Robert Morris’ bid for a return to the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament screeched to a halt Monday night in Indianapolis.
The Colonials finished with a second consecutive 20-win season, despite the loss.
Orlando Lovejoy combined for 21 points and six assists, and No. 3 Detroit Mercy upset defending champion No. 2 Robert Morris, 70-64, in the semifinals at Coteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.
“Unbelievable performance, both teams,” Detroit Mercy coach Mark Montgomery said. “You’ve got to give Robert Morris a lot of credit, very well-coached. They had our number for two games this year (during the regular season), but you’ve got to give credit to my guys. It was team effort. So proud of the way we fought for 40 minutes. One more game.”
Robert Morris closed the season 22-11 after compiling a 26-9 record and winning its first Horizon Tournament championship a year ago.
Lance Stone added 16 points and Tyler Spratt finished with 10 for Detroit Mercy (17-14), which will play No. 1 Wright State at 7 p.m. in Tuesday’s championship game.
Wright State beat No. 7 Northern Kentucky, 103-90, in the other semifinal to advance.
“Give credit to those guys. They did an excellent job,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “They really, really came together as a group down the stretch this season. Coach Montgomery did a phenomenal job with his group. Obviously, Lovejoy played as a senior, didn’t want his career to end.”
Robert Morris was led by DeSean Goode’s 14 points and the 10 rebounds in his return to the city where he played his first college season. The Horizon League Player of the Year transferred in conference to Robert Morris from IU Indianapolis.
Nikolaos Chitikoidis added 13 points and Ryan Prather Jr. and Ta’Zir Smith added 11 apiece for Robert Morris, which defeated Detroit Mercy in both regular-season games.
Detroit Mercy led by as many as nine points with 8 minutes, 38 seconds remaining when Robert Morris began to chip away.
The Colonials were within 64-63 on Darius Livingston’s basket with 40 seconds left. But Detroit Mercy made seven consecutive free throws — four by Lovejoy — to seal the victory.
The Titans were 17 for 22 from the foul line; Robert Morris 9 for 16.
Both teams were cold from the field in the first half but warmed up to shoot respectably for the game. Robert Morris finished at 46% and Detroit Mercy at 42%.
Both teams made five 3-pointers — in 15 attempts for the Titans and 22 attempts for the Colonials.
“We had some good looks, offensively, but we weren’t able to convert on those, and that was really a frustration for us,” Toole said. “During the majority of the year, we were able to make some shots tonight, and tonight it didn’t happen for us. So, give great credit to Detroit, and we are obviously disappointed and frustrated, but really proud of the growth and the season that we had.”