Robert Morris Pulls Off Upset Despite Strong Second Half From Wright State

MOON TWP, Pa. — After dropping its last game to go back below .500 in Horizon League play, things looked grim for Robert Morris (15-10, 7-7) as it stared down a game against the league’s top team in Wright State (15-9, 10-3) but after an electric start and the help of some late-game resiliency, the Colonials pulled off the upset that can propel them forward with just six games left.

The Colonials knew coming into the game that the Raiders not only led the Horizon League in the standings but they owned a top-four offense (80.5 PPG) and the top-rated defense (72.2 PPG) so the practices leading up to the game was going to be paramount.

After what was described as two great days of practice leading up to the game, the Colonials looked to put their preparations to the test and came out with the shocking 72-66 victory over the league-leading Raiders despite blowing a once 15-point lead.

Notables

Ryan Prather Jr. led the way for Robert Morris with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists but the Colonials received solid contributions from all nine players in the win.

Prather scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the second half which turned out to be just what the Colonials needed as they struggled to make anything for the first 15 minutes of the closing period, scoring just 17 total points over the first 15 minutes of the half.

Three other Colonials scored at least 12 points in the win. DeSean Goode and Darius Livingston Jr. each scored 16 points while Nikolaos Chitikoudis posted his best game in quite some time as he added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Livingston tied his career high for threes made in a game with four, three of which came in the first half that really helped the Colonials’ offense get off to as good of a start as they did.

Despite the offenses success against the league’s best defense, it was the defense of Robert Morris that was the game’s deciding factor in the upset.

Wright St. mustered just 27 points in the first half and entered the locker room just 9-of-30 from the field and 2-of-10 from three-point range. While the Raiders turned it up a notch in the second half and used two lengthy scoring runs to climb all of the way back into the game, the Colonials still held them far below their season averages.

Even after the second-half runs, the Raiders finished the game having made just 35% of their shots including just 25% of their three-pointers. The Raiders entered the night shooting just over 49% from the field as a team.

Game Thread

Wright St. opened the game up on a 5-0 run and looked like themselves but Robert Morris immediately answered with a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game. The Raiders last lead of the first half came when Soloman Callaghan knocked down a three that gave them a 12-10 advantage just after the first media timeout of the game.

The Colonials tied the game up at 12 on Ta’Zir Smith’s lone basket of the game before Livingston’s first triple of the night put his team ahead which really got the building and his team’s offense going.

After the Raiders scored four-straight points to get the game back to just one at 19-18, the Colonials went on their best scoring run of the evening which was started on the back of an offensive rebound from rising freshman, Sam Obenjo.

Obenjo tried to put a shot back up after the offensive board but was fouled in the process. He made just one of his free throws but the Colonials managed to haul in the rebound which turned into a layup from Goode. A three from Prather capped off the initial 8-0 run before triples from Goode and Livingston later in the half completed an 18-5 run.

By the time the run was over, the Colonials were feeling good as they led the Raiders by a score of 37-23. Livingston added his third three-pointer of the half while the Raiders added four free throws before the halftime buzzer sounded which allowed the Colonials to enter the intermission up 40-27.

Wright St. started the second half with much better energy which led to instant offensive success. The Raiders started the half with two buckets from TJ Burch and a pair of free throws from Michael Imariagbe before Obenjo tried to steal the momentum back for the Colonials with a poster slam dunk.

Unfortunately for Robert Morris, the freshman’s dunk did not slow the Raiders down as they turned the initial 6-0 run into a 14-5 run and cut the Colonials’ double-digit lead down to just four when the last bucket of the run made the score 45-41.

The Colonials seemed to wake up following the under-16 timeout as Prather sunk a pair of free throws and Livingston followed them with his fourth three of the night which extended their lead back out to nine but the Raiders were not done there.

After another three from Prather made the score 53-44, the Raiders went on another game-changing scoring run, this time better than the last. A three from Callaghan and a put back from Imariagbe made the score 53-49 before Prather added a layup.

Despite Prather ending the small 5-0 run, the Raiders did the exact same thing on its next two scoring trips, hitting a three before Imariagbe backed down Goode for another layup. The 10-2 outburst cut the deficit down to just one at 55-54.

Goode came back down the court and matched Imariagbe as he backed him down into the paint before sinking a layup at the 8:46 mark of the second half. While Goode’s basket gave the Colonials a three-point lead, it would be the last field goal from the Colonials until the 5:08 point of the half.

Over the next nearly four minutes, the Raiders capped off their 17-4 run and claimed their first lead since the score was 12-10 early in the first half. When Andy Toole pulled his guys aside on a review and down 61-57, the team looked “sad” and depleted but their attitude gradually changed over the final five or so minutes as they locked back in and started to find some offensive success.

Layups from Chitikoudis and Prather helped the Colonials tie the game up at 61-61 which forced Raiders’ head coach Clint Sargent to call a timeout.

Sargent drew up a fantastic play during the timeout and it ended up as a backdoor cut and slam from Dominic Pangonis but the Colonials were not about to let that energy-shifting play be the deciding factor as Livingston rushed down the court and beat the defense for a layup that retied the game at 63 a piece.

Livingston’s hustle play started what would end up as the game-deciding 7-0 run as Chitkoudis, who normally struggles from the free throw line, followed his bucket up by sinking two free throws that put the Colonials back ahead at 65-63.

Wright St. turned to the hot hand in response as Imariagbe tried to tie the game up on the other end by backing down his opponent and putting a shot up but after some defensive adjustments, Chitikoudis was his defender now and he walled up perfectly before blocking the shot.

The blocked shot turned into a transition three for the Colonials on the other end as Prather spotted Goode all alone in the corner for crowd-popping three with just 1:08 left.

Despite Goode putting the Colonials ahead 68-63, the Raiders got an and-one on the other end to keep things interesting but after Pickett missed the free throw, Robert Morris was able to close out the upset with a couple trips to the free throw line.

Up Next

Robert Morris will now look to use this game as a stepping stone down the final stretch of the season. Up next, the Colonials will travel to Youngstown St. on Saturday for the second game between the two teams this season.

The Colonials managed to take down the Penguins in overtime by the score of 80-77 back in the middle of December despite Cris Carroll going off for 31 points on a 10-of-12 shooting night. Limiting his production will be key for the Colonials in the rematch.