The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rsorsett@tribunemedia.net

CHARLES Bain and the Robert Morris Colonials avoided a first-round upset and will advance to the Northeastern Conference tournament semi-finals.

The top seed in the bracket, the Colonials defeated the No. 8 seed St Francis Brooklyn Terriers, 59-58 on Wednesday night.Bain finished with seven points and four rebounds.

The Colonials (18-14) will advance to the NEC semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year as well and the 12th time in the last 13 seasons.

The Colonials will host the LIU Blackbirds at 2pm on Saturday, March 4.

During their lone regular season meeting, Robert Morris won 71-66 on the road. Bain finished with 10 points and five rebounds in that matchup. "An exciting finish," said RMU head coach Andrew Toole of the quarter-final win over the Terriers.

"I'm proud of our guys for coming up with the stops that we needed. The second half offensively didn't flow as well as we would of liked, but we were able to figure it out. That's what conference tournament basketball is. It can be crazy, it can be wild but the idea and the objective is to live another day. I was proud of the way guys continued to focus on the things that were important, even as it got a little shaky at the end."

Last season, Robert Morris posted a record of 17-16 and finished in a tie for third place in the Northeast Conference. They lost in the tournament semi-finals 62-60 to Fairleigh Dickinson.

The postseason run ended when they were eliminated in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Bain finished with the first double double of his career.