Robert Morris Falls Apart in Second Half, Gets Swept By Purdue Fort Wayne

Robert Morris (14-10, 6-7) entered the day with a chance to make up some ground in the Horizon League standings but a formidable Purdue Fort Wayne (14-9, 8-4) team that is fighting for one of the top three seeds stood in the way.

The Mastodons took down the Colonials earlier this season on a last-second block that closed the door on a potential 14-point comeback, and it looked like the second game between the two teams could end in a similar fashion until a late run, coupled with a string of bad decisions and shots from Robert Morris, helped seal the 83-71 Purdue Fort Wayne win.

Robert Morris managed to erase a nine-point deficit in the first half and even led 37-35 at halftime behind a series of solid stops but that all changed in the second half.

Purdue Fort Wayne used a 12-2 run at start the second half to claim a nine-point lead and then fended off each individual run that the Colonials tried to mount over the course of the rest of the game until a 21-11 scoring stretch all but sealed the game.

Aside from the league’s leading scorer, Corey Hadnot II, scoring a game-high 21 points for Purdue Fort Wayne, the Mastodons just did all of the little things better than the Colonials. Some of those things included protecting the ball, getting and converting free throw attempts and efficiently shooting the three.

The Colonials lost the turnover battle 16-8, fouled 17 times which allowed the Mastodons to go 19-of-20 from the free throw line and went just 9-for-29 from three-point range in the loss.

Albert Vargas got the scoring going as he nailed two-consecutive threes that put Robert Morris up 6-0 early in the game before Maximus Nelson got Purdue Fort Wayne on the board with a three of his own. The Mastodons quickly tied the game up at 8-8 on Hadnot’s first bucket of the game and eventually went ahead 13-10 on his second.

The Mastodons pushed their lead out to nine a trio of times around the nine-minute mark before the Colonials eventually used a 13-2 run to claw back and claim the lead before halftime.

Purdue Fort Wayne regrouped at the intermission and came out of the break more motivated than Robert Morris. The Mastodons energy and togetherness helped them forced a pair of quick turnovers that helped open up the 12-2 run that put them ahead.

The Colonials then fell into the cycle of making small runs that cut the deficit to two possessions before allowing the Mastodons to re-extend their lead back to near double-digits.

Robert Morris went on a 6-2 run that brought the score back to 49-45 but Purdue Fort Wayne quickly answered with five-straight points. The Colonials again came right back to cut the deficit back down to five before two-straight buckets from Hadnot extended it back out to nine.

The Mastodons eventually led 60-49 before a three and an and-one from DeSean Goode on consecutive possessions brought the Colonials back to within five again, but that would be as close as they got as a 21-11 stretch over the next five minutes iced the game.

Despite the fact that Robert Morris will return to the UPMC Events Center for its next game, it comes with a great challenge as the Colonials will welcome in the league’s first-place team, Wright State, for their first meeting of the season. The Colonials’ showdown with the Raiders was scheduled for national television and will be broadcasted on ESPNU on Wednesday night.

Wright State is currently 14-8 overall and 9-2 in Horizon League play which includes a season sweep over the league’s second-place team, Oakland.