Robert Morris works on chemistry in win over Division III Geneva in home opener

Andy Toole was watching. Apparently, his players sensed it, too.

All Robert Morris’ veteran basketball coach wanted to see Monday night was a hint of maturity from his reconstructed team.

“It’s all part of the process of becoming a good team,” Toole said following the new-look Colonials’ 93-47 dismantling of Division III Geneva at UPMC Events Center. “These guys did a good job in their shootaround today, in their preparation today and in their warmup today.”

They didn’t do so bad in the game, either, shooting 51.4% and forcing 26 Geneva turnovers.

“For the most part, we did a good job, but coaches are always looking for more,” Toole said.

The reigning Horizon League Coach of the Year welcomed back just one player — junior guard/forward Ryan Prather Jr. — from RMU’s NCAA Tournament team that won 26 games and captured its first Horizon championship a year ago.

Back from a two-game split of its season debut in the heartland, Robert Morris, with its overhauled lineup that includes nine transfers, hoped to bring momentum from a startling overtime victory at Drake into its home opener.

In the first of two games in three days against a Division III opponent, RMU jumped to a 15-3 lead.

Geneva managed to get within nine points with 11 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first half before the Colonials pushed their advantage to 20 points and eventually settled for a 44-26 halftime lead.

“We got off to a good start, but I wish we would’ve been able to sustain it in the beginning of the first half just a little bit longer,” Toole said.

He’ll continue to evaluate his newly assembled team against another Division III opponent when Pitt-Greensburg visits Thursday.

The Bobcats (1-0) are the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference preseason favorite under fourth-year coach Chris Klimchock.

UPG was scheduled to play at Division III Grove City on Wednesday night.

A total of 14 Robert Morris players entered the lineup with 10 playing double-digit minutes against a Geneva team led by 30th-year coach Jeff Santarsiero.

“We’re still trying to figure out who we are as a collective,” Toole said. “Every day matters. Every rep, every drill is an opportunity to create opportunities for yourself, to build trust for your teammates and coaches. Some guys are doing a good job of that, but we need more people thinking in that mindset.”

Josh Hill, a 6-foot-11 Arkansas State transfer, led Robert Morris (2-1) with 16 points.

Cam Wilds, a transfer from Division II Clarion, added 12, while Nikolaos Chitikoudis, from North Carolina A&T, and Albert Vargas, from Division II Southern Connecticut State, finished with 11 apiece for the Colonials.

Santarsiero employed 15 players for Geneva, which counted the game as an exhibition. Nick Million led the Golden Tornadoes, of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, with 15 points.

The 46-point victory was in stark contrast to Robert Morris’ first two games last week, a 101-69 loss at Iowa and a bounce-back 81-79 triumph against Drake that ended the Bulldogs’ 49-game nonconference home winning streak dating to 2016.

Following its Thursday encounter with UPG, Robert Morris hits the road for a pair of contests against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 20 and Monmouth on Nov. 23.