RMU Basketball: 3 takeaways from clutch home win over Wright State Raiders

At 2-4 in league play and ahead of a three-game road trip, RMU Basketball hosted Wright State on Sunday. It was a key matchup for both sides, looking to crack the top-tier of the league at some point. The game was ultimately a back-and-forth battle, with the game coming down to the final seconds.

In the end, an alley-oop from Kam Woods to Amarion Dickerson gave the Colonials the 75-72 victory to move to 11-7, 3-4 overall. There were some interesting developments throughout the game that helped the Colonials to win. Here are some takeaways I had from the game.

1. Dickerson’s early benching may have saved him for the end

After playing well against Cleveland State, Ismael Plet got the start for RMU, while Dickerson came off the bench after a couple of minutes. Against a Wright State team with plenty of frontcourt depth itself, the Colonial bigs got in foul trouble, with Plet fouling out and Dickerson having four. While he did foul out, Plet’s 22 minutes allowed Dickerson to avoid the same fate, leaving him available for the final minutes and the last play. He finished with 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench, including the final two.

2. DJ Smith and Ryan Prather’s big impact

In my preview for the matchup, one of my keys to the game was better play from both Smith and Prather, who had struggled in recent games. Both of them stepped up throughout, with Smith scoring 13 points on 3/4 from deep, while Prather had 11 points and three assists in 20 minutes off the bench. In a game where RMU’s leading scorer went 2/13 from the field, and Alvaro Folguerias took a while to get going, these two were unsung heroes in the win.

3. Highs and lows of Kam Woods continues

Scoring-wise, it wasn’t a good outing for the senior point guard. Woods finished with just four points and missed 11 shots. However, he proved why he ended up playing 38 minutes, getting a key steal and a basket to tie the game late, before his game-winning assist in the alley-oop to win the game. 

Overall, Woods had seven rebounds, five assists, and the top defensive play for the Colonials. While the efficiency will continue to come and go for the senior guard, he still makes the key plays to give them a chance to win.