After earning a bye into the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament, Robert Morris hosted Wright State for a spot in the semifinals. The Raiders were the last team to beat the Colonials and got off to a good start, up 18-8 after the first few minutes.
But Robert Morris wasn’t to be denied a trip to Indy. They came back to take a halftime lead, followed by extending it to coast to an 83-62 victory to move to 24-8 on the season. Here are a few takeaways from the game.
DJ Smith’s MVP performance
When RMU was down by 10 early, Wright State had a chance to put them on upset alert. However, Smith's two straight threes allowed the Colonials to come back and eventually win. The junior guard finished with 14 points and a game-high seven assists, making 3/6 from deep. Robert Morris didn’t look itself on offense early on, and if anything, Smith allowed them to shake off the nerves to get back into the game.
Ismael Plet’s needed second-half production
It was a rough game for Amarion Dickerson, finishing with just five points in 23 minutes dealing with foul trouble throughout. He picked up his third just seconds into the second half, and Plet filled in, making several plays to help extend the 10-point lead to as much as 17, preventing Wright State from taking advantage. Plet finished with five points, six rebounds, and three assists in 21 minutes off the bench, playing a key role in the team, and keeping the lead in the second half.
3-point defense
Coming into the game, Wright State was the top shooting team in the Horizon League, making nearly 40% of their shots from deep. But they started out 0/10 against Robert Morris, including missing a few good looks. Meanwhile, the Colonials went 10/29 from deep, including 3/4 off the bench from Ryan Prather. The Raiders finished 5/22 from deep and just had two made free throws all night, explaining why they only had 62 points total.