Meyer on Morris Link 

Moon Township, Pa. – Lucky Jones seemed certain.
 
Andrew Toole? Not so much.
 
The discussion topic was whether Robert Morris, after having slogged through a non-conference schedule filled with tough road games and defensive mishaps, had somehow seen the light concerning how to win games last weekend when they began their Northeast Conference schedule with two wins -- both on the road.
 
"Definitely,'' Jones said.
 
"I don't know yet,'' said Toole, who coaches these Colonials.
 
What does seem definite is that Robert Morris fans have an opportunity to make their own evaluation Thursday night when the Colonials play Saint Francis U. in a long-awaited fifth home game of the season under the lights of the Charles L. Sewall Center.
 
"It will be nice,'' Toole said of the Colonials playing their first home game since Dec. 18. "It certainly will be a change of pace for our guys. Hopefully we'll have great support from our fans and they will come out and are loud and give us a boost.''
 
The Colonials received boosts last weekend from Karvel Anderson, who scored a total of 68 points in two games, and their defense, which permitted a total of only 137 points in 79-70 and 71-67 wins over Sacred Heart and Bryant, respectively.
 
"It just showed that even with the tough schedule we had and the great athleticism of the players we played against that when we get to conference, everyone is on a level playing field, and that gives us the belief that we can really win this league,'' said Jones, the junior forward who had 11 important rebounds at Bryant. "It's not going to be easy, but we can get where we want to go if we continue to play hard and not be over-confident and just stay humble.''
 
Being over-confident, or not feeling too full of themselves, is something the Colonials must guard against as they prepare to play the Red Flash (3-12 overall this season).
 
"I think any time you get a road win in your league anywhere it's a good thing,'' Toole said. "The key is, we've gained some momentum from the (first) two games. The key now is to make sure that we continue to respect the game and respect our opponents and prepare ourselves the same way we did so that we can keep the little bit of an advantage that we've gained.''
 
And see if that light bulb really did go on last weekend.
 
"One of the things that I really liked about the (Bryant) game,'' Toole said, "was that we started the second half -- well, I didn't like this part, but I liked how we responded -- we started the second half 0-for-10 from the field. We shot 36 percent in the second half. In the past, I think we would have utilized that as an opportunity for us to complain and maybe not respond in a positive way. We started 0-for-10, but we were only down two.
 
"So maybe we were figuring that if we can continue to play with the same amount of energy and effort good things can happen for you regardless of what your offense is doing. Nobody hung their head when they missed shots in the game on Saturday, which I thought was great. Everybody was on the same page in terms of understanding what it takes to win, and I think we just continued to work together and found enough plays at the end to be successful both offensively and defensively.''
 
The Colonials helped themselves immensely by beating Bryant on the glass, 43-33. The Colonials had 20 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second-chance points (compared to Bryant's six). Jones, who had five offensive rebounds, grabbed perhaps his most significant with 2:32 remaining when he pulled down a rebound on a rare Anderson miss. Twenty-nine seconds later, Anderson turned Jones' rebound into a basket that gave RMU a 67-64 lead.
 
Rebounding will be important Thursday night, too. The Red Flash outrebounded its first two NEC opponents en route to splitting games at Bryant (a 77-67 loss) and at Central Connecticut State (a 75-67 win).
 
"Our offense got stagnant a little bit, and on defense our effort was there, but we didn't execute," CCSU coach Howie Dickenman told the New Britain Herald. "They came in here and beat us."
 
"(Rebounding's) an effort stat and we talked to our guys about controlling that,'' Saint Francis coach Rob Krimmel said. "There are going to be games where we might not (make) some shots, but controlling those 'effort stats' is going to give us a chance to win."
 
At CCSU, Dominique Major scored 19 points off the bench for SFU, while Earl Brown scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds, his eighth double-double this season.
 
"Dom hit some great shots for us, and Earl gave his usual effort – he was a monster," Krimmel said. "It was a total team effort.''
 
Brown, a 6'6'' junior forward from Philadelphia, Pa., is averaging 14.2 points and an NEC-leading 10.1 rebounds per game this season. Last season, Brown averaged 10.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
 
"Earl's terrific,'' Toole said. "He's probably the most active and aggressive front court guy in our league in terms of the number of rebounds he goes after. I mean, he goes after almost every shot. He's a guy who I have a ton of respect for because he wasn't a highly recruited guy, and he seems to have worked and worked and figured out how to be successful at this level. He does it with activity. He does it with aggressiveness. He's a guy who I'm sure most other coaches in this league would want to have on their team.''
 
Last season in two games against Robert Morris, Brown totaled 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Robert Morris has some concern about one of its inside players. Senior Mike McFadden didn't play at Bryant for the second time in three games because of a balky knee. It's not certain if he'll be able to play against St. Francis.
 
"Hopefully he can get himself comfortable and be out there and be productive for us,'' Toole said.
 
The Colonials are one of just two teams that went 2-0 on the first weekend of NEC play. Wagner also is 2-0. Six teams split their first two games, while CCSU and injury-riddled LIU-Brooklyn were 0-2.
 
"I think one of the things that stood out (during the first weekend) was the parity,'' Toole said. "I think you look at not even who won and who lost but at some of the scores of games. Teams that lost Thursday came back and won Saturday and vice versa. I think that's the way the year's going to be going forward. Each and every week there are going to be some surprising results. There are going to be a lot of evenly matched teams that are going to compete, so I think the teams that are best prepared and ready to play could have an advantage.''
 
SEAHAWKS SOAR AGAIN: Wagner, the NEC coaches' preseason pick to win the league championship, secured its second win with the help of Mario Moody and a solid bench. The Seahawks last Saturday beat visiting LIU-Brooklyn, 84-70. Moody scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds, and the bench contributed 33 points. In its first two NEC games, Wagner received a total of 83 points from its bench.
 
"We were picked No. 1 in the league for a reason," Seahawk sophomore Dwuan Anderson told the Staten Island Advance. "It feels good to win, don't get me wrong. But at the end of the day, we're supposed to win our conference games.''
 
Wagner visits Robert Morris Jan. 25.
 
NEC NUGGETS: Jones enters Thursday night's game with 932 career points in his bid to become the 22nd Colonial player to score 1,000 career points … Sacred Heart rebounded from its loss to Robert Morris by beating visiting Fairleigh Dickinson, 71-67, last Saturday. Louis Montes scored 15 points for the Pioneers, who made 24-of-27 free throw attempts. FDU, which led, 40-34, at halftime, made 15 of its 20 free throw attempts. Sidney Sanders Jr. led the Knights with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists … Host Mount St. Mary's, which entertains the Colonials Saturday afternoon, beat visiting St. Francis Brooklyn, 88-82, last Saturday.  Julian Norfleet scored 24 points for the Mountaineers, who were 20-of-23 from the free-throw line. The Terriers, who were 6-or-7 from the stripe, got double-doubles from Jalen Cannon (25 points and 11 rebounds) and Anthony White (15 and 10).