PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Robert Morris Colonials may have been snubbed by the NCAA Tournament, but they made a big statement in the NIT Tuesday night.

RMU, an 8-seed, hosted defending national champion Kentucky in the opening round of the NIT.

Robert Morris got out of the gates quickly and led by as many as 13 points in the game. Kentucky rallied to tie it late, but, Mike McFadden drilled two free throws with nine seconds left to put RMU back in front.

Kentucky’s three-point attempt at the buzzer rang the back iron, giving RMU the stunning 59-57 upset.

As soon as the clock struck zero, RMU fans and students stormed the Sewall Center court to celebrate.

As you can imagine, the excitement is still palpable on the campus of Robert Morris today.

“It was amazing, I mean, the volume that turned out for the game and the energy in the crowd,” Paul Wintruba said.

Today the morning after blerry eyed basketball crazed fans headed to class

“Probably not a lot of people are going to be here. That’s what I expect – not a lot of people in school,” Emily Belto said.

Really, can you blame them?

RMU coach Andy Toole is the man of the hour. With this blockbuster win, he might now be on other schools’ radar for open jobs.

“They maybe have to make the tourney a couple more times, then I think he’d maybe move on,” Scott Jacklin said.

However, those are matters for another day.

Now, RMU will get the winner of the Providence/Charlotte match up. One thing is for sure, what happened in the Sewall Center will live on forever.

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