Meyer On Morris: Start Your Engines

By: By Paul Meyer

Men's Basketball | 12/17/2014 6:00:00 AM

Moon Township, Pa. – No question the Robert Morris Colonials were impressive while defeating Duquesne last Saturday.

However, was RMU's dominance of the Dukes an aberration or a true breakthrough?

After all, Robert Morris had slogged its way to six losses in its first eight games. Perhaps the presence of the rival Dukes in the Charles L. Sewall Center was simply enough for the Colonials to awake from their early-winter nap and rouse themselves for one day.

"Robert Morris has a history of beating Duquense, but it wasn't just because of Duquesne,'' freshman forward Elijah Minnie said after the Colonials decisioned Duquesne for the fifth straight season.

Fair enough. But the question really will begin to be answered tonight when the Colonials play at Toledo (5-4).

"All week in practice (before the Duquesne game), we just told each other, 'We're going to play hard regardless of who we play,''' Minnie said. "It didn't matter if it was Duquesne or Toledo. We're going to play with intensity Wednesday.''

Maybe it wasn't the sight of Duquesne that motivated the Colonials in their 75-59 win last Saturday. Maybe it was thinking about their rather listless performance against Buffalo, Dec. 7, their most recent loss in that early-season stretch of defeats.

"It started in practice (after the Buffalo game),'' Minnie said. "We all competed and we all played together. Duquesne is a rivalry-type thing. It did build up a lot of energy for us, but I think it started in practice for us where we just knuckled down and said, 'We're just going to come out and play.' We have to keep that up as a team. Team effort right now is amazing.''

That was readily apparent against Duquesne.

The Colonials spotted the Dukes an early three-pointer but quickly went ahead, 5-3, and never trailed again.

En route, the Colonials shot 46.4 percent from the field, held the Dukes to 31.1 percent shooting, including a woeful 22.9 percent from deep, produced a 46-36 edge on the glass, held their opponent to fewer than 60 points for only the second time this season and had two players post double-doubles for the first time in five seasons.

Oh, and seemed to impress Duquesne coach Jim Ferry.

"We got completely out-toughened. Period,'' Ferry said. "They attacked everything. They played really hard.''

That the Colonials did all that without senior Lucky Jones, their second-leading scorer who missed the game because of a finger injury, was not lost on Ferry.

"Who knows? Maybe that was a positive for them,'' Ferry said. "Maybe it helped them come together.''

Perhaps. The Colonials actually did seem to have fun playing the game.

"Guys are starting to buy in now,'' sophomore point guard Kavon Stewart said. "I told them before the game, no matter what, you have to play for one another. We're playing for what's across our chest. We're representing our university and we need to all be on the same page with that. We knew (Jones) wasn't going to play and that everybody had to step up for him. Lucky's a big part of our team. Everybody stepped up -- big.''

That they did.

Rodney Pryor scored a game-high 25 points, hitting 9-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Marcquise Reed scored 10 points. Stewart built his double-double on 12 points and 11 assists. Minnie's double-double, his second straight, included 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Then there were these key contributions from unlikely sources. Aaron Tate, who entered the game averaging just 1.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, scored eight points and had seven rebounds. Freshman Andre Frederick, who'd played in only one game for a total of six minutes, came off the bench and gave the Colonials a rebound, four blocked shots, two points and solid defense in the middle of their zone in 12 encouraging minutes.

"It helps when you make shots,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said. "When you have some guys who make shots, I think we feel good about ourselves. We were able early to build a little bit of a lead, which is only the second time all year we've been able to do that. If we can get off to better starts and get off to situations where guys are making some shots and having some success, that doesn't make it as hard to play hard. It doesn't make it as hard to compete the way you need to compete.

"That was our only focus all week -- how could we compete through good plays, through bad plays. What we have to teach some of these guys is that it's fun to play hard. When you really play hard and you have some success and you're out there competing and you're playing together, that's fun. It's okay to work really hard and have fun at the same time. Those things aren't mutually exclusive.''

The Colonials' obvious exuberance carried over to their defense. They held the Dukes to just eight makes in 35 casts from international waters.

"From a defensive standpoint, I thought we were much better and didn't give them really good looks,'' Toole said. "I thought guys continued to fly around and contest shots, where maybe in some other games we would have just stared and watched somebody shoot. I thought definitely on the backboards we competed much harder. In terms of loose balls, we were much more alert and aggressive to get those. You saw numerous guys getting on the ground and getting on the ground quickly, which is something we've been emphasizing during the course of practice. It was nice to see, and I'm happy with the way the guys played.''

Maybe the two most encouraging aspects of this game were the play of Frederick and Stewart.

The absence of 6'9'', 230-pound Lionel Gomis, who sat out because of a hamstring injury, contributed to Frederick getting his opportunity, but he also earned that chance with improved play in practice.

