Robert Morris Dominates IU-Indy From Wire-to-Wire En Route to Sixth-Straight Win

MOON TWP, Pa. — Robert Morris (16-7, 8-4 HL) dominated IU-Indy (7-16, 3-9 HL) from wire-to-wire as the Colonials racked up their sixth-straight win. The Colonials offense shot lights out in the first half which helped them carry a 35-point advantage into halftime but their defense was equally as impressive in the blowout win over the Jaguars.

“Incredibly impressive performance by our guys tonight,” Robert Morris head coach Andy Toole said after the game. “I thought it was our most focused and sustained 40-minute effort especially on the defensive side. It was obviously extra exciting because we shot the ball well but it really started with our defensive energy and our defensive urgency. … I thought the way that we handled the second half, by continuing to guard, continuing to be active, continuing to share the ball was really impressive.”

The Colonials’ 106-53 win over the Jaguars on Thursday marked off a couple of key milestones. Not only did the victory extend Robert Morris’ winning streak but it also marked the largest scoring margin in a victory and the program’s first 100-point game since last January.

Lastly, it broke the recent streak of close games as four out of the last five Colonials’ games were decided by three points or less.

“We always talk about preparing ourselves for the worst, you always hope for the best but you don’t get games like this often so the idea is can you continue to understand that this was an anomaly and that we got to come back to work tomorrow,” Toole said about the lopsided score. “We got to stay focused and we got to concentrate on the things that are going to help us improve and get better. … That is where we have to keep our focus at because every game in this league is always difficult and always challenging.”

The Colonials started the game 14-of-19 from the field and finished the first half 20-of-36. This included 8-of-12 from behind the arc. In comparison, the Colonials defense forced the Jaguars to convert on just 7-of-26 first-half field goal attempts.

The Colonials finished the game having made 37-of-71 field goals (52%) with 12 made three-pointers. The Jaguars on the other hand made just 19 field goals on 55 attempts (34%) and shot 3-of-22 (13%) from behind the arc. IU-Indy entered the night as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the entire country.

The Jaguars kicked off the scoring on a quick layup from DeSean Goode but that would be the only time that IU-Indy led in the game as the Colonials immediately responded with a 9-0 run.

The Colonials would slowly build upon their lead until the first media stoppage when they led the Jaguars by the score of 17-6. Following the stoppage, the Colonials offense caught fire as they went on a 16-0 run that later turned into a 22-3 run which was capped off by four straight three-pointers, with three coming from D.J. Smith and another from Josh Omojafo.

The huge run put the Colonials up 33-8 but they were not done yet. After the Jaguars broke the run on a triple by Goode, the Colonials went on another lengthy run as they scored the game’s next eight points. Omojafo finished the run off on a monstrous alley-oop dunk.

It took the Jaguars nearly the full first 20 minutes of the game to crack the 20-point plateau as they entered the locker rooms for halftime down 55-20. Despite that, Toole went into the locker room and settled his guys down so that they could close the game just as dominantly as they started it.

“It’s really hard and it is a challenge to the maturity of your group so that is what we talked about at halftime,” Toole said about the team maintaining their effort after a strong first half. “We obviously complimented them on the things that they were doing well. … We challenged their maturity and we challenged their ability to continue to sustain their efforts.”

The Colonials heard Toole’s challenges and accepted them as they just kept building upon their lead in the second half. By the 13-minute mark, Toole began to empty his bench. Depth players such as Maurio Hanson Jr. and Dilen Miller played quality minutes to close the game out for the Colonials.

Robert Morris led by as many as 55 points in the second half and eventually cracked the 100-point mark on a pair of free throws by Ismael Plet.

The Colonials saw seven different players reach double-figures in the blowout win over the Jaguars. Amarion Dickerson led the way with 18 points and six rebounds but Kam Woods was not far behind as he ended with 17 points. Omojafo tallied 14 points as did Smith who was 4-of-4 from deep in the game.

Despite leading the way in the point category for the Colonials, Dickerson left the game multiple times due to an ankle injury. Thursday was not the first game where Dickerson battled through an ankle injury but Toole stated it is like a stubbed finger where it won’t affect him but it is a “pain in the butt.”

“Yeah, [Dickerson] is a monster,” Toole said about Dickerson’s availability for Sunday’s game. “It’s not bad enough to where you can’t be out there doing what you do but it is just like a pain in the butt every time it happens. … He is a tough dude and a competitor so I would be shocked if was not ready to go.”

Plet added 13 points, Alvaro Folgueiras posted another double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and Miller scored 10.

The Jaguars leading scorer in the loss to the Colonials was Goode who posted 18 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting night. The only other Jaguars’ player to reach double-digits was Jarvis Walker who tallied 10 points in the loss.

Robert Morris will return to action and put their winning streak on the line on Sunday when the Colonials visit Ohio for a showdown with Wright State. The Colonials downed the Raiders on Jan. 12. which kickstarted the current winning streak.