Robert Morris (13-14) was especially menacing on the perimeter where it held St. Francis to 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Colonials also owned a 36-29 advantage on the glass.

"The two teams competed hard," said Robert Morris head coach Mark Schmidt. "Our defense won the game. The determination and heart was there. We scrapped and had the will to win."

With the St. Francis (13-15) leading 12-10 with 10:30 left in the first half, the Colonials’ defense put down the clamps and induced a 19-4 run, allowing just two field goals in the next eight minutes. The run was keyed by an old-school 3-point play by Maurice Carter (Richmond, VA/Eleanor Roosevelt (MD). Carter would add two contemporary trifectas as he logged 11 points during the charge. The surge gave Robert Morris a 29-16 edge with 2:18 remaining in the half and the Blue, Red and White coasted into the intermission with a 31-21 lead.

"Coach wanted to get me the ball," said Carter. "So with (coach’s) confidence, I had a lot of lanes to the basket and wanted to take the best shot I could take."

Robert Morris’ ominous defense held St. Francis to just 30.8 percent (8-of-26) shooting from the field in the first half. The Colonials, meanwhile, canned 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the floor in the opening stanza. Preseason All-NEC selection Carter put on a first-half performance that would question him being left off the league’s two regular-season all-star squads. He hit 7-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range for 17 points.

"Their intensity was overwhelming," noted St. Francis (PA) head coach Bobby Jones. "I was disappointed in the shot selection. The inability to get the ball Jason Osborne was also a factor in the loss. We scored 43 points, which was not a good time for this output. It’s a high level of disappointment."

The Colonials held a comfortable lead throughout the second half. Although the Red Flash made a handful of runs, the Colonials grasp on the lead was never endangered in the last stanza. RMU’s slimmest lead of the second half was on two occasions. Robert Morris’ lead ballooned to 17 points with 2:10 remaining in the game as Carter scored on a layup to give the Blue, Red and White a 56-39 cushion. Any chance of a St. Francis comeback was squandered as the Red Flash made just three field goals in the final seven minutes and missed all four attempts from the charity stripe during the stretch, including two front ends on 1-and-1’s.

Carter led all scorers with 26 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Senior forward Aaron Thomas (Middlebury, IN/Northridge) chipped in with 10 points and four boards.

Junior center Jason Osborne (Randallstown, MD/Rice (NY)) was the only Red Flash player to breach double-digits in the scoring column with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"The seniors were desperate," commented Schmidt. "They did not want to lose. (In the second game with St. Francis this year) Osborne beat us, so our focus was to confuse him and the team, to make them uncomfortable, and our defense did that."

Robert Morris advances to play No. 1 seed and regular-season co-champion Monmouth in the second semifinal contest Sunday at the Spiro Sports Center. Monmouth won Saturday’s third contest, 64-52, over No. 7 seed Mount St. Mary’s. In Saturday’s other action, No. 3 seed Fairleigh Dickinson escaped with a 69-67 win over host and No. 6 seed Wagner and No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State upset No. 2 seed and regular-season co-champion St. Francis (NY), 81-68. FDU and Central will battle in a 5 p.m. bout Sunday.