, 3-2) hit the road for its annual trip to the Great Lakes state in seek of getting back on track.

In the first game of the weekend within the state of Michigan, the Colonials overcame early foul trouble and a five-point halftime deficit with a 58-point second half against a vastly improved Detroit Mercy (6-8, 3-2) squad en route to the 85-77 victory.

Two of the Colonials most crucial players, point guard Albert Vargas and forward DeSean Goode were limited to just nine and seven minutes respectively in the first half as each took on two early fouls. The lack of a primary ball handler, and the team’s best scorer and rebounder, hindered the Colonials offense against a stout defensive effort from the Titans.

Following the halftime intermission, the Colonials looked like a completely different team with Vargas and Goode back out there which allowed them to go on two huge scoring runs and ultimately walk away with the win.

That's a #BobbyMo 𝐖𝐈𝐍! #GRIT #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/kKUtA9VCuy

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 3, 2026

Despite playing just under seven minutes in the first half, Goode’s offensive production in the second half still allowed him to finish as the team’s leading scorer with 18 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting night that included him knocking down all three of his three-point attempts.

Additionally, the Colonials were able to rely on one of the team’s biggest weaknesses in the win over the Titans which is the ability to not only get to the free throw line but also to make them. The team combined to go 28-of-32 from the charity stripe in the win.

DeSean has scored 15+ in seven straight games! #GRIT #BobbyMo #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/yHAkqPT4oL

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 3, 2026

Vargas got the scoring going for Robert Morris as he scored the team’s first five points, but Detroit Mercy ultimately led 8-5 at the first media stoppage due to two buckets from Orlando Lovejoy, who scored 32 points against the Colonials in an overtime thriller a year ago to the date.

The Colonials later tied the game up at 10 points a piece on a three from Cam Wilds, and eventual took a 17-13 lead after both Vargas and Josh Hill sunk some free throws. That would be the last time that the Colonials led until midway through the second half as Vargas and Goode would both exit around this time and were on the bench for the remainder of the half.

The Titans answered the small 4-0 run with a 9-0 run themselves in which TJ Nadeau started to heat up as he capped the run off with five-straight points. The scoring run gave Detroit a 22-17 lead but Robert Morris did not let things get out of hand despite playing without two of its more important pieces.

The two teams traded turnovers, buckets and defensive stops over the remainder of the half and it looked like the Colonials would enter halftime down just three but Nadeau hit a funky, deep two to give the Titans a 32-27 lead at the break. Nadeau scored a game-high 20 points as he went 7-for-11 from the field in the loss.

After Lovejoy hit a floater off Vargas to start the second half, the Colonials turned it on in large part because of Goode. The star sophomore hit his first three of the half to cut the score down to 36-32 but Nadeau nailed a fading midrange shot to re-extend the Titans lead to eight.

Again, Goode helped the Colonials cut back into the lead as he converted an old-school three-point play as he was fouled on a layup at the under-16 stoppage.

That gave the Colonials momentum as they started their first lengthy scoring run of the half before they eventually took the lead at 46-44 on a three from Ryan Prather Jr., the first lead for Robert Morris since the score was 17-15. By the time that the Titans stopped the bleeding, the Colonials built a 51-46 lead.

RP gives us the lead! #GRIT #BobbyMo #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/cqUGay3YPE

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 3, 2026

Detroit Mercy managed to bring it back to a one-point game before the Colonials went on an additional 14-3 run that gave them their largest lead of the night at 12-points. During the first 13 minutes of the second half, Robert Morris made five of its seven three point attempts after going 2-for-11 from range in the first.

The Titans did not go away though as they made four triples and converted an and-one over the next few minutes to stay within striking distance but the Colonials seemingly answered each shot with a bucket of their own. The three-point barrage allowed the Titans to get as close as four points from the Colonials when the score was 71-67.

Fortunately for the Colonials, they went 10-of-10 from the free throw line down the stretch which allowed them to walk away with an impressive eight-point road victory.

Robert Morris will wrap up its road trip on Sunday afternoon when it takes on Greg Kampe’s Oakland squad at the OU Credit Union O’rena.