Robert Morris falls to Northern Kentucky in final home game

As the regular season comes to a close, Robert Morris’ position within the 11-member Horizon League is solidified heading into the upcoming conference tournament.

The Colonials (10-20, 6-13) will be the league’s No. 9 seed when the tournament begins March 5.

Given that circumstance, not much was on the table for the Colonials on Wednesday at UPMC Events Center in their meeting with Northern Kentucky.

Coach Andy Toole probably would have disagreed with that framing, but he was disappointed nonetheless after his team fell to the Norse, 70-60, in the Colonials’ final home game of the year.

Robert Morris never led in the contest and trailed by 19 at halftime before closing the gap a bit in the final minutes of play after both teams removed their starters and rotation players.

“We didn’t have very good fight tonight,” he said. “That’s why the game got to where it got.”

Robert Morris had a decent rebound from an 0-for-8 start from the field, which saw the Colonials fall into a 9-0 hole.

With 11 minutes, 51 seconds before halftime, the Norse lead had been trimmed to a point. Less than two minutes later, following a few 3-pointers, it was back up to nine.

The Colonials played a futile game of catch-up from there on out.

“Unfortunately, what’s been a little bit of the story of us — and it’s my fault entirely — is as soon as sometimes the offense isn’t flowing, then all of the sudden our defensive effort takes a little bit of a dive.

“That’s kind of how the first half finished, and then we weren’t able to really recover in that second half.”

The Colonials had trouble cracking Northern Kentucky’s zone defense and were limited to four points in the paint during the first half, leading to some ill-advised shots from the perimeter during a span when baskets were desperately needed.

The Norse did not let up as the second half got underway, maintaining a lead that floated in the 20-point range.

Marques Warrick dropped a game-high 28 points Wednesday, with Trey Robinson adding 18 and Michael Bradley contributing 15.

Warrick, who entered the evening as the Horizon League’s fifth-leading scorer, had no trouble eclipsing his season average of 19 points per game.

“He can score every which way,” Toole said. “Whether it’s from the 3-point line, getting to the free-throw line, getting to the rim, mid-range stuff. … He’s given us fits since his freshman year.”

For the Colonials, Josh Corbin led the way with 14 points, with TJ Wainwright adding 12.

Corbin, who took 10 of his 11 shots on the night from beyond the arc and made four, scored his 1,000th collegiate point early in the second half after draining a 3-pointer with 18:33 to play.

That was about the only happy instance for Robert Morris for the remainder of the game, though.

The Norse, who were -3 on the glass Wednesday, benefited from 19 Colonials turnovers, which they converted into 22 points by game’s end.

Wednesday’s loss was Robert Morris’ fifth straight, the longest of the season in what has been a disappointing regression from last year.

The Colonials wrap up their regular season Saturday at Purdue Fort Wayne and hope to establish a bit of momentum heading into the conference tournament.

“The time is dwindling,” Toole said. “We’ve got to try to use the amount of time we have left to respect the game and play it the right way.”