In the past, RMU Basketball has struggled against the bottom of the Horizon League, taking unexpected losses. In was looking that way on Friday night, as the Colonials were trailing by as much as 17 points on the road in the first half. They were able to cut the deficit to just three points at halftime, before a 28-0 run to open the second half blew the game open.
RMU routed the Phoenix 89-67 to move to 4-4 in Horizon League play. Here are some takeaways from what ended up being a wild contest.
1. 40 points allowed in 32 minutes
In the first eight minutes of the game, Green Bay was up 27-10. From onward, RMU outscored them 79-40 the rest of the way. The Phoenix were the worst scoring team in the Horizon League so the regression was going to come but to hold a team scorless for the first 10:30 of a half was an impressive defensive effort by the Colonials after a rough start.
2. Kam Woods kept RMU in the game early
When the Colonials were trailing by double-digits early on, it was Woods scoring 10 points early to avoid the game getting out of hand. He had 15 points by halftime and finished with 20 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 6/13 shooting. Woods was the hero late in the last game and was the quiet early hero before the team made its big run to blow Green Bay out.
3. Ryan Prather’s all-around game
The Akron transfer made his impact early as a sharpshooter for RMU. But Prather has had a rough stretch over the past month, including poor shooting numbers. He’s been much better in the past week, with his first back-to-back double-digit outing. He had 11 points off the bench in the win over Green Bay, along with season-highs of six rebounds and four assists.
The passing has been a new development with Prather. He had 14 total assists in the first 17 games and now seven in the past two. If he becomes another ball-handler, that’ll just make RMU’s offense more consistent and not have to rely on Woods to be the sold playmaker.