There’s been no stopping the Robert Morris machine of late.
Like a year ago, the Colonials closed out the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, this time thumping Cleveland State, 83-64, on Saturday at UPMC Events Center only days ahead of the start of the Horizon League Tournament.
And the defending champs did it with virtually an entirely new roster.
Robert Morris (21-10, 13-7) nailed down the tournament’s No. 2 seed and will open defense of its first Horizon championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday by hosting No. 9 Youngstown State in a first-round game.
“It’s been great to see their growth as a group,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “Our goal is to continue to focus on the next task and go from there.”
The Colonials, who lost their entire starting lineup from a 26-win team, defeated Youngstown State in the Horizon Tournament championship game last season.
Nikolaos Chitikoudis notched his 10th double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, DeSean Goode added 16 points and Robert Morris overwhelmed Cleveland State in the second half to pull away from a halftime tie.
“The level of urgency and detail that was necessary was much better in the second half to get stops,” Toole said. “At one point, we had close to double-digit stops in a row, and that’s where we were able to take control of the game.”
A 23-2 run turned a one-point deficit into a 73-56 lead with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left, and Robert Morris went on to complete a season sweep of Cleveland State (10-21, 6-14).
The Colonials shot 56% and assisted on 20 of 30 field goals. They forced 17 Cleveland State turnovers and outrebounded the Vikings, 35-28, with freshman Eddie Cooke III contributing seven boards to go with eight points and six assists in 17 minutes off the bench.
“Coach always talks about taking advantage of your opportunity,” Cooke said. “I feel like all of us — not just the freshmen, (but) everybody — have been taking advantage of opportunities. We had a lot at stake. We needed to secure the second seed and we want to host another game in front of our fans.”
Darius Livingston, with 12 points, and Ryan Prather Jr., with 11, also scored in double figures for Robert Morris, which last season beat IU Indianapolis in the final regular-season game by a similar 82-68 score for its seventh consecutive victory to earn the tournament’s top seed.
The Colonials went on to win three straight games, including an 89-78 victory over Youngstown State in the championship game, earning their first NCAA Tournament bid in five years.
Cleveland State, playing without injured leading scorer Dayan Nessah (15.5 ppg), was led by Chevalier Emery’s 11 points.
The Vikings will open the Horizon Tournament as the No. 10 seed at home Monday in a play-in game against No. 11 IU Indy, with the winner advancing to play at top-seeded Wright State in Wednesday’s first round.
Robert Morris, meanwhile, was playing its fifth game in a row without starting point guard Albert Vargas, who’s been sidelined with an ankle injury.
“We think he’s really close (to returning),” Toole said. “He doesn’t want to go out there and hurt the team, which I respect. We need some contribution from him in the tournament, though, because you want to have as many capable bodies available as you can.”
Robert Morris and Cleveland State played to a 39-39 stalemate in the first half. The Colonials shot a sizzling 52% (15 for 29), but the Vikings converted 7 of 14 3-pointers to keep pace.
Cleveland State led by as many as 11 points and was ahead 39-34 with 1:34 to play until halftime before Robert Morris closed out the half with five unanswered points, including Ta’Zir Smith’s jumper to knot it at the buzzer.
“I can see the whole thing coming together right now,” said Chitikoudis, like Cooke among 12 first-year players at Robert Morris. “I can see how it looks. For sure, it was more difficult to see that early in the year. Obviously, we haven’t done anything right now. We still need to keep going and keep getting better. But I see how it’s come together kind of like last year. So, it feels good.”
