With 3-pointers falling like confetti, Robert Morris torched former Horizon league rival UIC on Wednesday at the UPMC Events Center with an 88-74 victory.

The Colonials drained 15 of their 31 attempts beyond the arc, defeating the Flames for the first time. RMU improved to 4-3 heading into the Urban-Bennett Classic.

Ryan Prather Jr. sparked the Colonials, knocking down 6-of-9 3-pointers for a game-leading 25 points.

“If it wasn’t for my team getting me those open looks, I probably wouldn’t have made them, and I give a shoutout to all the coaches too, having me continue to shoot the ball,” Prather Jr. said. “I’ve been off for a little bit, but only way to get back on is to keep shooting. The work is always going to pay off, and again, I give props to my teammates finding me and getting me open looks.”

RMU was two 3s away from tying the program record set against West Virginia Wesleyan in 2019. The Colonials buried 10 treys in the first half, making up 30 of their 50 first-half points while earning a 50-29 halftime lead.

RMU racked up 24 assists. Coach Andy Toole was concerned with UIC’s disruptive style of defense heading into the game with the Flames sending two players on the ball and setting traps in the post. The Colonials, however, were prepared.

“We challenged our guys,” Toole said. “I thought that was what made us able to shoot the ball so well was just the quality of shot we took. We made extra passes all night. We collapsed the defense and kicked out on time, and that was a credit to the guys thinking and behaving like they were trying to make their teammates successful.”

Albert Vargas was the main distributor. He tallied 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Darius Livingston posted 10 points, five assists and six rebounds.

“I feel like today we played very unselfish,” Prather Jr. said. “We move the ball around, everybody got great looks, and coach has been definitely harping on that because we need to move the ball more because it gets us great looks. I feel like as a team, we did a great job with that today.”

Toole added that a team needs to tally assists to be able to down the Flames defense.

DeSean Goode tallied 17 points and grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds.

The Colonials jumped out to a 10-3 lead with the help of a Ta’zir Smith 3 and layup.

In a competitive first part of the first half, RMU held a 23-18 lead.

A 3-pointer from Albert Vargas helped spark a 11-2 run that put the Colonials up 34-20.

The run was capped off with a Prather Jr. 3-pointer, followed by a Cam Wilds alley-oop jam from Livingston, sending the Colonials into the eight-minute media timeout.

Robert Morris ended the first half on 27-11 run that was led by Goode’s 11 points and Prather Jr.’s 10 points.

Five Colonials knocked down 3s in the first half with Vargas hitting three, Goode, Prather Jr. and Livingston with two and Smith hitting one.

UIC’s Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr. sparked a 14-5 run to cut it the margin to 55-43.

Nevertheless, the Colonials refused to allow the Flames to get within 10.

Toole told the team that every possession mattered. The Colonials sustained the lead, despite strong second-half play from UIC, as they pulled away to a 88-74 victory.

Toole said they were motivated by a 71-70 overtime loss at Monmouth on Sunday.

“We got out to another good lead and sustained it throughout the first half,” he said. “We kept it to double digits for a majority of the second half. Even though it was low double digits, I think that was really important. I think it’s just a credit to them and the way that they approach the game today.”

With an essentially brand-new lineup compared to last year, every game matters.

“Every win is important,” Toole said. “Every time we have a positive experience together as a group, that’s hopefully a step in the direction getting everybody to continue to buy in to how we execute, how we play, and that’s the main focus right now. It’s like trying to just have as many productive, successful days as we can so we can continue to get everybody on the same page and believing in what we’re trying to do.”

Prather Jr. is excited for the Urban Bennett Classic and Robert Morris’ first game against Southern Utah on Friday.

“We lost a very close one to Monmouth, so this definitely is a huge stepping stone,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep building on and just keep playing as a team.”

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