Robert Morris Sees Late Comeback Attempt Spoiled By Crucial Turnover in Loss to Green Bay

After winning each of its last two games, Robert Morris (13-9, 5-6) entered Saturday’s contest against Green Bay (12-10, 7-4) with a gigantic opportunity to jump up the Horizon League standings but failed to do so after a late turnover sealed the deal on the 71-67 loss.

The Colonials previously defeated the Phoenix in the Horizon League opener back in early December but each team’s path went different directions since that point. Andy Toole’s squad just got back to .500 in league play with their latest win while Doug Gottlieb guided the Phoenix to an unexpected 6-4 start inside of the Horizon.

A win for the Colonials would not only have extended their winning streak to three games but it would have allowed them to nudge their way into a three-team tie for fourth place in the league with just nine games remaining in the regular season.

Nonetheless, a turnover in the final 10 seconds and a slew of other missed opportunities in the closing stages of the game slammed the door shut on another potential comeback victory.

Final pic.twitter.com/NKmmeijETt

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 24, 2026

Robert Morris started the game with the hot hand as it quickly jumped out to an 8-2 lead behinds threes from Albert Vargas and Ryan Prather Jr., but when Green Bay’s methodical offense finally woke up, it stormed off on a 14-0 run that lasted more than four minutes.

The Colonials finally stopped the lengthy run with a layup by Nikolaos Chitikoudis but the damage was already done as they trailed the Phoenix by the score of 16-8.

The defense started to step up over the next couple of minutes but the offense was non-existent as another two minutes ran off of the clock before the Colonials would score again. The offense finally started to click again just before the under-eight timeout as another three from Prather pulled the Colonials back to within five of the Phoenix at 25-20.

The two teams went onto trade three-point plays over the next couple of possessions before the Phoenix threw another haymaker as they went on a 9-3 run and claimed a double-digit lead at 40-29 with just over a minute left in the half.

The Colonials managed to make up some ground before the halftime intermission but still entered the intermission down 40-33.

Robert Morris carried the little bit of momentum that it built at the end of the first half into the start of the second as it opened on an 8-0 run that put them ahead of Green Bay, 41-40. That lead was short-lived though as the Phoenix immediately vaulted back ahead of the Colonials just 20 seconds later and never relinquished the lead again.

The layup by Justin Allen that gave the Phoenix the lead back at the 17:19 mark of the second half was the start of another long scoring run. By the time that the Phoenix wrapped up its 12-0 run, they led the Colonials by the score of 52-41.

The Phoenix maintained a double-digit lead over the next few minutes before the Colonials started to mount a comeback attempt which started on a three from Prather at the 8:07 mark and was followed by another triple from DeSean Goode a little over a minute later that made the score 62-56.

The Colonials eventually switched to a zone defense and it started to give the Phoenix offense many problems in the closing four minutes of the game.

The zone helped force three turnovers in a 55-second span but the Colonials only mustered two points on those giveaways due to a rushed three-point attempt by Prather and a turnover by Vargas who stepped out-of-bounds as he drove the baseline. Despite the missed chances, the zone gave the Colonials hope and they stuck with it coming out of the final media stoppage of the game.

Still trailing by just four at 64-60, the Colonials’ ensuing offensive possession was a repeat of their last as Vargas attempted to drive baseline again and turned it over again as he stepped out-of-bounds. That turnover led the Phoenix to a midrange shot on the other end that extended the lead to six with 1:56 remaining.

The Colonials tried to cut the deficit in half just 16 seconds later but Prather’s three-point attempt was rushed again but luckily the defense hustled back and made a stop to keep it a two-possession game with just over a minute left.

On a possession in which the Colonials needed points, any points, the play broke down deep into the shot clock which forced a tough runner from Kaleb Brown that ultimately did not go in and a subsequent foul that led to a full-court inbound play that ended in a C.J. O’Hara dunk for Green Bay that should have ended things but he was called for a technical for hanging on the rim.

The Colonials capitalized on the mental lapse as Vargas sunk the free throw and then Prather drained a three with 35 seconds left that made the score 68-64. After Allen knocked down a pair of free throws on the other end that re-established a six-point lead, Brown found a wide open Goode for a three with just nine seconds left.

Despite the huge shot from Goode, the possession arrow still favored Green Bay which meant that Robert Morris would need to foul and hope for a missed free throw which is exactly what transpired. After Marcus Hall’s free throw rattled off of the rim, Goode snagged the board and dished it off to Vargas.

Vargas rushed up the court and for a split second looked to be open for a potential game-tying three but he opted to drive inside as he looked for an open teammate to kick it out to but the pass never made it to any of his teammates. Upon Vargas entering the paint, the Phoenix surrounded him and forced the game-deciding turnover with just seconds remaining.

Robert Morris will wrap up its extended home series on Wednesday evening when IU Indy comes to the UPMC Events Center.

After dropping a game to the Jaguars in The Jungle less than two weeks ago and given where each team is in the Horizon League standings, the midweek rematch almost feels like a must win for Toole’s squad.