3 takeaways from Robert Morris beating Youngstown to win Horizon League championship

It was a game that started perfectly for Robert Morris, up 11-0 to start the game on Youngstown State in the Horizon League championship. However, the Penguins made the comeback to eventually make it a close game for the rest of the second half. Yet, in the end, RMU found a way to close the game and pull out the 89-78 victory to get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament next week.

Here are some immediate takeaways from the game

Josh Omojafo’s starring performance

The offense for Robert Morris was fine overall but there were some struggles, especially once 7’3 center Gabe Dynes was on the floor. But the one player who managed to keep the Colonials on the right side of the score column was Omojafo, going for 24 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. He’s flown under the radar compared to the other starters, but he’s saved his best offensive performances for last, leading RMU to victory.

Shutting down Ty Harper

In the win over Purdue-Fort Wayne, Harper had 20 points and has stepped up as the lead guard once EJ Farmer went down with an injury. However, RMU held him to just three points, going 0/7 from the field. Juman Maxey did have 23 points to keep the Penguins in the game but Robert Morris was able to slow down the perimeter enough to get the victory. 

DJ Smith comes through once again

The junior guard from Arkansas-Little Rock is viewed as a role player for RMU, playing under Woods’ shadow in the backcourt. Yet I could argue that he was the biggest reason why the Colonials were able to get the wins. In 3 of the last 4 games, Smith made a trio of three-pointers, with all of them either to cut into an early deficit or stop momentum building on the other side. He finished with 11 points, making Robert Morris now 15-1 when Smith is in double figures.