Jan. 24, 2008

Chicago, Ill. - After trailing at the half by a point, the #7-ranked Robert Morris (Ill.) men's basketball team closed out a see-saw battle with a 9-4 run to take a hard-fought 78-69 victory over #22 St. Xavier University (Ill.) in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Wednesday (Jan. 23) at the Shannon Athletic Center.

It was the first game since December 22 for the Eagles and the long lay-off showed as they turned the ball over seventeen times in the first half.  Those miscues--coupled with the SXU size advantage inside--made for a close game featuring six ties and eleven lead changes.

After buckets by the Cougars on their first two possessions, RMC's Andre Knox (Junior, Chicago, IL) hit a three off an assist by Othysus Jeffers (Senior, Chicago, IL).  Mario Brandon (Junior, Chicago, IL) then hit a baseline jumper for RMC's first lead at 5-4.

SXU's bid to regain the lad was thwarted when Jeffers took a charge from 2007 CCAC Freshman of the Year Julian Scott.  After an RMC turnover, the Cougars had to force up a bad shot as the shot clock ran down, and Jeffers padded the slim lead with a put-back.

A turnover by SXU--one of 22 they would commit in the game--led to an easy lay-in by Mario Brandon off a great look by point guard Terry Dunlop.  The junior from Chicago added to his conference lead in assists with five in the game.

The RMC five-point edge grew on a fast-break bucket from Michael Simms (Senior, Chicago, IL) off an assist in the open court from Andre White (Junior, Zion, IL).  Another break-out earned Maurice Montgomery (Junior, Chicago, IL) a chance at the free throw line, but he could only cash in on one to double up SXU at 16-8.

SXU then exploded in the final minutes of the opening stanza with a 14-5 run to take a one-point lead into the locker room at half time.  Twelve points of that run came in the paint as the Cougars used their size to good advantage.

Up 35-34, SXU had the ball to open the second half.  They were turned away and RMC regained the lead on a floater in the lane from Jeffers.  Scott answered for SXU with a carbon copy of Jeffers's bucket at the other end and then went coast to coast with a defensive rebound to give the Cougars a three-point edge at 39-36.

Andre White dropped in a bomb from beyond the arc to knot the score once again, but SCU went inside to Lowe for anther power move and the lead.

Coach Bruehl earned a tech of his own, leaping to his feet when Brandon was called for an offensive foul in the lane.  SXU hit both free throws for a four-point lead.

Bad turnovers continued to plague the Eagles, but pressure from Terry Dunlop on the Cougar point forced SXU into a miscue of their own.  Mario Brandon made it hurt with a jumper, then tied the game on the end of a fast break started by a defensive rebound from Andre White.

An SXU three was answered by Andre Knox.  The teams then traded one-point leads several times around the fifteen-minute mark.

Kevin Lowe broke that string when he hit a bucket-and-one for a 50-48 SXU lead.

Jason Bowden (Junior, Chicago, IL) then scored six straight for the Eagles, the first on a high arching three over the onrushing SXU defense.  Scott then picked up his fourth foul of the game when he ran into Bowden on another try for a three.  Bowden hit all his free throws to put RMC up 54-50 with about twelve minutes left in the game.

SXU came back to grab the lead at 57-56 at the 9:50 mark with a pair of free throws from Alok Aiyar.  A put-back by Jeffers at the other end was answered by a nice move down the baseline from Aiyar for the sixth and final tie of the game, 60-all with 8:20 left.

Over the next three minutes, the Eagles went on a 9-4 run highlighted by scores in the paint from Montgomery and a thunderous dunk by Jeffers.  The run ended on a dotted-line jumper from Dunlop.

The Cougars had another run left in them, cutting the lead to just a pair with 4:44 left on a score from Gregeriou off a nifty assist by Scott.  A big block by Maurice Montgomery of an SXU try for three was snatched by Jeffers and turned into a cold-blooded three from Andrew White.

From there the Eagles closed out the game from the free-throw line, scoring four of their last six points with the clock stopped.  They finished the last five minutes of the game on a 9-4 run for the 78-69 final.

After problems in the pre-conference schedule from the line, the Eagles hit 18 of the 21 chances they had at the charity stripe in the game.  RMC outrebounded the Cougars 34-19.

"We did a good job in the second half on defense," said Coach Bruehl, "Terry Dunlop did a fantastic job of pressuring their guards."

Othyus Jeffers showed why he is a candidate for CCAC Player of the Year as he led all scorers with 21 points and all rebounders with thirteen.

"O was the best player on the floor tonight, that's for sure," said Coach Bruehl.

Three other Eagles were in double figures.  Andre White had 13 and Mario Brandon came up with 12.  Andre Knox scored 10 and added six rebounds.

Kevin Lowe topped the Cougars with 15 points.

The win improved the Eagles' overall record to 16-2, 1-0 in the CCAC.  The Cougars fall to 16-5, 0-1 in the conference.

RMC will play their home conference opener this Saturday, January 26, 2008, when they host the University of St. Francis in a doubleheader with the women's basketball team.  The Lady Eagles will tip off at 5:00 PM with the men to follow at approximately 7:30 PM.