About Ralph N. Paulk

Ralph N. Paulk 412-320-7923
Steelers/NASCAR Reporter
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Contact Us | Video | RSS | Mobile

Ralph N. Paulk 's Blog
Latest post:

Daily Photo Galleries

Friday - May 24, 2013

Wednesday - May 22, 2013

Tuesday - May 21, 2013

With an NCAA Tournament bid seemingly within its grasp, Robert Morris fashioned perhaps its most uneven performance of the season in the Northeast Conference Tournament semifinal on Saturday at Sewall Center.

The top-seeded Colonials stumbled early, then fizzled near the finish in a 69-60 loss to fifth-seeded Mount St. Mary's.

Robert Morris defeated Mount St. Mary's, 76-68, in the regular season, but the Colonials didn't resemble the team that led the conference in scoring defense — including defending the 3-point arc.

“It was not a good time to play your worst game of the season,” RMU coach Andrew Toole said. “They stayed true to their formula and they deserved to win the game.”

The Colonials (23-10) earned their way into the National Invitational Tournament by virtue of winning the NEC regular-season title.

The Mountaineers (18-13) feasted from long range, making 8 of 17 attempts from beyond the arc. Robert Morris, the conference's top 3-point shooting team, made only 5 of 19 treys and shot just 26 percent for the game.

More important, the Colonials were lured into a fast-paced game with the Mountaineers, who controlled the tempo. Mount St. Mary's, which will play LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday in the NEC finals, executed better in the half court, too, getting easy field goals in the paint to shoot 45 percent from the floor.

“They did a good job of taking away out strength (3-point shooting),” Toole said. “We didn't do a good job of countering. I think we have a group of guys who don't want this to be the game they remember.”

The Mountaineers were quicker and outhustled the Colonials in building a 29-23 lead at halftime, and held RMU's top scoring threats — Velton Jones and Karvel Anderson — to a combined eight points on 2 of 11 shooting.

Jones finished with only eight points on 2 of 17 shooting and a season-low one assist.

“I just couldn't make shots,” Jones said. “I was trying to figure it out. They like to press. They try to wear you down. I think they did a good job of that.”

Anthony Myers-Pate led RMU with 15 points while guard Rashard Whack paced Mount St. Mary's with 26 points, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.

“We tried to get into them and not allow them to make comfortable threes and make them play off the bounce a little bit,” Mountaineers coach Jamion Christian said.

Still, the Colonials rallied after falling behind, 56-36, with 4:54 remaining. They put together a 15-2 run to cut the Mountaineers' lead to 58-51 with 2:32 left, but they couldn't finish the comeback.

Ralph N. Paulk is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at rpaulk@tribweb.com or via Twitter @RalphPaulk_Trib.

1. Penguins notebook: Cup final will host NHL awards
2. Penguins’ fans as young as five months brave cold to watch Game 5
3. Aid group attacked by Taliban, leading to street battle in Kabul
4. Court upholds most ‘kids for cash’ judge’s convictions
5. Slain British soldier’s family thought he was safe in U.K.
6. Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger likes the revamped offense
7. Steelers hope new blocking scheme kick-starts running game
8. Kerry: Tehran impedes election
9. Pirates notebook: McCutchen’s strikeout rate plunging
10. North Korean letter to China signals rapprochement
11. Senators notebook: MacLean puts onus on veterans

Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.