INDIANAPOLIS — Every year, the best teams in collegiate basketball gather to be a part of one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, March Madness. This year, Robert Morris will be a part of them.
Following a win Tuesday Night in the final of the Horizon League tournament against bitter rivals Youngstown State, 89-78, RMU men’s basketball not only clinched their first Horizon League championship, but NCAA tournament berth for the first time in ten years.
For head coach of 15 years, Andy Toole, it was his third conference title and the second time his Colonials have made “the Big Dance.”
“I’m incredibly proud [of this team].” Toole said. “I’ve been proud of them all year. A lot of these guys came here, took a chance on us after a down year last year. They’ve put up with me all season, and they came together as a team. And the competitiveness and the pride and the chemistry of these guys, I knew they were already champions before they held up the trophy.”
It was all RMU from the tip, as the Colonials shot out to a quick 11-0 lead in the opening minutes. Kam Woods continued his form from Monday night’s semi-final, scoring six points in that stretch. The NC State transfer would have 13 points at halftime and would end the game with 17.
This is Kam Woods’ fifth collegiate season at his fourth different school. While throughout this season his role has varied, during the most important stretch, the senior hasn’t shied away and kept coming up big for the Colonials, averaging 19.6 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds in the last three playoff games.
“I’m just comfortable and have a coach that believes in me.” Woods said. “College is all about motivation and your head space, and it doesn’t matter how many drills you do, if you’re not confident in what you’re doing you’re not gonna produce. So this is a place I feel I can be myself and find myself again.”
While the Colonials dominated early, Youngstown would continue to ask questions. The Penguins would go on a 7-0 run and cut the lead to one, before late points from Ismael Plet and Woods would see the Colonials reestablish their lead, and enter halftime leading 34-29.
The second half start would see that trend continue. The Colonials and Penguins continued their gritty, cat-and-mouse chase in the early minutes, with DJ Smith and Gabe Dynes trading blows on each end of the court. Smith would shoot 3-5 from the arc, scoring 11 points. Smith, another new face in the program, also has shined during a season when his teammates dominated the headlines.
“In order to become a championship level team, you have to have guys who are willing to except and embrace and excel in their roles, and [Woods and Smith] are great examples of that.” Toole said. “Both of them have led us in scoring in big games, they’ve made big shots, and they’ve made big plays all year long, and yet they probably don’t get the recognition they deserve with the contributions they made.”
While the Colonials shot fantastic from three, scoring 50% of their shots, Youngstown State’s Gabe Dynes wasn’t ready to hand the trophy to Robert Morris just yet.
The Colonials found it difficult to limit Dynes, who sits 7 foot and 3 inches tall. The big center impacted the Colonials game on both sides of the ball, picking up 10 rebounds and 6 blocks, but also scoring 11 points and shooting 4-5 from the field. But other than Dynes, no player in the red and white of Youngstown could get it going.
“One of the goals tonight was to defend, and I thought in that middle of that second half our defense really stood up.” Coach Toole said. “That allowed us to build the lead that we built, and we were able to make enough plays to hang on.”
As the minutes ticked by, the RMU players and fans started to realize what would happen, that for the first time in their history, they’d be winning the Horizon League championship.
It was the first time in 5 years the Colonials had won their conference tournament, and if it wasn’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, they would’ve made an NCAA Tournament appearance in March of 2020. But due to its cancelation, the wait has lasted 10 years to be able to say RMU was going dancing.
“I don’t think you’re ever really resolved from that 2020 experience,” Toole said. “Those guys will always have that disappointment of not being able to participate in the tournament, but this is a different group, this is a different year. These guys have been incredible all year long, they’ve continued to grow all year long, and they’ve continued to come together all year long and that’s how we became a championship level team.”
Now with the conference regular season and tournament championships wrapped up, RMU’s attention turns to “Selection Sunday”, to see who, when, and where the Colonials will be in action next. Regardless of their opponent, Andy Toole knows there’s room for improvement, and wants to dance for as long as possible.
“We’re gonna take a couple days, and when we get back to practice we’re gonna continue to work, we’re gonna continue to do what we’ve done, so we can keep putting the jersey on.”
