Sports

Robert Morris didn't let the 21.5-inch snow storm derail its romp through the Northeast Conference on Saturday.

Nor did the Colonials get slowed down by an 18-minute delay in the first half because of a power outage at the Sewall Center. The outage, however, knocked out the main scoreboard, forcing Robert Morris officials to use flip cards to display the score.

It was the second time this season that the power has gone out during a Robert Morris game. The first was at Cleveland State on Dec. 15.

The Colonials (16-8, 11-1), however, used a balanced scoring attack and defeated St. Francis (Pa.), 75-63, to complete a sweep of 'Rivalry Weekend,' and maintained a one-game lead over Quinnipiac (16-7, 10-2) in the conference heading into the final three weeks of the regular season. Robert Morris beat St. Francis on Thursday at Loretto.

Karon Abraham led the way for the Colonials with 14 points. Velton Jones had 13 points and five assists, Dallas Green had 12 points and Josiah Whitehead came off the bench to score 10.

"Looking at the statistics, I should be happier," Robert Morris coach Mike Rice said. "We shot 64 percent from the field (25 for 39) and held them to 31 percent (15 for 48).

"But 15 turnovers in the second half are not acceptable. We were playing the scoreboard instead of competing to get better. I didn't like the way we finished."

Green said after blackout the gym was silent, and he needed to make something happen.

"I'm a senior and a leader," Green said. "Once I got going, the team seemed to follow. We needed some energy."

Unlike Thursday's game, when the Colonials needed to rally in the second half, RMU took charge late in the first half, using a 9-0 run to grab a 28-21 lead. Robert Morris led, 43-32, at halftime.

Early in the second half, Robert Morris stretched its lead to 60-39 with 14:02 left in the game on a three-point play from Whitehead.

"There was a 20-minute span that I thought we played well," Rice said. "We were patient on offense and playing for each other. We let the offense come to us. We found another way to win."

But the young Red Flash, with two freshmen picking up major minutes, climbed back into the contest with an 8-0 run which pulled them to within 60-47 with 12:03 left. Robert Morris then responded with its own 8-0 run to put the game away.

Devin Sweetney led St. Francis with 20 points and nine rebounds and shooting guard Sorena Orandi scored 11 points in the first half, but injured his left ankle late in the first half and did not return.

St. Francis coach Don Friday said he was not pleased with his team's effort.

"We didn't compete and didn't play with the moxie I'm accustomed to," Friday said. "I have to find a way to motivate these players.

"Robert Morris did a good job adjusting to some of the things we did on Thursday, and we did not. I have to find a player that to compete and win."

Robert Morris has won nine-consecutive games, and the senior trio of Jimmy Langhurst, Mezie Nwigwe and Green became the school's all-time winningest class with 83 victories. The trio also set a record for wins in the league with 51.

Robert Morris is at Pitt on Monday.

"I'm looking forward to playing against another Big East team," Abraham said. "We're playing a lot better as a team since we played Syracuse to open the season."

Rice said this is the last time Robert Morris will play Pitt this late in the season. It's the second consecutive season that the teams will play in February.

"We want to play Pitt, but it has to be early or not at all," Rice said. "I should be excited about playing them, but I'm not sure if I should rest some players for the final six conference games."

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News