Robert Morris men finally get first Horizon League win of season
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The only remaining men’s basketball team without a Horizon League victory this season, Robert Morris rode Khaliel Spear’s double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds to a 72-62 victory over Northern Kentucky on Saturday night at UPMC Events Center.
It was just the fourth league victory for Robert Morris (3-14, 1-7) since joining the Horizon last season and ended a five-game losing streak.
“Really happy for the guys and the way they performed tonight and finally getting over the hump,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “It’s never easy. We did a lot of good things, especially down the stretch of that game. We came up with some big stops and some big rebounds and scrapped out some hustle plays. It was unselfish basketball.“
The Colonials, who lost their first four Horizon games by an average of 3.3 points, never trailed Northern Kentucky (6-9, 2-4) while shooting 51.9 %, the third consecutive time they have shot better than 50 %.
Michael Green III added 14 points and Kam Farris 13 for Robert Morris, which salvaged the final game of a season-high five-game homestand. The Colonials are off until a trip Friday to Purdue Fort Wayne, which defeated Robert Morris, 76-70, last Sunday.
Marquee Warrick led Northern Kentucky with 21 points, and Adrian Nelson added 11 points and nine rebounds.
It was Robert Morris’ first victory over Northern Kentucky in a series that began just last year, when the Norse claimed a pair of five-point victories.
Northern Kentucky closed within two points on twice in the second half, the last on Chris Brandon’s jumper with 11 minutes, 42 seconds left. But Robert Morris didn’t lose the lead and pulled away to its 10-point victory, the largest lead of the game.