Senior guard Derek Coleman scored 21 of his 23 points in the
second half to help Robert Morris rally to a 65-60 win over Mount
St. Mary's in Northeast Conference action at Knott Arena on
Saturday night. The Mount led 41-27 with 15:40 remaining before
the Colonials (15-7, 7-6 NEC) rallied to the win. Senior Mychal
Kearse paced the Mount (9-16, 8-6 NEC) with 12 points in the
loss.
With 15:40 remaining, Coleman was called for a technical foul
and Kearse drilled both free throws to give the Mount its biggest
lead of the game, 41-27. Coleman responded to the technical by
scoring the next eight points to start a 14-2 run that cut the
Mount's lead to 43-41 with 11:23 remaining.
The Mount withstood that rally and took a 56-52 advantage with
4:00 on the clock after a pair of Chris Vann free throws. The
Colonials then scored the next eight points, capped by a Coleman
three-pointer, for a 60-56 advantage with 2:33 remaining.
Trailing 62-60 with 1:14 on the clock, the Mount forced a
turnover to have a chance to tie, but freshman Kelly Beidler's
jumper with 17 seconds left was off the mark. Coleman was then
fouled with 11 seconds left and calmly sank both free throws for a
four-point lead. A.J. Jackson hit 1-of-2 at the line with three
seconds left to round out the scoring.
Robert Morris jumped to a 17-9 lead, but the Mount responded
with an 11-0 run keyed two Beidler three-pointers to take a 20-17
advantage with 9:00 left in the opening half. The Mount pushed the
margin to 32-25 at the half.
The Mount shot just 25.9 percent from the field in the second
half and 35.8 percent for the game while Robert Morris converted
57.1 percent in the second half to finish at 44.7 percent for the
contest.
Coleman paced RMU with 23 points while Jackson and Tony Lee
chipped in 14 each in the victory. Kearse led the Mount with 12
while Gus Durr and Jeremy Goode added 11 points each in the loss.
Beidler was also in double figures with 10 points for the Mount.
Durr finished the game with nine boards in the loss.
Counting this game, the past five meetings between the two teams
have been decided by a total of 12 points. Robert Morris swept the
season series, taking an 81-78 overtime decision on Jan. 20 in
addition to tonight's 65-60 win.
The Mount returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 15, with a 7:00
p.m. game at Sacred Heart.
Game Notes...The Mount falls to fifth place in
the Northeast Conference with the loss, 1/2 game ahead of the
Colonials...The top four teams in the NEC earn a first-round home
game in the conference tournament...Kearse now has 982 career
points, just 18 shy of the 1,000-point plateau for his career.
