NEW ORLEANS – The Robert Morris Colonials (4-2) escaped a valiant second half comeback attempt by the University of New Orleans (1-4) 73-62 to wrap up the Urban-Bennett MTE on Sunday afternoon in Moon Township, Pa.
Trailing by seven at the break, the Privateers used a variety of traps and pressures to work their way back into the contest.
Jah Short got the comeback attempt rolling with a steal and then behind the back pass to Turk Vincent for a dunk to open the second half.
Ryan Prather Jr. extended the Robert Morris lead back to double figures with 8:58 to play, but UNO kept at it. Short pulled down a defensive rebound and found
James White with a three-quarter court pass to cut the Colonials lead down to six with 8:08 to play.
A pair of free throws from
James White with just over five minutes left made it a five point game. Alvaro Folgueiras appeared to hit a rally killing off balance three, but the shot was waived off for a shot clock violation.
White split his free throws following a foul from DJ Smith, while
Dae Dae Hunter split his free throws following a technical foul on the Colonials bench leaving the Privateers down three, 61-58, with just over four minutes left in the contest.
Smith split free throws on the next RMU possession, and then the seas parted for a Short, whose drive and his right-hand finish at the rim made it a one score game 62-60 with 4:09 to play.
Robert Morris closed the game out on an 11-2 run, mostly using free throws to wrap up the victory, and finish their home tournament undefeated.
White hit 4-of-8 shots for 12 first half points almost single-handedly keeping the Privateers in the game during another cold shooting first half. Outside of White the Privateers hit just 3-of-16 first half shots. UNO trailed by 16 with 3:06 to play during the first half.
The Privateers closed the first half on an 11-3 run, thanks to a three-pointer from White, and the group of White,
Theo Grant,
MJ Thomas and
Jah Short knocking down 6-of-8 free throws during the final three minutes of the first half. Playing on a Sunday, the halftime score had a decidedly football look, 35-27 Robert Morris.
White, whose 25 points were a new career-high, was named to the All-Tournament team. He has now scored 20+ games in three of his four games on the Lakefront with at least eight rebounds in each game. Short added 17 points for the Privateers on 5-of-9 shooting, and a 7-of-10 afternoon at the free throw line.
Luke Davis saw the first start of his career and had no points in eight minutes of action.
Next up for the Privateers is the short trip uptown for rivalry renewal against the Tulane Green Wave. With the series tied 24-24, Tulane hosts the Privateers on Fri. Nov. 22 with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. Fans can watch the broadcast on ESPN+, or listen to the Privateer Sports Network broadcast for free on
UNOPrivateers.com.
URBAN-BENNETT ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Josh Morgan G, Stonehill
Anias Futrell G, Lindenwood
James White G, New Orleans
Josh Omojafo G, Robert Morris
Alvaro Folgueiras F, Robert Morris
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