Another Robert Morris basketball game. Another close outcome.
After winning its two most recent games decided by five points or fewer during a span of four days, RMU wasn’t so lucky Monday night against Northern Kentucky.
Donovan Oday scored 16 points, including two free throws with 11.1 seconds left, and Northern Kentucky held on to beat Robert Morris, 79-77, at UPMC Events Center.
The loss lowered the Colonials’ record in decisions by five points or fewer to 4-3. They rallied from a 21-point deficit Dec. 13 to beat Toledo, 75-70, and on Dec. 17 outlasted Youngstown State, 80-77 in overtime.
“Sometimes you get fortunate. Sometimes, eventually, it comes back to bite you,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said.
Dan Gherezgher and L.J. Wells added 14 points each and Kael Robinson finished with 11 for Northern Kentucky (10-5, 2-2 Horizon League).
DeSean Goode paced Robert Morris (10-5, 2-2) with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Ryan Prather Jr. and Albert Vargas added 15 points each and Nikolaos Chitikoudis chipped in 13 for the Colonials, who saw a 15-game home winning streak end.
The Colonials won their first seven games this season at UPMC Events Center, where they closed last season with eight straight victories.
“When you don’t defend your home court in a conference game, you have to go out and try to get one on the road,” Toole said.
Robert Morris next goes on a two-game road trip to face Detroit Mercy on Friday night and Oakland on Sunday afternoon.
The Colonials trailed Northern Kentucky for nearly the entire second half but never by more than nine points. Yet, they were within 77-75 with 33 seconds remaining on a layup by Chitikoudis, who returned to the lineup after sitting out a 79-70 victory at Saint Francis on Dec. 20 with a head injury.
RMU was without sophomore guard Ta’Zir Smith for much of the game because of a nagging hip injury that also kept him out of the lineup for a huge portion of time at Saint Francis.
Following a timeout, Northern Kentucky inbounded, but Robert Morris regained possession when Oday took a pass and stepped out of bounds.
The Colonials couldn’t capitalize because Vargas’ cross-court pass intended for Prather sailed into the Robert Morris bench.
“Ryan was wide open in the corner,” Toole said. “We talk to Albert all the time about jump-stopping. Every Sunday, I watch football and they talk about quarterbacks who don’t get their feet set and the ball sails. That’s exactly what happened. He didn’t get his feet set — maybe didn’t land on two feet — and that ball just sailed and Ryan wasn’t able to get it.
“That was a killer, because if that ball hits him in the hands, he’s got a great look at us taking the lead.”
As it were, Oday was fouled on the next possession and made both shots for Northern Kentucky, giving the Norse a four-point lead.
Goode’s last-second basket wasn’t enough for the Colonials to avoid another close loss.
“We haven’t been able to play 40 minutes of basketball pretty consistently,” Toole said. “You’ve got to learn the hard way sometimes. We got away with it the last couple games. You get by by the skin of your teeth in a couple games and you think that’s just going to happen again.”
Both teams were coming off long layoffs over the Christmas break, Robert Morris last playing a game Dec. 20, one day before Northern Kentucky’s most recent action.
Toole bemoaned that the Colonials couldn’t put away their visitors this time.
“We got off to a good start. We did a good job, offensively, to get that lead,” he said. “Unfortunately, we relaxed a little bit and they did a great job of attacking us in transition, attacking us in the paint, and they kind of controlled the game from there on out.
“We needed some more production from some more guys on the bench. Not just baskets, but to hold the line defensively and not be a sieve on the defensive side of the floor.”
The game marked a continuing buildup of another rivalry between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati sports teams.
In the NFL, it’s the Steelers against the Bengals. In Major League Baseball, it’s the Pirates and Reds.
In college basketball, there was the longstanding series between Duquesne and Xavier, when both were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
And don’t forget Robert Morris and Northern Kentucky.
Yes, the Horizon League’s version of Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati is becoming an intense series since both suburban-based schools made a jump in competition, RMU from the lightly regarded Northeast Conference and Northern Kentucky from the Division II ranks.
The latest meeting proved it.
Robert Morris, looking for its third win in a row in the series, jumped to a 10-2 advantage at the game’s first timeout. The Colonials connected on four of their first six shots, including 2 of 4 from behind the arc.
They were ahead 17-4 three minutes later at the 13:03 mark while holding Northern Kentucky to 2-of-6 shooting.
But the Norse fought back to tie the score and take a 35-32 lead on back-to-back 3-point shots by Robinson, the second with 2:51 to go before halftime.
Northern Kentucky extended its lead to 43-35 before settling for a 43-41 advantage at the break.
Both teams shot identical 51.7% (15 for 29) during the first 20 minutes, but Northern Kentucky (53.8) finished the game with a better percentage than Robert Morris (46.0).
Robert Morris outrebounded Northern Kentucky 38-28, but the Colonials committed 15 turnovers to the Norse’s 12.
“Eventually, you don’t get by,” Toole said. “And then, you’ve got to be able to look yourself in the mirror and decide that you’re going to adhere to the things that are necessary to win.
“We’re not quite there yet.”