Robert Morris Holds Milwaukee At Arm’s Length for Key Conference Win

MOON TOWNSHIP — With a little under a month until the Horizon League seedings are finalized, Robert Morris is still on the perimeter of hosting a first-round contest. One of the teams positioned just ahead of the Colonials happens to be the Milwaukee Panthers, which made Saturday’s meeting that much more important for the Colonials.

Both teams were less than 48 hours removed from overtime losses and it was Robert Morris that righted the ship with a 71-60 victory.

After Robert Morris grabbed the lead halfway through the first half, the Colonials (10-15, 6-8) never relinquished it even with the Panthers (12-13, 7-7) hanging around the rest of the way.

The frontcourt duo of Markeese Hastings and Stephaun Walker paved the way for the Colonials with impressive performances shooting and defensively. Hastings dropped a team-high 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting, while Walker added 16 points. Both grabbed nine rebounds.

Once again, the Colonials dominated on the glass as they held a 42-31 rebounding advantage.

Robert Morris would be limited to a seven-man rotation with sophomore guard TJ Wainwright sidelined with a knee injury that has bothered him throughout the year.

Milwaukee has dealt with its blow of injuries as well, but leading scorer BJ Freeman was in the lineup after not playing against the Colonials back in late December.

This time around, he was a focal point in the Colonials scouting report and he made it known. The 6-foot-6 junior rattled off eight straight points for the Panthers, including two triples in the first three minutes of the contest.

Milwaukee jumped out hitting six of its first eight shots as the Panthers built a six-point lead after Dominic Ham was located in the corner of an inbounds pass as he buries the trey.

A three-minute scoreless drought was eventually canned for Robert Morris as Justice Williams hit his patented mid-range jumper.

Then, it was the Colonials turn to go on an offensive run as the Panthers scoring completely stalled out.

The Panthers went just 1 of 11 from the floor over a seven-minute stretch as the Colonials went to work grabbing their first lead since the early goings of the contest after Williams knocked down a pair of free throws.

Thanks to a 12-2 run, the Colonials built an 11-point lead as Hastings continued his potent shooting from outside as of late, nailing a triple.

Moments later, the power forward blew past Simeon Murchison in the lane as Hastings threw down a ferocious slam that sparked the Colonial faithful.

Even as the Colonials mounted a lead, they could not find much additional scoring after several strong defensive stands. RMU led the Panthers at the break, 36-27.

That trend continued for Robert Morris to start the second half as the Panthers went 1 for 6, but the Colonials hardly capitalized.

With the Panthers finding it difficult to score at the rim, Erik Pratt finally scored a pair of buckets in the paint to keep Milwaukee in reach.

Down to a seven-man rotation, the Colonials could not find that next level to gain a sustainable lead as they began to show their exhaustion.

Despite a pair of triples from Jackson Last, the Panther chipped away at the deficit as Angelo Stuart scored consecutive buckets, including a corner connection from beyond the arc.

With the Colonials lead down to three, they were in need of a crucial bucket and that came from Hastings, but it was all set up by Josh Corbin, who found him in the paint. While Corbin didn’t light up the scoreboard, he was dishing out perfect passes on a consistent basis. He finished the night with seven points and a career-high seven assists.

Down the stretch, RMU pulled out the necessary stops to capture the win as the Panthers shot 33.9 percent from the floor. RMU hit 43.6 percent of its shots on the day.

The Colonials also found a way to limit Freeman who scored 15 points in the first half, but only scored six in the second after and early 3-pointer. Freeman was the lone Panther in double digits.

Robert Morris will travel to Youngstown State on Wednesday for a key rivalry matchup. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m.