Robert Morris men drop another game to Purdue Fort Wayne

Damian Chong Qui scored 20 points and Purdue Fort Wayne shot better than 60% inside and outside the 3-point arc as the Mastodons rolled to an 86-62 Horizon League men’s basketball victory over Robert Morris on Friday night in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Purdue Fort Wayne (10-8, 5-4) scored 14 points in a row to break a 12-12 tie and went on to outscore Robert Morris, 33-8, during the final 11 minutes, 8 seconds of the first half and take a 43-20 lead at halftime.

The Colonials ( 3-15, 1-8) could never recover.

“We couldn’t guard the ball. They were able to drive us wherever they wanted,” Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. “You give credit where it’s due because Purdue Fort Wayne is very unselfish and moves the ball really, really well. A lot of the 3-point looks they had tonight were just simple catch and shoot. We were just so out of it on the offensive side that we let it affect us defensively.”

During the decisive run, Purdue Fort Wayne shot 68.4 % (13 for 19), including 7 for 9 (77.8%) from 3-point range, and received a balanced attack, offensively, with Bobby Planutis, Jarred Godfrey and Deonte Billups each scoring eight points.

The Colonials committed nine turnovers while shooting just 3 for 12 during the Mastodons ‘ spurt.

“You don’t always have to play well, but you have to play hard,” Toole said. “They threw a haymaker in the first half and we didn’t respond. We have a few guys that have logged a lot of minutes in college, and to not see a response is disappointing. We have to have a much better mindset when we take the court on Sunday.”

Robert Morris visits Cleveland State at 3 p.m. Sunday to close out a brief two-game road trip.

Billups added 16 points, Godfrey 15 and Planutis 10 for Purdue Fort Wayne, which shot 63.6 % overall and 62.5 (15 for 24) from behind the arc.

Kahliel Spear led Robert Morris with 16 points, stretching his streak of double-figure scoring games to seven. Spear, who entered the game second in the Horizon in field-goal percentage, also grabbed eight rebounds for the Colonials.

Michael Green III added 14 points, including 11 for 11 from the free-throw line, for Robert Morris.