Robert Morris Snaps Three-Game Losing Streak in Overtime Thriller Against Northern Kentucky

Just two days after Robert Morris (12-8, 4-5) saw its season hit a low point after three-straight losses including an overtime loss to the league’s last-placed team just two days ago, the Colonials pulled off a 92-89 win in overtime over Northern Kentucky (14-7, 6-4) in what felt like a do-or-die game for the reigning Horizon League champs.

While the Colonials celebrated their overtime win over the Norse, in one way it ended in a more dramatic fashion than it really needed to as they led with under 10 seconds remaining in regulation before Andy Toole directed his team not to foul up three.

That decision proved to be costly, especially in a game where his team was already battling foul troubles, as Donovan Oday nailed a deep game-tying three over Ryan Prather Jr. with just five seconds left. Prather got a decent look on the other end but ultimately the Colonials needed an extra five minutes to steal the win.

The win did not come easy for the Colonials in overtime either as the lead changed sides eight times before the Norse missed another potential game-tying three in the closing seconds.

That's a #BobbyMo 𝗪𝗜𝗡! #GRIT #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/UTAjUZzP0w

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 18, 2026

Notables

Robert Morris played some of its best defense of the season in the win over Northern Kentucky, at least in the first half and in the final minute of overtime, but still ran into massive foul troubles, allowed the Norse to go 27-of-37 on free-throw attempts and let Oday score a game-high 38 points including the three that sent the game to overtime.

That all comes with a caveat though, as the Colonials did a lot of things right that negated most of the glaring issues.

First, while he did not match Oday in points, Prather’s team-high 23 points included some of the biggest buckets of the game such as a wrap-around contested layup that put the Colonials up for good in overtime. Prather went 9-of-18 from the field and sunk four three-pointers.

RP gets a third straight 20-point game and ties a career-high with 9️⃣ FGs! #GRIT #BobbyMo #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/4zvrqaNDLl

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 18, 2026

In regard to the free throws, most of the times that those really bite the Colonials in the behind, the free-throw disparity is heavily lopsided. In Saturday’s win, the Colonials managed to draw foul calls at an equal pace and went 21-of-31 from the charity stripe.

Last but not least, head coach Andy Toole spoke about his team’s high energy and effort level in the win, something that he was often disappointed by previous games this season. After the embarrassing loss to IU Indy on Thursday, Toole opted to change things up as he choose to not start two of his best players against Northern Kentucky.

Both DeSean Goode, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and Nikolaos Chitikoudis did not come off of the bench until around the 16-minute mark of the first half. In the end, that decision may be what re-ignited the fuse on this Colonials’ team.

Game Thread

The game started off with the two teams trading buckets as the score was tied at 5, 14 and 19 before a backdoor layup by Prather and an ensuing three from Darius Livingston Jr. gave Robert Morris a 24-19 lead at the under-eight timeout of the first half.

The Colonials later went on a 10-0 run fueled on a technical foul call on Northern Kentucky head coach Darrin Horn. The long scoring run helped the Colonials extend their lead to 12 points at 34-22, the largest lead of the night by either team.

The Norse managed to claw back to a single-digit deficit before halftime after a buzzer-beating three, but the Colonials still took a 41-34 lead into the break.

The Colonials pushed their lead back out to 10 points to open the second half on a three from Prather but the Norse eventually landed a counter punch and used a 13-3 run to storm back and ahead of the Colonials. The run was capped off with back-to-back poster dunks, and two more Oday field goals including a three that gave his team their first lead of the second half at 52-51.

The Norse grew their lead to four before the Colonials mounted a 7-2 run just before the under-eight timeout to reclaim the lead at 62-58. The Norse threw another haymaker minutes later as they used a 6-0 run to jump ahead before the Colonials one-upped them with a 7-0 run that re-established a five-point advantage just after the final media stoppage of regulation.

Late in the second half, Smith drained a three that put the Colonials up 77-72 but Oday stormed down the other end of the court and sunk one of his own with 1:22 left.

It looked like a pair of free throws by Kaleb Brown at the 25-second mark would all but clinch the win, the Norse made one free throw to make it a three-point game and then forced a Colonials turnover with just 12 seconds left. That is when the Colonials opted to not foul up by three and Oday tied the game with just five seconds left.

Oday kicked off the overtime period with an and-one layup but he missed the free throw, just one of his four missed free throws in the game as he went 12-for-16 from the line, but it proved to be costly. A tip-in by Chitikoudis and a free throw from Prather gave the Colonials a 84-83 lead.

LJ Wells went onto score the Norse’s next six points but the Colonials answered each time and maintained a one-point lead into the final minute of overtime before Oday tried to put his team ahead one more time but failed as the opposing frontcourt held stout and forced a contested layup that had no real chance of going in.

That led to Robert Morris getting the ball with 44 seconds left and the chance to go up by three or four. That chance went out of the window when Livingston, who did not see much burn in the second half, was vaulted back into the game following Vargas and Smith fouling out, and was ripped with 32 seconds left.

That turnover came with just a four-second differential between the game clock and shot clock which meant the Norse could eat most of the remaining time before going for a go-ahead shot. That is when the Colonials defense made the biggest play of the game as Kaleb Brown managed to knock the ball out of a Norse players’ hand and dove on it for a steal.

Huge play!! #GRIT #BobbyMo #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/hk0viYiwRn

— RMU Basketball (@RMUMBasketball) January 18, 2026

The steal led to a pair of successful free throws from Livingston that put the Colonials up 92-89 with 13 seconds left. Oday tried to play hero again but forced a bad looking three with five seconds left that hit the backboard and bounced around enough for the time to run out on the Norse.

Up Next

Robert Morris now returns to the UPMC Events Center for three-straight games, all coming against teams that the Colonials have already played this season.

First up on the home stand is Milwaukee on Thursday evening. The Panthers stunned the Colonials at the buzzer back in early December on a tip-in after a missed three-pointer.

Following the Colonials’ date with the Panthers, they will welcome in second-place Green Bay followed by last-place IU Indy.