Senior Scott Stone tied the game at 73-73 with 20 seconds remaining, connecting on his fourth three-pointer of the game. He led the Bears (0-1) with 20 points.
Robert Morris, a 2005 NAIA semifinalist, took an early 17-11 lead before WU chipped away at the deficit to tie the game at 27-27 when sophomore Danny O’Boyle took a loose ball down the lane for a lay-up. O’Boyle was fouled on the play and converted the three-point play for one of seven first-half lead changes.
Stone led all scorers in the first half with 13 points, connecting on 3-of-3 from three-point range. Junior Nick Nikitas added eight points. Nikitas scored the final four points of the half to give the Red and Green a 42-40 halftime lead. WU shot .406 from the field in the first half, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. The Bears were also 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the half. Reggie George led Robert Morris with eight points in the half.
The Bears took a 46-42 lead early in the second half before James Parker and Jerome Harper hit back-to-back triples to regain the lead for the Eagles. After Ruths missed a short jumper, George broke free for a lay-up; George added another short basket to end a 10-0 Robert Morris run.
Stone hit from downtown to cut the deficit in half (52-49), and senior Mike Grunst grabbed his own offensive rebound for a lay-in to make it 52-51. The Bears took the lead back when Ruths converted a three-point play; he added another basket the next trip down the court to give WU a 58-55 advantage.
The Red and Green led 59-58 when RMC scored five unanswered points. Freshman Sean Wallis hit a pull-up three-pointer to draw WU to within one (63-62). Trailing 65-62 with four minutes to play, Stone connected with Grunst on an alley-oop lay-in. Ruths hit two free throws for a 66-65 WU lead, but George led the Eagles back with a short jumper with 2:06 to play to give RMC a 70-68 edge. Parker hit another trey to give the Eagles a 73-68 lead with 1:35 to play.
Washington U. returns to action Saturday at 5 p.m. against Simpson College or host UW-Platteville.