Robert Morris rally falls short in 90-81 loss to No. 2 Alabama in NCAA Tournament

CLEVELAND — Sensing something historic, the Rocket Arena crowd got behind Robert Morris with all its vocal might Friday afternoon, roaring with approval and anticipation while the 15th-seeded Colonials stood toe-to-toe with No. 2 Alabama.

In the end, however, Alabama came after Robert Morris with superior athleticism and years of experience and walked off with an 90-81 victory in a first-round game in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. The loss ended Robert Morris’ 10-game winning streak and season.

The Colonials, making their first tournament appearance since 2015, rallied to within three points of the lead late in the first half and led by a one, 65-64, with 7 minutes, 10 seconds left in the game. That’s when noise inside the arena that houses the Cleveland Cavaliers reached its zenith.

Amarion Dickerson, a Cleveland native, led the Colonials (26-9) with 25 points, including six in a row in less than a two-minute span midway through the second half. For the game, he hit 11 of 22 shot attempts. When he recorded a traditional and-one 3-pointer, Dickerson shouted toward the large contingent of Robert Morris fans seated (but most of them standing) near the baseline. Alvaro Folgueiras added 15 points and rebounds and Josh Omojafo 12 points.

Dickerson had more offensive rebounds (six) than the entire Alabma team (five).

Seconds later, Dickerson blocked a shot that led to Josh Omojafo’s layup to give Robert Morris its lead. But Alabama fought back and went on a 15-3 run to seize a safe advantage, 77-68, with 2:35 left.

Marks Sears led the Crimson Tide (26-8) with 22 points and 10 assists. Alabama’s 6-foot-11, 250-pound-Nigerian center Clifford Omoruyi added 17. Forward Grant Nelson, who had been injured, came off the bench during Robert Morris’ rally and scored five points. “We were hoping not to play him, but we did,” Alabama coach Nate Oates said. “We didn’t play as well as we had hoped.”

Sears, Omoruyi and Nelson are graduate students and are accustomed to tense situations, including the 2024 Final Four.

“The game as it got down to the wire, it started getting loud in there. We had a lot of experience with that last year,” Sears said.

The Crimson Tide advanced to the round of 32 Sunday against either Saint Mary’s or Vanderbilt.

At the outset of the game, Robert Morris needed to adjust to Alabama’s speed. Even after a Colonials basket, the Crimson Tide often were on the other end of the floor getting ready to shoot and often hitting the shot.

Yet Robert Morris did adjust and only trailed 40-36 at halftime after Dickerson’s 3-pointer, the fourth of the half for the Colonials on 14 attempts. Dickerson totaled 13 points in the first half.

The game was played at a fast pace throughout the half and the teams combined for only four foul shots — all by Alabama (2 for 4). Alabama did its most damage on alley-oop passes to Omoruyi, who was 7 for 7 from the field with six dunks.

The Colonials hit from long range twice in the first 10 minutes — Folgueiras and Prather — but Alabama answered both times with 3-pointers of their own within the next 20 seconds.

Alabama scored the first five points of the game and led 12-4, at the 14:49 mark. But Prather came off the bench and scored five points, including a deep corner 3-pointer, to trim the Colonials’ deficit to three, 14-11, at 12:40.

After RMU’s third 3-pointer — this one by Ismael Plet — the Colonials started to pick up the tempo, went on an 8-4 run and trailed only 32-29 with four minutes left in the half.