As Robert Morris’ lone returning player from last season’s Horizon League winner, Ryan Prather Jr. knows the feeling of a champion.
He’s hoping his new teammates soon feel it, too.
Prather scored 23 points for his fourth consecutive game of at least 20 and second time in a row with 23, and Robert Morris evened its Horizon League record by beating Milwaukee, 88-76, on Thursday night at UPMC Events Center.
“We’re trying to keep climbing, keep stacking until everybody has that mindset,” said Prather, who has scored 20 or more points a total of five times this season, including a career-high 25 in a Nov. 26 victory against Illinois-Chicago.
He also scored 23 on Saturday in the Colonials’ 92-89 overtime victory at Northern Kentucky.
“My coaches and teammates are always supporting me and having my back,” Prather said. “It’s been tremendous to have that kind of support.”
And why not? Prather’s offense at times has been prolific. He’s second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg), a smidge behind the leader, DeSean Goode (15.0).
The Colonials (13-8, 5-5) led for all but 5 minutes, 43 seconds in winning their second consecutive game. They’ll face Green Bay on Saturday afternoon in the second of a three-game homestand. The Phoenix fell to Youngstown State, 88-81.
Unlike the season’s first meeting, there were no late heroics. Robert Morris was in control for much of way against the injury-plagued Panthers, who were down to 10 healthy players.
Among the missing was senior guard Seth Hubbard, the team’s leading scorer, who was sidelined a week after his 21 points, including a winning tip-in, led Milwaukee to a 74-72 victory over Robert Morris on Dec. 6 at UWM Panther Arena.
“I give (Milwaukee coach) Bart Lundy and his staff credit,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “He’s got a ton of guys that are out injured, and those (remaining) guys are out there competing and fighting. He’s doing a great job with his group and his team. They’ve just had some tough luck. What their rotation they intended to have and what it is now is completely different.”
Milwaukee (8-13, 4-6) has lost seven of its past eight games. The Panthers were led by Amar Augillard’s 16 points. Chandler Jackson added 15. Esyah Pippa-White (13) and Aaron Franklin and Steve Elam (10 each) also scored in double figures.
Prather shot 8 for 12 and joined Kaleb Brown with a team-leading five assists each for Robert Morris. Goode added 15 points — his season average — and Nikolaos Chitikoudis chipped in 11 for the Colonials, who shot 59%, registered 22 assists on 31 field goals and dominated Milwaukee in rebounding (40-25) but committed 16 turnovers.
Prather converted three free throws with 9:20 left to give Robert Morris its biggest lead of 70-55, but Toole wasn’t impressed after Milwaukee kept hanging around.
Four times the Panthers cut the Colonials’ lead to nine points.
“We really executed well offensively, but we’re still looking for that defense to be a little more consistent than it is,” he said. “We had (a comfortable lead), and at one point we talked about, ‘Can we string some stops together?’ And they scored eight straight points.
“But it was really important to get a league win at home.”
Goode and Brown grabbed eight rebounds apiece, and Chitikoudis and Josh Hill finished with six each for the Colonials.
Robert Morris sank 9 of 17 attempts from 3-point range (52.9%), two each by Prather, Goode and Albert Vargas.
Prather, who shot 40% from 3-point range last season, has struggled at times this year, making 49 of 145 attempts (33.8).
“Teams are pressing up on him so hard. They don’t want him to shoot the ball,” Toole said of the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Prather, a spot starter last season, when he primarily was RMU’s first man off the bench during the Colonials’ run to an NCAA Tournament berth. “He’s doing a nice job of getting into the paint. He wasn’t doing that early in the year. He’s so strong, and he’s able to get to the paint and get to the free-throw line more now.”
With Prather scoring just four first-half points, Robert Morris rode hot shooting to a 43-35 halftime lead.
The Colonials connected at a 64% clip and scored 12 consecutive points late in the first half to turn a two-point deficit into a 10-point lead with 1:22 remaining before the break.
While its latest game resulted in a double-digit margin of victory, seven of RMU’s 10 league games have been decided by a single possession.
“We’re going to keep showing up and fighting every day to instill the right habits to get this team to the level that I think it can get to,” Toole said. “We’re not there yet. We need better practices more often from more guys. We need more guys locked in on execution. I’ve said it like 700 times this week: ‘Execution isn’t optional.’ ”