Moon Township, Pa. (February 15, 2014)—Rashad Whack poured in a game-high 27 points, but Mount St. Mary's fell to Northeast Conference leader Robert Morris, 69-61, on Saturday afternoon at the Sewall Center.

Robert Morris (16-11, 11-1 NEC) used an 11-0 run in the first half to take the lead, and was able to hold off the Mount the remainder of the way to earn the victory.

The Colonials held a 31-26 lead at the half, and pushed the advantage to 44-36 after an Aaron Tate lay-up with 10:18 left in the game.  The Mount answered with the next five points on a pair of Whack free throws and a three-pointer from Julian Norfleet.

Robert Morris was able to respond to the Mount run, scoring the next six points to regain a nine-point advantage with 6:51 left.  A pair of Charles Oliver free throws gave Robert Morris its biggest lead, 56-45, with 3:31 on the clock.

The Mount (10-14, 6-5 NEC) did not go away, using an 8-to-2 run to cut the deficit to 58-53 with 2:16 left.  Gregory Graves hit three free throws, Norfleet had a bucket off a steal, and Whack capped the run with a triple.

The Mount continued its comeback as Norfleet added a jumper and Whack drilled another three-pointer to cut gap to 62-58 with 1:39 on the clock.  Lucky Jones countered with a bucket on the break, and David Appolon had a steal and a fast-break basket for a 66-58 lead with 48 seconds left.

Whack's fifth three-pointer with 28 seconds left made it 67-61, but Robert Morris was able to hold off the Mount's rally to secure the win.

Whack finished 9-for-18 from the field while hitting 5-of-12 from three-point range for his game-high 27 points. Norfleet added nine points while Graves added eight points and six boards off the bench.  Sophomore center Taylor Danaher added seven points, five blocks and four boards in the loss.

Oliver led Robert Morris with 19 points while Anthony Myers-Pate added 11 and Stephan Hawkins 10. Jones finished with eight points and nine boards as well.

In the first half, the Mount hit five of its first seven shots to grab an 11-8 lead at the first media timeout.  Byron Ashe's three-pointer from the right corner capped that run, and his lay-up with 13:50 left in the half gave the Mountaineers a 13-11 advantage.

The Colonials responded with 11 consecutive points over the next six minutes to push out to a 22-13 lead.  Oliver started the run with a three-pointer while also adding a reverse lay-up. 

The Mount answered with the next six points on a Graves low-post move, a Whack bucket, and a Danaher dunk.  Mount St. Mary's continued to chip away at the Robert Morris lead, cutting the deficit to 26-24 on a pair of Sam Prescott free throws with 4:23 left in the opening half.

Robert Morris stopped the Mount's momentum with a long two-point jumper from Anderson and another Oliver three-pointer before Whack scored from the corner to cut the Mount's deficit to 31-26 at the half.

The Mount shot 45.8 percent from the field in the first half, but was just 2-of-9 (.222) from three-point range.  Robert Morris shot 40 percent and held a 17-to-14 edge on the boards.  Whack led the Mountaineers with nine points in the half while Oliver led all scorers with 13 points for Robert Morris.

The Mountaineers continue their five-game road trip at Central Connecticut State on Thursday, February 20.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised live on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and ESPN3.