In a defensive first half in which the two teams combined to shoot 28.3 percent from the field (15-for-53), the Bison took a 20-19 advantage into halftime. In the first five minutes of the game the only field goal came courtesy of RMU senior guard Maurice Carter (Richmond, Va. / Eleanor Roosevelt-Md.), who hit a three-pointer at the 19:14 mark to give the Colonials an early 3-0 lead. Bucknell finally got on the board when Charles Lee scored a layup with 14:50 remaining in the first half, but Robert Morris upped its advantage to 5-2 after a pair of free throws from junior forward Joseph Ison (Baltimore, Md. / Labette C.C.).

Robert Morris pushed its lead to three, 10-7, after another trifecta from Carter, then took a 12-9 advantage at the 9:05 mark on a jumper from senior forward Chaz McCrommon (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Schenley). The Bison eventually tied the game at 12 and were able to take the one-point halftime lead thanks to Chris McNaughton, who converted a pair of free throws with 48 seconds left before the break to give Bucknell the 20-19 edge.

The start of the second half saw the Robert Morris and Bucknell offenses get into a groove, trading baskets back and forth. Senior center Mark Anderson (Topeka, Kansas / Coffeyville C.C.) opened the scoring in the second stanza with a jumper to give the Colonials a 21-20 advantage, but John Clark hit a jumper of his own to push the Bison back in front, 22-21. Kevin Bettencourt then upped Bucknell’s advantage to 24-21 with a fast-break layup, but the Colonials scored the next four points to take a 25-24 lead with 17:22 to play. Anderson hit another jumper for RMU, while Carter converted both ends of his free throws.

McCrommon then gave Robert Morris a 28-26 lead after scoring on a layup and converting his free throw opportunity after a foul by Abe Badmus during the play. Badmus atoned for his foul of McCrommon on Bucknell’s next possession by feeding McNaughton in the lane for an easy dunk to tie the score at 28, but Anderson’s third field goal of the half gave the Colonials a 30-28 lead with 13:54 left. The Bison responded with a trio of three-pointers to open up a 37-30 lead, as Bettencourt hit a pair and John Griffin hit one to propel Bucknell. Trailing 43-36 with 8:50 to go after a pair of free throws by Anderson, the Colonials would go four minutes without scoring and the Bison used a 12-0 run to take a 55-36 lead and take control of the game.

McNaughton scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to lead Bucknell, while Bettencourt added 10 for the Bison. Robert Morris was paced by McCrommon, who scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and added three assists and three steals. Carter added 13 points for the Colonials but was 0-for-6 from the field in the second half, while Anderson registered his first double-double as a Colonial by finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Robert Morris continues non-conference action Saturday, Dec. 11, when it welcomes Eastern Kentucky to the Charles L. Sewall Center for a 7:30 p.m. game.

Notes: The Colonials shot just 32 percent (16-for-50) from the field against the Bison, the team’s lowest shooting percentage of the year and the third time in seven games RMU has shot less than 33 percent … Bucknell, which shot 27.6 percent in the first half, rebounded to shoot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) in the second stanza … Robert Morris was 0-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc in the second half and just 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) on the game … The Colonials converted 66.7 percent (10-for-15) of their free throws.