MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Amar Augillard led five players in double-figures with 16 points but a strong finish to the first half was enough to tip the scales to Robert Morris against the Milwaukee men's basketball team in an 88-76 loss Thursday night at the UPMC Events Center.
 
The Panthers (8-13, 4-6 Horizon League), who were competing with just 10 dressed players on the night, played the Colonials (13-8, 5-5 Horizon League) evenly over the final 17-plus minutes, but couldn't get over the hump as RMU grew its halftime lead out of intermission and then held that advantage the rest of the way.
 
"Our guys battled and scrapped in a tough environment," head coach Bart Lundy said. "With our numbers, we get fatigued and I thought the end of the first half, we were fatigued. Getting those 50-50 balls and those 50-50 rebounds, for this team at this time, is going to be crucial."
 
Augillard finished with his 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Chandler Jackson added an MKE-high 15-point effort, Esyah Pippa-White tied his with 13 points, while Stevie Elam and Aaron Franklin both posted identical 10 point/7 rebound statlines on the night.
 
Ryan Prather led Robert Morris with a game-high 23 points – his fourth consecutive outing of 20+ points. DeSean Goode added 15 points and eight rebounds to help his team improve to 8-2 at home this season.
 
Milwaukee was in search of the season sweep following a 74-72 win back on December 6, but injuries forced Lundy to use four different MKE starters from that game just seven weeks ago – including three freshmen – marking a first for the Panthers since 2021.
 
"We have five guys out tonight that could be all-league players," Lundy said. "And that's hard to buffer. We've had some really bad defeats here, in this building. I thought we kept it tight but made some mistakes when we had a chance to really close the gap. But these young guys are growing game by game."
 
Up eight at intermission, the home team slowly added. It was 13 at 57-44 yet the Panthers would claw back, getting within seven at 57-50 on a Pippa-White three-pointer. That was as close as Milwaukee could reel it back in, as RMU would get a big stop each time the Panthers had momentum going their way for a possible comeback attempt.
 
The first half featured eight different lead changes, with the Panthers digging out of an early 17-8 deficit, fueled by an 8-2 run. Jackson hit back-to-back 3's to make it a one-point game and Elam's three-pointer put MKE ahead at 26-24 – a span that saw the visitors go on an 18-7 spree.
 
RMU went back ahead, with Pippa-White sinking a corner 3 to once again put Milwaukee ahead, 33-31, with 4:44 to go. From there the Colonials had a big response, closing the half on a 12-2 run of their own to take a 43-35 advantage into the locker room.
 
On the night, Milwaukee connected on 44.1 percent (26-of-59) overall and 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from deep. Robert Morris started hot – making 65 percent in the opening period – and finished at 58.5 percent (31-of-53) overall on the night, making 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from distance. They also won the rebounding battle, 40-25 and scored 42 points in the paint.

Up next, the Panthers close out the road trip and travel to Youngstown State next, taking on the Penguins Jan. 24. Originally set for 1 p.m. CT, the contest will now get underway an hour earlier at 12 p.m. CT to get out ahead of Winter Storm Fern.