There was absolutely nothing wrong with Robert Morris' start last night, but the Colonials' finish left a little to be desired.

The Colonials, who broke on top, 10-0, led by 59-36 with 13:42 left but had to struggle to finish off Delaware, 86-75, in the second round of the Garden State Challenge at the Sewall Center.

Robert Morris (1-1) made 17 of 20 free throws in the final five minutes to win its home opener.

"Basketball is a game of runs," guard Jimmy Langhurst said. "We had our run and you knew they'd make a run."

"We just had to stay poised," Jeremy Chappell said. "If we stayed poised, it would work."

Langhurst was the most poised. The junior made 9 of 10 free throws in those final five minutes and finished with 19 points, tying Chappell for team honors.

"It's just concentration," Langhurst said of his free-throw accuracy. "I've always been a pretty good free-throw shooter. It's just a matter of saying, 'I'm going to knock it down.' "

The Colonials shot well all the way around against the Blue Hens (0-2), sinking 55 percent from the field, 73 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent at the line.

"Our guys can shoot," coach Mike Rice said. "They can really shoot."

They didn't shoot too well in the early going at St. Bonaventure Friday night and trailed, 16-0, after five minutes.

"It was a point of emphasis to get off to a good start [last night]," Chappell said. "And that's what happened."

Robert Morris led, 34-15, with six minutes left in the first half before settling for a 43-28 lead at intermission.

Two baskets by Iffy Ehirim helped the Colonials build that 59-36 bulge early in the second half.

Ehirim finished with a career-high 10 points.

"That was Iffy's best game in the history of 'Iffy-itis,' " Rice said. "He came through huge for us. We don't win if he doesn't attack [inside] like he did.

"We need to score points in the paint -- even though we're a 3-point shooting team. When he scores in the paint, it helps our set plays work."

Robert Morris did a good defensive job on Delaware guards Marc Egerson and Alphonso Dawson, who against Rutgers each scored 28 points and shot a combined 21 of 35 from the field Sunday.

Last night, those two combined for 24 points and were 8 for 27 from the field.

Langhurst guarded Egerson a lot.

"Jimmy came through like a little pit bull," Rice said. "The whole team played very good defense. [The Blue Hens] were always driving into a second and third defender."

Delaware hurt itself by making only 6 of 30 three-point attempts and shooting just 19 of 32 at the free-throw line.

Robert Morris forward Rob Robinson, who had been suspended for violating team rules, will play Friday against Rutgers, Rice said after the game.

NOTES -- Chappell's 19 points raised his career total to 1,329, moving him into eighth place on Robert Morris' career scoring list ahead of Gene Nabors (1,328). ... Chappell also had 13 rebounds, giving him a double-double in each of the first two games. ... The Colonials have won seven consecutive home openers and are 29-4 in home openers overall.