Robert Morris 81, North Florida 77

[March 19, 2015]  Robert Morris 81, North Florida 77: Lucky Jones tallied 21 points, seven rebounds and a career-high tying five steals as the Colonials overcame a double-digit, second-half deficit to defeat the Ospreys in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Dayton, Ohio.

Rodney Pryor also poured in 20 points while Marcquise Reed added 19 for No. 16 seed Robert Morris (20-14), which enjoyed a plus-14 advantage in turnovers (19-5) and did not commit a miscue in the second half. Freshman Elijah Minnie posted his third double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds – seven offensive – as the Colonials overcame a 21-of-34 effort from the foul line and will face top-seeded Duke in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday.

Beau Beech drained six 3-pointers, matched a career high with 28 points and collected eight rebounds for fellow No. 16 seed North Florida (23-12), which made its first appearance in the Big Dance since joining Division I in 2005-06. Jalen Nesbitt contributed 14 points and nine boards while Dallas Moore chipped in 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Ospreys.

Robert Morris led by as much as seven twice in the first half as North Florida recorded twice as many turnovers (10) as it did field goals (five) over the first 11 1/2 minutes. The Ospreys did not commit another miscue over the rest of the half, however, and hit nine of 10 shots leading into a 19-4 surge to establish a 33-25 advantage near the end of the first half.

Beech buried two 3-pointers early in the second half as the margin quickly ballooned to 13 before the Colonials used an 11-0 run to get back into it and another 11-0 burst – bookended by triples from Pryor – to take a 64-60 lead with 6:44 remaining. North Florida managed to tie it 1 1/2 minutes later, but Reed, Jones and Pryor all contributed a bucket within a 49-second stretch and Robert Morris closed it out despite going 6-of-12 from the foul line over the final 1:02.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Robert Morris improved to 2-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, getting its first win since an opening-round victory over Georgia Southern in 1983. … North Florida’s loss ended the Atlantic Sun’s two-game winning streak in the opening round. No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast upset Georgetown in 2013 to begin its Sweet 16 run before No. 15 seed Mercer stunned Duke last season in second-round action. … The Colonials, who entered Wednesday ranked 13th in the country with 8.6 steals, finished with 12 for their 14th game with at least 10 steals.

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