MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Robert Morris used a big scoring run to take the lead and never gave it back, handing the Milwaukee men's basketball team a tough defeat Saturday night at the UPMC Events Center.
 
The Panthers (18-10, 12-6 Horizon League) led the Colonials (14-15, 9-9 Horizon League) by five points midway through the first half before a substantial scoring run flipped the script.
 
"We got out-rebounded by 20, so you have to compete on the glass," head coach Bart Lundy said of the outcome. "We have to do a better job possessing the ball and getting good possessions offensively, and not play from behind. There are a lot of things we need to correct."
 
RMU led by 11 at the break and made it 14 with a 3 on its first possession. The deficit grew to 15 at 48-33 and Milwaukee could never get in a groove. Each time the Panthers made a dent, the home team seemed to have an answer, helped along by a huge rebounding advantage (45-23) and 16 MKE turnovers.
 
"There were only 16, but they were in the middle of the floor," Lundy said of the miscues. "We forced 19, so we actually won the turnover margin by three, but you can't lose by 20 on the glass."
 
Elijah Jamison led the way with 13 points, adding three rebounds. Ahmad Rand and BJ Freeman each had 11 and Kentrell Pullian chipped in 10 off the bench to give the team four players in double-figures.
 
RMU had five players reach double-figures, led by 16 apiece from Jackson Last and Josh Corbin, and a 14 point/11 rebound double-double from Kahliel Spear.
 
Milwaukee hit a couple of shots from deep midway through the second and seemed to gain momentum, trimming the margin to 11 on a three from Angelo Stuart at 56-45 and back within 10 again at 57-47. But that was as close as it would get as RMU would pull away down the stretch in the 80-60 decision. .
 
The rough stretch has coincided with losing season-long starter Markeith Browning II (10.3 ppg/5.2 rpg) to injury.
 
"It's huge … we are trying to figure out rotations," Lundy said of dealing with the injury. "I've told the team it's my fault – I have been searching for the right combination and I haven't found that. And maybe I've put us in a spin cycle in the process. We have about 12 days to figure things out, so that is what we are going to do."
 
Down 14-8 early, a Rand alley-oop started a swing of 11 straight from Milwaukee, eventually building the lead to 21-16 and seemingly in control. That's when the Colonials got red-hot, going on a 16-0 run (to lead 32-21) that decided the outcome of the contest.
 
The Panthers shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the floor and also connected on just 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the line. RMU finished at 45.8 percent (27-of-59) and made 12 three-pointers.
 
Up next, the Panthers return home for the final two games of the regular-season slate, starting with a Thursday doubleheader on campus. The men play Purdue Fort Wayne at 7:30 p.m., which follows the MKE women against the same Mastodons, set for a 5 p.m. tipoff.