Robert Morris' coaching staff preached two things as the Colonials prepared for hot-shooting Sacred Heart: hands up and close out.

Now, Robert Morris is closing in on its third consecutive Northeast Conference title.

The Colonials (19-9, 14-1) held Sacred Heart (13-13, 6-9) to 11.8 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point line in a 64-39 win Thursday night at the Sewall Center. Sacred Heart entered the game fourth in Division I in 3-point field goal percentage, making 41.6 percent of its shots from long range and was the highest scoring team in the NEC, averaging 74.1 points per game.

Colonials coach Mike Rice said preparation always has been crucial to the defensive-minded team and it was the difference Thursday night.

"We know the play better than some of the teams we guard," he said.

His dad, the former Duquesne basketball coach, called him after the game wondering if the online tracker had malfunctioned because Sacred Heart's score remained stagnant for several minutes at various times throughout the night.

The win, coupled with Quinnipiac's 73-68 loss at Saint Francis, Pa., gives the Colonials some breathing room in the Northeast Conference title race. Robert Morris now leads the Bobcats by two games in the standings, and both teams have three games remaining in the regular season.

The Bobcats' loss takes a little luster off the matchup between first-place Robert Morris and second-place Quinnipiac Saturday night at the Sewall Center. But it also means that if the Colonials win Saturday, they can wrap up their third consecutive NEC title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

Defensively, they can build off a stellar performance.

Robert Morris freshman guard Karon Abraham said the Colonials' plan worked better than he expected.

"We still were expecting them to hit some of the tough shots, but I guess ball pressure just wore them down," Abraham said.

Sacred Heart was 2 of 17 from the 3-point line, though the Pioneers averaged more than nine 3-pointers per game.

Robert Morris senior guard Mezie Nwigwe covered NEC leading scorer Corey Hassan, limiting him to a 4-for-13 shooting night.

Colonials senior forward Rob Robinson led all scorers with 18 points and made all eight shots he attempted from the field. Abraham added 17 points.

While holding the Pioneers to 23.8 percent shooting in the first half, Robert Morris did not allow Sacred Heart to grab one offensive rebound. The Colonials outrebounded Sacred Heart, 25-14, in the first half.

The Pioneers were 1 of 9 from beyond the arc in the first half, but long range wasn't the only place Sacred Heart struggled. The Pioneers made one field goal in the first 12 minutes and 10 seconds of the game, allowing the Colonials to take control of the game from the outset.

Robert Morris led by as many as 17 in the first half and was up, 30-15, at halftime.

In the second half, the Colonials never led by fewer than 15 points.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.