Robert Morris Gives No. 19 Arkansas Tough Test Before Running Out of Steam in Loss

Robert Morris (0-3) was staring down the barrel of the program’s first 0-3 start since the 2021-22 season as a matchup against No. 19 Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena awaited them on Wednesday evening.

For about the first 28 minutes of the game, it looked like Andy Toole’s team had what it took to once again shock the world against a John Calipari-led team, but the wheels fell off on the Colonials down the stretch as they fell to the Razorbacks by the score of 76-53.

The final score does not show the whole story of the game though as the Colonials managed to test the Razorbacks in the outing. They held a lead for a majority of the first half and trailed by just five midway through the second half, but then the physicality of playing against an SEC powerhouse finally caught up to the Colonials by the 12-minute mark of the second half.

Once the Colonials’ legs wore out and the fouls started to rack up, the Colonials faded quickly as they were outscored 26-8 over the remainder of the game and fell by 23 points.

Robert Morris, like most mid-major teams try to do in showdowns against power-conference opponents, relied heavily on the three ball to stay lockstep with Arkansas for a majority of the game.

The Colonials needed every one of their eight threes as the Razorbacks dominated in the paint and on the glass. By the time that the final buzzer sounded, the Razorbacks racked up 45 rebounds, 14 on the offensive side, and 16 second-chance points.

In comparison, the Colonials hauled in just 21 rebounds and failed to score any second-chance buckets.

Robert Morris got off to about as good of a start as it could as the Colonials held a 5-0 lead by the time that the first media stoppage of the game rolled around behind a solid defensive start that featured an 0-for-5 start from the field from Arkansas.

The Colonials started the scoring with a quick layup down low from Sam Obenjo and followed it up with a three from Ace Valentine who had his best game so far in a Robert Morris jersey as he led the Colonials with 13 points and five assists in the loss.

Arkansas did not take its first lead of the night until a 6-0 run put them ahead 12-11, but the Colonials answered right back with a pair of contested layups from Valentine which kick-started a back-and-forth offensive spurt.

Threes from Darius Livingston, KJ Garris Jr. and Valentine helped the Colonials match the Razorbacks’ scoring output over the next handful of minutes and allowed them to hold a 28-27 lead at the 5:19 mark of the first half.

As the threes stopped falling for the Colonials following the flurry of makes, the Razorbacks started to play bully ball as 10 of their next 12 points came in the paint including back-to-back highlight dunks from Cooper Bowser. The Razorbacks used that momentum to go on a 12-0 run until a layup from KC Ugwuakazi with eight seconds left in the half stopped the bleeding.

Despite a poor final five minutes of the half, Robert Morris found themselves down just 39-30 to Arkansas at the break.

The Razorbacks looked as if they would start to run away with it as the second half started with another pair of finishes at the rim including a loud dunk from Billy Richmond III, but the Colonials did not go away as another three from Garris cut the deficit back down to 10 points and lifted the team’s energy.

The Colonials then opened up a 15-7 run over the next couple of minutes that made the score 50-45, including a 7-0 run that forced a Calipari timeout, after the Razorbacks started to try to get too flashy with their play.

That timeout and stern talking to from Calipari proved to be just what they needed though as that is when the wheels started to fall off for the Colonials. The Razorbacks went on an 18-1 run following the timeout and their lead reached the 20-point plateau at 70-50 shortly after the under-eight stoppage.

The Colonials fought until the end but the Razorback size and athletic ability just proved to be too much for Toole’s squad as they are still searching for their identity and how to play as one, but despite the final score, the team took a huge step forward in finding that on Wednesday.

After three tough road matchups to start the season, Robert Morris will finally open up its home schedule on Sunday when the Colonials host Division-III Capitol as they search for their first win of the season.