MOON TOWNSHIP – The UPMC Events Center was buzzing as RMU men’s basketball (2-1) weathered Geneva (0-1) in Monday night exhibition play with a final tally of 93-47. The 2025 Horizon League champions returned to their home court after a successful road trip to Drake, ending the Bulldogs’ non-conference win streak dating back to 2016 by a score of 81-79 in overtime.
The Colonials were in control from the start, never allowing their neighbors from Beaver Falls to take a lead, a trend that held throughout the night. Even with a roster still learning to play together, RMU looked composed and confident, carrying over the same focus and intensity that fueled their upset win at Drake.
“That is one of the fears of sometimes playing a game against the non divisional opponent, that we’re not going to take it at the same level of importance that we would against another division one school,” head coach Andy Toole said. “But that’s the challenge, and that’s the test. We talked about a lot about this the last few days, this is the test of maturity.”
He added that staying locked in regardless of who’s on the other side is key to long-term success.
“Can you do the right thing ’cause it’s gonna pay dividends for us at the end of the day? The best chance for us to be successful is to create the right habits.”
Those habits were on full display with RMU taking its first double-digit lead just over four minutes in on a Nikolaos Chitikoudis layup. Darius Livingston later extended the margin to 20 points, making it 44-24 inside the final minute of the first half. The Colonials dominated the paint, outscoring Geneva 56-10, and forced 26 turnovers that turned into 35 points.
On the other side of the court Nick Million shone for the Golden Tornadoes, having a lot of confidence and rightfully so as he dominated in for his team with 15 points himself, the rest of the Tornadoes with 11 points in the first half. An injury had him watching from the sidelines in the latter majority of the second half, but despite this, he still ended as the team’s leading scorer.
Josh Hill led all scorers with 16 points, Wilds had 12 points and both Chitikoudis and Albert Vargas had 11 points for RMU. A lot of Colonials got some playing time, including Cyril Arvanitis, one of the few who returned after last season. Coach Toole got a good look at some of his second team guys and even third team guys, using every moment to play hard and get in the action.
“Trying to get guys a bunch of minutes, a bunch of possessions, some real situational type stuff, is important, especially early in year,” Toole said. “As a coach, we all want to believe that every opportunity’s going to be earned in practice. And a large majority of them are, but I think there’s a different feeling when you have a lot of people watching.”
Defensively, the Colonials set the tone early, forcing 26 turnovers and holding Geneva to just ten points in the paint and 36% shooting from the field. This marked RMU’s best defensive showing since allowing just 46 points against Saint Vincent on Dec. 17, 2023.
The boys will be back on the court to host Pitt Greensburg on Thursday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m before hitting the road for a pair of games at St. Bonaventure and Monmouth.
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