In those four games, Johnson scored 49 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and drained 6-of-12 shots from beyond the arc.

What got into him indeed?

"I don't know if something's got into him,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said. "Maybe something got out of Russell.''

Whatever it is, here's what the Colonials got out of Johnson last Saturday night against Quinnipiac - 22 points. Those helped RMU to an 87-75 victory that extended its winning streak to four games and kept them securely in a tie for second place in the Northeast Conference.

"These last four games, I think he's just been much more active and so much more engaged,'' Toole said.

Johnson's increased activity and engagement were evident in the number of free throws he attempted against Quinnipiac - 13. He made 12 of them, including 10 during a second half in which scored 18 points.

"I don't even care about the (points),'' Toole said. "I just care about the way he's defending. He had one rebound (against Quinnipiac), but he was involved in tons of tough plays around the basket. That's the same thing he did last weekend, the same thing he did Thursday night. That's the Russell Johnson we need. We don't need him making or missing shots. We need a guy who's defending. We need a guy who's rebounding. He was great communicating with his teammates, and he has to continue to do that.''

Johnson's 22-point performance was his most productive offensive contribution since he also scored 22 points at LIU Brooklyn in the NEC Tournament championship game March 9, 2011.

It was his third double-figure posting in this four-game span, reminiscent of his most recent similar offensive surge which he produced early last season. In a five-game stretch, Johnson scored 59 points and had four double-figure games.

That brought back memories of the way he began his sophomore season. In 2010-11, Johnson averaged 14.6 points per game over the first 10 games and had eight double-figure efforts.

However, he hasn't been a consistent offensive cog for much of his career. So why has he become one once again?

"I've just stayed in my own zone,'' he said. "I'm not worrying about negative things. I just try to block that out and stay positive. Confidence is always the key. I always have that. Miss a shot, make a shot, that doesn't change for me.''

"I say to him a lot of times, 'Things don't change until you get tired of them,''' Toole said, "Maybe he just got tired of the way he was performing. He's been in here getting some more shots up. He's been a little bit more engaged in practice. I think maybe he's realized that he has to put a in a lot of effort to be effective -- just like everyone. You know, you can't just roll it out there and show up and say, 'Hey, I'm a senior. I'm Russell. Let me get some stats.' That's not how the game works. When you respect the game, usually the game respects you back. When you disrespect the game ... ''

Uh, things don't work out too well.

Johnson's quartet of quality and quantity put him on the cusp of a career milestone. He has 996 career points, meaning he needs to score only four points Thursday night at Saint Francis University to become the 21st Colonial men's basketball player to reach 1,000 points.

If Johnson maybe had a case of senioritis earlier this season, it now seems apparent that he might have caught "senior-itchiness.''

"We remind the guys a lot about that - even our younger guys,'' Toole said. "Maybe he realizes this could be the last 12 (regular season) games of his career. You should want to make the most of them, and these last four he certainly has.''

Johnson certainly had company in helping the Colonials improve their NEC record to 4-2 against Quinnipiac.

Senior Velton Jones, who returned after missing the only game of his RMU career against Sacred Heart because of a concussion, had a spectacular 75-second spree midway through the first half. In that minute-plus, he scored 10 consecutive Colonial points, boosting RMU's lead from 15-12 to 25-16.

In extremely short order, Jones made a retro three-point play, popped in a three-pointer, made a jump shot and then a lay-up after a steal by Lucky Jones.

It seemed as if Velton Jones became irritated by a Colonial turnover on the possession before he began his run and simply decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Velton sometimes is better when he gets (upset),'' Toole said. "Sometimes with V you have to challenge him a little bit and you have to upset him a little bit at times. All of a sudden, he just looked like he wanted to score. That's kind of his mentality, as we've seen through the years, and something must have bothered him for a second because he seemed a little extra charged up for that little stretch.''

Said Jones: "It felt good to get back out on the court and actually help my team get a win.''

Jones was one of two Colonials who returned against Quinnipiac after missing the Sacred Heart game. Junior Karvel Anderson (foot) made his presence felt significantly in the first half when he made a trio of treys.

"Just to get some bodies back was huge,'' Toole said. "(Velton) kind of took over the game there for about a minute and a half. We know what V's abilities are and what he brings to the team, and Karvel gets nine in the first half and kind of helps us build a lead. Both of those guys are going to be major pieces to how successful we become, and they have to continue to take care of their bodies. People have to stay healthy so we can continue to have as many options and as much versatility as possible.

"I think overall it was another good weekend for us. I thought Thursday night's win was a terrific gut-check win, if you want to go with a cliché, and then I thought (Saturday night) was another great team effort where we had multiple guys step up and make plays and contribute.''

Lucky Jones scored 18 points for the second time in a three-game stretch, over which he scored a total of 51 points, and Anthony Myers-Pate added 10 points against Quinnipiac.

UP NEXT: Saint Francis University lost its fifth straight game Saturday, 75-72, to visiting Sacred Heart.

The Red Flash were without standout guard Umar Shannon (13.4 points per game), who sustained an ankle injury late in the Quinnipiac game Thursday night. Freshman Ben Millaud-Meunier, in his first collegiate start, scored 20 points for the Red Flash.

In addition, sophomore sensation Earl Brown had his seventh consecutive double-double, scoring 14 points and collecting 15 rebounds.

Shane Gibson had 23 points for Sacred Heart, which helped itself by making 20-of-22 free throw attempts.

NEC NUGGETS: Velton Jones has 1,475 career points, placing him eighth on the Colonials' all-time list. Tony Lee is seventh with 1,489 points ... Bryant remained unbeaten (6-0) in NEC play Saturday by routing visiting Wagner, 82-59, for its eighth straight victory overall. The Bulldogs shot 56.3 percent (27-of-48) from the field and placed five players in double figures, topped by Dyami Starks, who had 17 points ... Mount St. Mary's, which plays at Robert Morris Saturday night, won at Central Connecticut State, 80-75. The Blue Devils led, 60-52, with nine and-a-half minutes left, but the Mountaineers dropped a 16-0 run on CCSU over the next four minutes. Julian Norfleet and Xavier Owens each had 18 points to lead a balanced offense that produced five double-figure scorers for Mount St. Mary's. That helped the Mountaineers overcome 12-for-22 free throw shooting. Central Connecticut lost despite shooting 56 percent (28-of-50) from the field and making 14-of-26 attempts from international waters. Malcom McMillan scored 26 points for the Blue Devils and leading scorer Kyle Vinales added 20 - but just two points after halftime ... St. Francis Brooklyn beat visiting Fairleigh Dickinson, 70-51, behind Jalen Cannon's 14 points and 10 rebounds. Melquan Bolding scored a team-high 12 points for the Knights, who missed all 16 of their casts from deep ... LIU Brooklyn outscored visiting Monmouth, 45-29, in the second half and beat the Hawks, 75-65. Jesse Steele had 16 points for Monmouth, which was without leading scorer Andrew Nicholas (foot) and key sophomore Khalil Brown (knee). Brown could be out for the next three weeks.