Robert Morris struggles on road again in loss to Illinois-Chicago

If there’s one thing that irks Robert Morris men’s basketball coach Andy Toole as much as anything, it’s when his teams fall asleep on defense.

As much as he tried Thursday night in Chicago, Toole wasn’t able to wake up the Colonials long enough to see them get their first Horizon League road victory.

Kevin Johnson’s 18 points led three Illinois-Chicago players in double figures and the Flames ended a four-game losing streak with an 80-75 victory at Credit Union 1 Arena.

Kahliel Spear led Robert Morris with his fifth double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. It was Spear’s sixth double-digit rebounding performance for the Colonials (5-17, 3-10), who fell to 1-11 overall on the road and 0-6 in the Horizon.

“Inconsistent effort, defensively, for us tonight,” Toole said. “We’re not good enough to pick and choose when we give the effort, especially defensively.”

A 9-0 Illinois-Chicago run, capped by a Damaria Franklin dunk, erased a 57-55 Robert Morris lead in the second half as the Flames (8-12, 4-7) raced to a 64-57 advantage before holding on over the final 8½ minutes to end a four-game losing streak.

Enoch Cheeks’ 3-point shot with 3:20 to go pulled Robert Morris within 71-70, but the Colonials could not go back in front. A pair of Cheeks free throws at the 10:49 mark had given Robert Morris its last lead before Illinois-Chicago surged ahead.

After Johnson’s step-back jumper for the Flames tied it at 57-57, Franklin followed with a jumper that gave them the lead for good with 9:47 to go.

Franklin added 16 points and Zion Griffin chipped in 14 for Illinois-Chicago.

“They have some good guys that create space and make shots,” Toole said. “In my time (at Robert Morris), there aren’t too many times when we allow 80 that we win. That’s not who we are.”

The Colonials entered the night having yielded 75.0 points per game.

“We played UIC’s game tonight instead of RMU’s game,” Toole said. “They made a couple more (baskets) than we did.”

The teams traded 11-0 runs in the first half. After Illinois-Chicago took a 30-19 lead, Robert Morris tied it before the Flames enjoyed a 39-34 halftime lead.

Justin Winston came off the bench to score 19 points for Robert Morris, while Michael Green III tallied 16 and Cheeks finished with 12.

Sophomore guard Kam Farris returned to the Robert Morris lineup but played just 14 minutes after missing the past four games with a non-covid illness, but former Southmoreland star Brandon Stone did not make the short, two-game road trip for the Colonials, who are scheduled to play on Saturday afternoon at IUPUI.

Stone, who has battled a foot injury this season, playing in just 13 games, had scored in double figures in two of Robert Morris’ previous three games, including a season-high 14 points in a 75-68 loss at Cleveland State on Jan. 23.

While Spear continued to lead Robert Morris in scoring (13.7 ppg.) and rebounding (7.5 rpg.), the play of Winston caught Toole’s attention.

“Justin had a good week of practice and had a ton of energy today at shoot-around,” Toole said of the 6-foot-8 junior, who is averaging 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds while playing in 20 games, including nine starts. “He had some good looks tonight and knocked them down.”

Winston shot 8 for 14 overall, 3 for 4 from 3-point range.

“He has to build on that,” Toole said. “Hopefully, he can catch his stride coming down the stretch. We need him to be a consistent producer for us.”

Robert Morris, which fell to 2-7 in games decided by eight points or less, saw a modest two-game winning streak end. The Colonials came in having won three of their previous five games.