MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Robert Morris used a big scoring run to build a first-half lead and then slowly pulled away in the second half to earn a 77-53 victory over the Milwaukee men's basketball team Thursday evening at the UPMC Events Center.
 
The Panthers (7-14, 5-7 Horizon League) had a tough night shooting, while seeing the Colonials (4-16, 2-9 Horizon League) connect on over 50 percent of their shots after intermission to grab the win. The home team was led by a career-high 25 points by Kahliel Spear (11-of-14 FG) as well as a substantial advantage on the boards (52-36).
 
"It was a tough loss and we just have to regroup and reset and get ready for Saturday," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We have to be a lot tougher on the glass. They rebound the basketball – they had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and I thought that was the difference that gave them the lead."
 
The high scorer for MKE was Joey St. Pierre, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Jordan Lathon added six points and tied his season-high with a team-leading nine rebounds.
 
Robert Morris scored 10 of the final 12 points of the first half and continued to build its lead in the second. The deficit hit 20 when it clearly became RMU's night, turning a pass thrown blindly to save it from going out of bounds directly into a dunk and a 48-27 advantage. The Panthers could not close the gap the rest of the night.
 
Robert Morris used a big scoring run to forge ahead early in the first. Despite missing their first seven shots, the Panthers quickly turned an early 9-3 deficit into an 11-9 lead. A tough three by Devon Hancock from the top of the key tied it 9-9 and Moses Bol followed with a layup to extend it to 11-9.
 
From there it was all in favor of the Colonials, using a 17-2 run to springboard to a 24-13 advantage, finally snapped by a Josh Thomas hoop. RMU continued to build, eventually taking a 39-23 lead into the locker room while holding the Panthers to 32.3 percent (10-of-31) over the opening 20 minutes. The Colonials also turned just five first-half turnovers into an 11-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Milwaukee heads to Youngstown State next, scheduled to battle the Penguins Saturday afternoon in a matchup set to tip off at 1 p.m. CST.