Robert Morris (Ill.) Coach Al Bruehl Earns 600th Win
Story by Tom Czop, Robert Morris (Ill.) Athletics
JOILET, Ill. – Robert Morris lllinois Head Men’s Basketball Coach Al Bruehl won his 600th career game on Saturday, January 28th as his 10th ranked Eagles defeated the University of Saint Francis by the score of 87-77 in CCAC Conference action for its 15th consecutive victory. The Eagles remain perfect in the CCAC with a 13-0 record and are 18-4 this season.
“I seem to get the credit for the 600 wins, but that credit also goes to our university as a whole for all of the hard working players, coaches, faculty, and administrators that have put in their hard work for the past 20 years,” said Bruehl. “I once again want to say thank you to all of them for this accomplishment.”
Not only was the day ceremonious due to the Coach Bruehl’s 600th victory, but Saint Francis also took the time to honor the CCAC Conference and RMU Hall of Fame coach on his upcoming retirement after this season in a pregame ceremony. Bruehl is currently the eighth winningest active coach in NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball.
Once the game started, Saint Francis scored the first points of the contest, but the Eagles broke a 6-6 tie on an Antonio Levy three-pointer and held the lead for the rest of the game. It looked like RMU might blow out the Fighting Saints, building a 27-13 advantage with 10:19 to go in the first half, but Saint Francis charged back to cut the deficit to 31-30 with 6:47 to go. However, the Eagles once again took control and outscored the Fighting Saints 15-4 to close out the first half with a 46-34 lead.
The Eagles extended their lead to 16 points at 56-40 on a Darius Paul three-pointer just under three minutes into the second half, but Saint Francis once again cut into the RMU lead, trailing 60-51 with 13:49 to go. RMU immediately pushed its lead to 67-51 on a layup from Markee Williams and three-pointer and layup by Darius Randolph, and the Eagles maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half.
However, the Fighting Saints made the game interesting down the stretch, battling back to within 80-74 with 2:23 remaining. Paul kept up his big game for the Eagles, registering a key three-point play to put RMU up 83-74 with 53 seconds to go. The Eagles shutdown Saint Francis the rest of the way to come away with the 87-77 conference win.
Darius Paul had a huge game, scoring 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds, while CCAC Conference leading scorer Antonio Levy also had a big game, adding 22 points in the victory.
The Eagles continue CCAC Conference play on Monday, January 30th when they host Governors State University at the RMU Athletic & Convocation Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm and fans can follow the game via live audio and stats on the Eagle Sports Network.
