February began with an upset as the Robert Morris University men’s basketball team knocked off Horizon League leader Wright State University on Feb. 4. The result followed after the Colonials dropped a contest to Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 31.
On the road in Fort Wayne, Robert Morris lost 83-71. DeSean Goode led the Colonials with 17 points, while Ryan Prather Jr. added 16 points.
Albert Vargas knocked down a three-pointer at 18:08 and another at 17:00 to give the Colonials a 6-0 lead. The Mastodons responded by tying the game at 8-8 and eventually built a 21-12 advantage through four made three-pointers and shots from the charity stripe.
RMU chipped away in the closing minutes, as Goode’s layup at 0:52 cut the deficit to 35-34. With four seconds left in the half, Prather Jr. buried a three-pointer to give the Colonials a 37-35 lead.
The Mastodons took control in the second half, which began with a fast-break dunk at 19:32 to tie it 37-37. That play sparked a 12-2 run that put PFW ahead 47-39.
RMU knocked down two triples within one minute to make it 60-55, but the rally was answered. Free throws pushed the Mastodons’ lead to 12 points to close out the contest.
Back inside the UPMC Events Center, the Colonials had four players score in double figures to hand the Raiders only their third conference loss of the season. Goode recorded his 21st double-figure game with 16 points, and Prather Jr. led the way offensively with 17.
Wright State entered the game leading the conference with a 49.1% shooting percentage, but the Colonials held them to just 35.4%.
The Raiders started on a 5-0 run, but the Colonials quickly cut the deficit. Both teams stayed within one possession until Darius Livingston converted a fast-break layup to put the Colonials up by five.
RMU led the rest of the first half and took its first double-digit lead at 5:56, making it 29-19. Wright State added free throws but could not put together a run to cut the deficit before halftime.
In the final minute, Livingston knocked down his third three-pointer of the half to give the Colonials their largest advantage of 15 points.
Wright State opened the second half with a 14-5 run. With 18:04 to play, a free throw by the Raiders cut the lead to single digits, but Prather Jr.’s three-pointer gave the Colonials breathing room and pushed the lead back to 10.
With under 10 minutes remaining, Wright State knocked down a three-pointer to get within one possession. The Raiders took their first lead since the 14:22 mark of the first half with a dunk at 7:29.
The Colonials tied the game twice after that and regained the lead when Nikolaos Chitikoudis went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. His free throws also sparked a 7-3 run to close out the game.
With the win, the Colonials improve to 7–7 in conference play. The team will make the short drive to Youngstown State University on Feb. 7 to face the Penguins, who are coming off a 29-point margin of victory against PFW.
Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
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