Robert Morris’ up-and-down men’s basketball season is pointed downward again. Just when it looks as though the Colonials are ready to go on a run, they seem to falter.
Purdue Fort Wayne made sure to derail RMU this time.
Corey Hadnot II scored 21 points to lead the Mastodons to an 83-71 victory and a season sweep of the Colonials on Saturday at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.
It continued a pattern this season for Robert Morris of winning spurts followed by several losses. The Colonials have not won more than four games in a row and have not lost more than three consecutive times.
“The defense and the turnovers kill you,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said on the RMU postgame broadcast.
DeSean Goode led Robert Morris (14-10, 6-7) with 17 points. Ryan Prather Jr. added 16, Albert Vargas chipped in 11 and Nikolaos Chitikoudis finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Colonials.
Robert Morris committed 16 miscues that led to 24 points for Purdue Fort Wayne, which outscored the Colonials, 13-3, off turnovers in the second half.
Hadnot, the Horizon League’s leading scorer, shot 8 for 17 and grabbed seven rebounds to go with four assists and one steal for Purdue Fort Wayne (13-9, 8-4).
DeAndre Craig Jr. added 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Maximus Nelson scored 14 and Mikale Stevenson contributed 12 for the Mastodons, who won for the sixth time in seven games.
“They have three guards (Hadnot, Craig and Nelson) that can really attack,” Toole said. “We did not do a good enough job of being able to attack and contain the ball and not let them get into our bodies. Those three guys are a handful, and they certainly lead the charge and did today.”
The outcome follows Robert Morris’ 74-58 victory against IU Indianapolis on Wednesday, the Colonials’ third in four games. But they couldn’t muster enough in their latest venture to keep the momentum going.
Purdue Fort Wayne, which won the first meeting with Robert Morris, 79-74, on Jan. 11 at UPMC Events Center, bounced back from a 74-65 home loss to Oakland on Wednesday.
While RMU outscored Purdue Fort Wayne from the field (29-27), the Colonials made only 9 of 29 3-point shots (31.0%) and managed to shoot just 4 for 9 from the free-throw line.
Purdue Fort Wayne converted 10 of 22 3-pointers and 19 of 20 free throws. The Mastodons survived RMU’s 35-25 rebounding dominance.
“In the second half, we did a better job of defending the 3,” Toole said. “But then, they get to the rim. They have really good balance of their offense. Now they’re getting layups in transition and you’re putting them at the free-throw line.”
Saying that his team can’t seem to overcome “foolish things that are self-inflicted,” Toole continued to search for an answer to the Colonials’ careless play.
“Some of it comes down to ball security,” he said. “Take the first play of the second half where we throw the ball away and they go down and get a layup. Man, a tough start.”
It tied the score and was the start of a 10-0 run that gave Purdue Fort Wayne the lead for good after Robert Morris took a 37-35 halftime lead on Prather’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half.
“I didn’t think we played very well in the first half, and somehow we’re in the lead,” Toole said. “Obviously, that first stretch of the second half was huge for them.”
Robert Morris trailed by 60-55 with 7:22 left but went cold as Purdue Fort Wayne’s lead finally reached double digits.
The Colonials return to UPMC Events Center to face league-leading Wright State at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.
“For sure, it never gets easier,” Toole said.
The Raiders (14-8, 9-2) held a half-game lead over second-place Oakland heading into Sunday’s scheduled trip to Green Bay. Oakland, meanwhile, is home to face Northern Kentucky.
