Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team continued a seven-game road trip Friday with the first of three games in the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic in Savannah, Ga., at Enmarket Arena. The Colonials dropped to 2-3 (.400) overall during the 2022-23 season after falling to Mercer, 72-66.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU struggled from beyond the arc in its opening tilt of the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic, finishing just 1-for-17 (5.9%) from the three-point line against the Bears. The lone three-pointer came with just 1:11 remaining, as junior guard
Josh Corbin connected off a feed from junior guard
Enoch Cheeks, who picked up a steal on a bad pass by Jah Quinones. The Colonials immediately called timeout after closing to within 65-61 thanks to the triple from Corbin, which capped a 19-6 run after Mercer matched its largest advantage of the contest, 59-42, with 8:07 to go.
QUOTABLE
"It's hard to win a game at any level when you go for 1-for-17 from three in 2022," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "Credit Mercer, as I thought they did a good job pushing us off the line in the first half, but in the second half I thought we had some clean looks and they just didn't fall. That really was the case overall in the second half, as I thought the shots we took were open looks and were within the flow of our offense. We just didn't knock them down. We'll go back and work with guys and look at the shots we took since we have a quick turnaround for tomorrow."
SPARK PLUG
Out of the timeout after the Corbin three-pointer senior guard
Michael Green III came up with the steal, picking the pocket of Michael Zanoni. Green III was immediately fouled and hit the front end of a pair at the free-throw line, pulling the Colonials to within 65-62. RMU couldn't get any closer, however, as Mercer (3-3) sealed the win at the charity stripe, with Luis Hurtado going 7-for-8 in the final 42 seconds. Green III was a key component off the bench Friday, scoring a season-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and a 3-for-4 performance at the chalk. He also added three assists and five steals.
QUOTABLE
"(Mike) gave us a great amount of energy," Toole said. "He defended the ball really well and was attacking and getting in the paint. He wasn't 100 percent earlier in the season, and we started to see him get back to where he's been for us when we played at Dayton. Tonight we really saw what he can do when he gets into the teeth of the defense. Not only is that going to open it up for Jackson and Josh, but our interior guys as well. We're going to need that moving forward from Mike."
THE ROCKS
In addition to the performance from Green III, a pair of Colonials missed a double-double by just a rebound. Fifth-year forward
Kahliel Spear finished with a game-high 24 points and of his nine rebounds, five came on the offensive glass. Cheeks also posted nine caroms to go along with 11 points, a team-high five assists and a pair of thefts. Combined, Spear and Cheeks also registered five blocks, including three from the Providence, R.I., native, who through the first five games of the 2022-23 campaign has already recorded 10 steals and 10 rejections.
QUOTABLE
"Sometimes the team that wins makes the fewest mistakes," Toole said. "We had some foolish turnovers that killed our own momentum tonight. You can't put yourself down 13 or down 17 and then fight back. You certainly love to see our guys continue to battle, but we have to be able to make our own runs and take control of a game."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
RMU fell behind in the first half, 29-14, before using a 13-0 run to close to within 29-27 at the break. The Colonials held Mercer scoreless over the final 4:02 of the first half to bolster their efforts. Spear went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe just 17 seconds into the second stanza to make it a one-point contest, but neither team scored again until Shawn Walker, Jr., converted his only field goal of the game with a layup at 17:48 that ignited an 11-0 run to give the Bears a 40-28 cushion.
UP NEXT
RMU hits the hardwood again for its second game of the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic Saturday, Nov. 26, with a 5:00 p.m. tip against Evansville. The Aces dropped their opening contest of the tournament, 78-67, to South Alabama. The Colonials will take on the Jaguars to close out their three games in Georgia Sunday, Nov. 27, with a 2:30 p.m. tip.
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