Boxscore

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Robert Morris jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, never trailed and held off a late Blue Hen rally to post an 86-75 non-conference men’s basketball victory over the University of Delaware Tuesday night at the Sewall Center.

Robert Morris, which improves to 1-1 on the year, got team-highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds from guard Jeremy Chappell, who recorded his second double-double in as many games. Jimmy Langhurst came off the bench to also score 19 points for the Colonials, who put six players in double figures.

Sophomore guard Jawan Carter scored a game-best 21 points for the Blue Hens, who fell to 0-2 for the third consecutive season. Senior guard Marc Egerson (at right) also recorded his second double-double of the season by adding 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Junior point guard Brian Johnson chipped in 13 points for Delaware, while sophomore guard Edwin Santiago contributed 12 points.

The Colonials shot 54.9 percent from the field, the second straight opponent to shoot above 50 percent against Delaware, and connected on 11 of 15 three-point attempts. Gary Wallace, who went 3 for 3 from long range, scored 12 points for Robert Morris, while Josiah Whitehead also scored 12 points while grabbing six rebounds.

Delaware, which shot 37.3 percent from the floor, was just 6 of 30 from behind the arc and hit only 19 of 32 free throw attempts.

Robert Morris, which fell behind Saint Bonaventure 16-0 in its season opener, jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first three and a half minutes. A fadeaway jumper by Egerson at the 15:30 mark stopped the run and put the Blue Hens on the board, and a fastbreak layup by Brian Johnson brought Delaware within 18-12 with 11 minutes to play in the half.

It was still a nine-point game at 24-15 with 8:51 left following an Egerson free throw, but consecutive three-pointers by Jeremy Chappell and jumpers by Whitehead and Bateko Francisco gave the Colonials their largest lead of the half at 34-15 with 6:15 on the clock.

Trailing 39-22, Delaware scored five consecutive points while holding Robert Morris scoreless for four minutes to pull within 12, but the Colonials scored two late baskets, including a buzzer-beating foulline jumper by Wallace, around an Egerson free throw to take a 43-28 advantage into halftime.

A basket by Egerson to open the second period brought Delaware within 13, but Chappell and Wallace countered with three-pointers, and another trey by Nwigwe made it a 54-33 game with 16:13 to play.

The Colonials still led 61-39 at the 12:04 mark, but baskets by D.J. Boney, Santiago and Johnson cut the UD deficit to 61-45 with 11:20 remaining. Ifeanyi Ehirim answered with a dunk for Robert Morris, but a floating jumper by Santiago and two tree throws by Carter made it a 63-49 game with 10:38 to go.

After the teams traded baskets over the next three minutes Delaware went on a 9-2 run, capped with a three-pointer by Egerson, to get within 70-60 with 4:05 to play. The Blue Hens got within seven points twice, the second time at 75-68 with 1:26 left, but Robert Morris drained 17 free throws in the second half to hold on for the victory.

The Colonials, last year’s Northeast Conference regular season champion and a Postseason NIT participant, improved to 29-5 in home openers. Delaware has now lost its last five road openers.

“It’s extremely hard to win when you’re trying to out-score people, and that’s what we’ve been reduced to so far this season,” UD third-year head coach Monté Ross said. “We did a better job in the second half of taking care of the basketball, but we missed too many free throws. We played with a sense of urgency in the last 10 minutes, but the intensity wasn’t there early on. They got a bunch of open looks from three-point range which is disheartening, but we will get better defensively.”

The contest, the first ever meeting between Delaware and Robert Morris, was a part of the Garden State Challenge. The Blue Hens next two games - Friday against Saint Bonaventure at 6 p.m. and Sunday versus Marist at 4 p.m. - are also part of the challenge.