Robert Morris punches ticket to NCAA Tournament, defeats Youngstown State 89-78 in Horizon League Championship
For the first time since 2015, the Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball team will head to the NCAA Tournament.
The Colonials won the Horizon League tournament on Tuesday night by a score of 89-78 over Youngstown State, giving them a berth in the big dance.
In typical Colonials' fashion, it was a team effort in he finals as all five starters racked up double-digit points, led by Josh Omojafo, who posted 24 points, going 6-15 from the floor and 1-3 from three-point range.
Robert Morris headed to halftime leading 34-29 and would ultimately outscore the Youngstown State Penguins 55-49 in the second half, wrapping up the 89-78 victory.
RMU began the first half on an 11-0 run and never surrendered the lead throughout the course of the game. Youngstown State would make it close about midway through the second half thanks to a three-pointer from Cris Carroll, cutting RMU's lead to 54-52.
A late second-half dunk from Omojafo would give the Colonials the insurance they needed, increasing their lead to 85-76 and then his four successful free throws sealed the win for RMU.
While this will be the first time the Colonials will be in the tournament since 2015, RMU did qualify for the 2020 NCAA Tournament, but it was ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Selection Sunday is set for this weekend and the NCAA Tournament will tip-off next week.
KDKA-TV Sports' Cassidy Wood will have reactions from Moon Township on the KDKA-TV News at 11.
