NCAAB Game Recap - Robert Morris at Louisville
Fri Dec 21, 2018 7:00 PM EST

Denv
40
Gonz
101
F
Oakl
69
MSU
99
F
Buff
85
Marq
103
F
Furm
57
LSU
75
F
Dart
67
Bry
68
F
StBon
59
NE
64
F
Bry
45
Chat
79
F
Bingha
68
LIU
67
F
Lib
73
ASU
55
F
(N/A)
65
UMBC
86
F
CenAR
73
OkSt
82
F
WCU
52
BGSU
73
F
(N/A)
76
UNCA
86
F
Campbl
75
APSU
88
F
Kent
66
OrSt
63
F
FaDi
84
UMass
85
F
Tows
73
Tul
55
F
(N/A)
73
E WA
92
F
IUPUI
70
MorSt
74
F
GaSo
68
Radf
80
F
UCIrv
54
Butl
71
F
Alc
44
SoFL
83
F
IlSt
56
UCF
77
F
LoyMD
79
UMassL
97
F
Detr
55
Xav
69
F
N AL
68
VMI
89
F
UNCW
73
Mercer
77
F
Princ
81
Lafy
79
F
CoCar
71
Charl
73
F
BethC
74
Boston
66
F
Oreg
47
Baylor
57
F
ETSU
76
Wyo
53
F
E IL
53
IaSt
101
F
Stetsn
63
Longw
77
F
RobM
59
Lou
73
F
Navy
63
GMas
84
F
(N/A)
47
SFA
97
F
AbCh
70
SEMO
68
F
(N/A)
61
ChaSo
86
F
AlaAM
57
LaSal
80
F
Miss
74
MTSU
56
F
Copp
63
ULM
80
F
HowPa
32
Lamar
121
F
USM
66
SDak
60
F
NebOm
83
Rice
66
F
FlaAM
39
Portl
54
F
NCAT
67
Minn
86
F
(N/A)
55
IL-C
76
F
Troy
74
UAB
73
F
Vermt
66
Lipsco
91
F
Sac
41
Wash
57
F
NoAZ
62
Utah
76
F
Norf
75
UTEP
62
F
Prov
71
Tex
65
F
Okla
76
NW
69
F(OT)
PSU
64
Bama
73
F
SJSU
80
Cal
88
F
Ida
56
SCla
77
F
TexAr
75
CAPoly
70
F(OT)
S UT
49
USC
91
F

Dec 21, 2018, 7:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Robert Morris

32

27

59

Louisville

29

44

73

Big run helps Louisville avoid scare against Robert Morris
Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:42 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) With his team trailing at halftime for only the second time this season, Louisville coach Chris Mack entered the locker room and told his players they only needed to make one fix.

"I try not to be that coach, but tonight it was called for: We aren't playing hard enough," Mack said after his Cardinals rallied to beat Robert Morris 73-59 Friday night. "So that's the adjustment that we made. It was to tell them play harder or we're going to lose the game."

Jordan Nwora scored seven of his 19 points during a decisive 20-2 second-half run that allowed Louisville (9-3) to pull away from the Colonials (4-8). He made 7 of 12 shots and added 13 rebounds for his third double-double in the last four games. Steven Enoch added 16 points and Dwayne Sutton had 14.

Early on, the Colonials seemed prime to mount a big upset over their Atlantic Coast Conference hosts. At one point, they made 9 of 10 shots and used a 13-2 run to build a 28-17 lead with 6:02 left in the first half. Louisville rallied and even took a brief lead late in the half, but Robert Morris weathered the first run and took a 32-29 lead into halftime.

Despite trailing at the break, Nwora and Mack said they saw the effort improve late in the first half and that it was important to carry it over to the second half.

"We have to treat every game as the same," the sophomore forward said. "Every game is important to reach our goal, and that's to make the tournament. We needed to play hard to start the game, and we didn't start the game hard."

Mack was quick to praise the Colonials for their effort, but he also made sure to call out his own players. He said his staff noticed the players' lackadaisical effort in warmups and that led to the slow start.

"We were playing uphill the entire game," Mack said.

Charles Bain hit a 3-pointer with 17:53 left that extended the Colonials' lead to 39-31, but it was all Cardinals from there as they shot 54.2 percent in the second half. Darius Perry's 3-pointer gave the Cardinals the lead for good at 43-41 with 14:05 remaining.

The run put Louisville up 51-41 with 10:04 left. The Colonials never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as Louisville grew the lead to as many as 17 points.

Bain's 18 points led the Colonials, who shot just 37.7 percent.

CUNNINGHAM OUT

Louisville played without point guard Christen Cunningham, who was a late scratch from the starting lineup. Mack said the graduate transfer hit his head on the floor in practice Thursday and remained in the concussion protocol.

BLOCK PARTY

Despite playing no one taller than 6-foot-8, Robert Morris finished Friday with a season-high seven blocks. Malik Petteway swatted five of those, a career high for the senior forward.

BIG PICTURE

Robert Morris: Despite entering Friday on a four-game losing streak, the Colonials led the Northeast Conference in scoring defense, allowing just 70.7 points a game. They used that defense to deny Louisville opportunities to attack the rim in the first half. While they played well for most of the contest, they simply could not last against a Power 5 team for a full 40 minutes.

Still, coach Andrew Toole took away the effort Friday as a positive.

"This is, I think, what we have been looking for as coaches," he said. "Now the trick is: can we sustain it for a majority of the remainder of our season?"

Louisville: Without Cunningham, Louisville looked lost on both ends of the court before they went on the decisive run. If he misses any extended period, it could be costly for the Cardinals as the schedule only gets tougher from here.

UP NEXT

Robert Morris: The Colonials end the nonconference portion of their schedule on Dec. 29, when they host Hood College, an NCAA Division III school from Frederick, Maryland.

Louisville: The Cardinals are also off until Dec. 29 when they host No. 19 Kentucky. Louisville has lost five of the last six games against its archrival.

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

Robert Morris PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
C. Bain 18 0 0 4 0 0
M. Petteway 10 0 2 6 3 5
Louisville PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
J. Nwora 19 0 0 13 1 1
S. Enoch 16 0 0 5 1 3

Team Comparison

RobM Lou
Points For 59 73
Field Goals 23/61-38% 23/47-49%
Three Pointers 8/20-40% 5/15-33%
Free Throws 5/9-56% 22/27-81%
Offensive Rebounds 10 10
Defensive Rebounds 16 31
Rebounds 28 42
Blocks 7 6
Steals 8 4
Turnovers 9 16
Personal Fouls 23 14
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - Lou Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Fri Dec 21 RobM 59 @ Lou 73 C. Bain 18 J. Nwora 19

Game Information

Stadium: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 16,249
Game Time: