Robert Morris Holds Off Southern Utah on Day One of Urban-Bennett Invitational

MOON TWP, Pa. — It is the time of the year that college basketball programs around the country are participating in multi-team events, and Robert Morris is hosting its own MTE for the third-straight season, the Urban-Bennett Invitational.

Despite Robert Morris getting off to a hot start on both ends of the floor, leading 34-15 at halftime, the Colonials had to weather a second-half surge from the opposing team for a second-straight game.

The Colonials held the Thunderbirds to just 4-of-20 from the field in the first half but that all changed in the second half. The Thunderbirds made 8-of-10 shots to open the second half which allowed them to go on a 20-9 run that erased the once 19-point lead.

While the Colonials managed to hold off the Thunderbirds just enough in the closing period to escape as winners, it was the solid play from sophomore forward DeSean Goode that guided the Colonials on Friday. He recorded his fourth double-double of the season and finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

That's a #BobbyMo 𝐖𝐈𝐍! #GRIT pic.twitter.com/dAdO0S4O9V

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) November 28, 2025

Robert Morris got off to a fiery start for the second-straight game as Ryan Prather Jr. opened up the scoring with a three. After Southern Utah matched with a three of its own, the Colonials rushed out on a 13-0 run that was capped off on threes by Albert Vargas and Darius Livingston Jr.

It turned out that the trio of threes to start the game would be three of the team’s five made triples for the entire game as the Colonials finished just 5-of-24 from behind-the-arc.

After a floater by Josh Hill made the score 18-7 at the 11:18 mark, both teams would go the next four minutes without scoring a single point until Vargas knocked down a pair of free throws that Ta’Zir Smith followed up with a driving layup. The small burst out of the two guards extended the Colonials’ advantage to 17 points before the final media stoppage of the half.

Robert Morris managed to extend the lead to 21 points with just under a minute left in the half before ultimately taking a 19-point, 34-15, lead into the halftime intermission.

Southern Utah came out of the second half with a different demeanor as it started on a 10-2 run that forced Andy Toole to call a timeout. The Thunderbirds kept their foot on the gas after the timeout and ended up going on a 20-9 to start which cut the deficit to just eight.

The Colonials finally answered after the under-16 timeout as they re-built their lead to 15 points after a short 7-0 run. Hill started the run with a deep midrange jumper which Vargas followed with a steal that led to a transition layup by Prather. Vargas capped the run off with the team’s final three-pointer of the game.

After the Colonials claimed a 50-35 lead, it looked like they would be able to coast to a big win but the Thunderbirds just did not go away as they consistently pushed the tempo, forced some fouls which led to free throws and shut off the Colonials from deep.

The Thunderbirds cut into the lead again with another unanswered 5-0 run but layups by Goode and Nikolaos Chitikoudis put the Colonials back up by 14 points shortly after the under-eight stoppage.

Once again, the Thunderbirds one-upped the Colonials in the second half with another scoring run that cut the once 21-point lead down to single-digits. The second half surge allowed the Thunderbirds to comeback as close as six points at the final media stoppage of the game.

The Colonials, and really just Goode and Chitikoudis, engineered a couple of consecutive scoring possessions that put the game on ice in the final few minutes of the game.

While Goode was a steady force throughout the game, the Colonials had two others finish with double-digits in the win. Vargas again showcased his ability to run the point at a high level as he totaled a team-high 14 points to go along with five assists (zero turnovers) and four boards. Chitikoudis added 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Urban-Bennett Invitational continues tomorrow as Southern Utah and Stetson square off at the UPMC Events Center before Robert Morris takes on Stetson on Sunday afternoon.