"I'm really happy for Dre because we sat him down after the (Buffalo) game and said that we need some more interior defense,'' Toole said. "We need some more rebounding. We need some more blocked shots. We need some more something. We had four straight days of practice (last) week which helped us out a lot. We were able to orchestrate the drills where Dre wouldn't be allowed to sub (out). We had him stay in. Dre's a really quiet and reserved guy. We had to kind of orchestrate it so he was not allowed to come out, and he put three or four good days together. Obviously he earned a shot, and he stepped on the floor and really was able to make some positive plays. Hopefully, it's something we can build on with him because he's an excellent athlete. He's a good shot-blocker. He's a strong rebounder. He competes. Hopefully, we can build on it and have him get better.''

His teammates were genuinely happy about the way Frederick responded.

"That started pretty much in practice,'' Minnie said. "He just started getting a little (time). He started getting confident. Coach saw he's working really hard at practice. You could see a little bit in Andre that he really doesn't want to do it, but then we make him do it. We kind of push him into doing it. We tell him, 'We know you can do it.' That's why we push him so hard. It's really been showing in practice. I compliment him on every little thing he does. One thing he does really well is play defense, and that showed. Andre's a big body and I'm glad to have him as a teammate.''

Minnie and his mates will continue to motivate Frederick to play well at Toledo, which isn't far from his Detroit home.

"We'll do a good job of telling him that (he has) to play like that all the time -- or even better,'' Minnie said. "I feel like we all can play better, but overall it was a good game, and he had a pretty good game. In the minutes he played, he did good things. That's the only thing that counts.''

Then there was Stewart, in his first season as RMU's starting point guard.

"I thought the biggest key to the game was Kavon Stewart,'' Ferry said. "He kept breaking us down (by) penetrating in the middle. I thought he played fantastic.''

So did Toole.

"It was by far his best game this year,'' Toole said. "I thought not only did he play aggressively, but he also played under control. Sometimes he gets going and he can get out of control. His communication was great. He and I were on the same page, which is nice. He really helped orchestrate our offense and got us going on both ends of the floor.''

In that regard, give an assist to Velton Jones, who was no stranger to assists during his outstanding Colonial career. Jones, in charge of player development for Robert Morris, put together a package of clips from last season when Stewart was at his best during games and showed it to Stewart. Repeatedly.

"The whole week in practice, he just lit a fire under me,'' Stewart said of Jones. "He told me, 'You're the best guard. You can be one of the best guards.' He showed me the clips, and that took me back. I was like, 'I can really do that.' I just came out and played.''

Stewart was at his best during a five-minute stretch in the second half after Duquesne trimmed RMU's lead, which had been 14 points, to 46-42.

Which, incidentally, Pryor was not sorry to see.

"I'm actually glad it happened , to see how we could respond as a team with them going on a run and seeing if we were going to break or if we were going to stay with it,'' Pryor said. "We were able to stay with it. We were able to get stops and make plays on offense to get the lead back up. I think that's going to help our team going forward when we come to situations like that again.''

Stewart was the main reason the Colonials regained control.

He fueled a 14-0 run by RMU that included him scoring four points and dishing to Stephan Bennett, Dave Appolon and Pryor (twice) for baskets.

"That's just me,'' Stewart said. "I love giving the ball to my teammates and seeing them score. That makes me more excited. I'm a pass-first point guard. There's nothing better than getting an assist and having them score.''

Stewart, who committed only two turnovers and had four steals against Duquesne, also helped by making 10 of his 13 free throws. In the first eight games, he shot only 25 free throws, making 16.

"One of the things we've said to Kavon is, he's the guy in practice who a lot of times brings our energy, brings our toughness, brings our swagger,'' Toole said. "He hasn't really brought that to the games. Velton was in his ear hard (last week). He showed Kavon those clips and told him, 'That's the guy we need.' Kavon was able to take that message and bring it into the game.''

It's no coincidence that helped produce a Colonial win.

"We had guys who were really talking in the huddle,'' Toole said. "Kavon especially was really speaking up in the huddle and talking to guys about cleaning up mistakes. It's nice to be able to adjust. I (told) the guys after the game (that) because our energy and our focus were where they needed to be to play Division I basketball we could accept coaching and we could adjust easier. In some of our previous games, it was hard to make adjustments because all you're doing is begging guys to play with the right
amount of effort and some energy. It's nice when they bring that to the table. Then you can actually try and coach instead of beg and plead and cajole.

"I was really proud of the performance by our guys. It was clearly our most complete game offensively and defensively. Clearly, it was our most energetic and energy-filled game. That's what we talked about all week. How would we compete? Not worrying about the score, about a missed shot or a turnover. How would we compete possession after possession? I think we competed very, very well.''

The question is, can they do it again?

NOTES: Pryor's 25-point performance earned him his second Northeast Conference Player of the Week award this season, the league announced Monday. Pryor, fifth in the NEC in scoring at 15.1 points per game, leads the league in three-point accuracy (51 percent). "I'm in the gym (a lot) shooting, so I expect to make shots when I play in the game,'' Pryor said. "My teammates do a great job of finding me. Our bigs set great screens for me to get open and I'm able to get a clear view at the rim. Preparation and trusting my teammates that they'll find me is what gets me going.'' … The double-doubles by Stewart and Minnie against Duquesne marked the first time the Colonials had produced a double double-double since Dec. 30, 2009. Russell Johnson (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Dallas Green (10, 10) did it in a 72-67 win at Youngstown State … The last time two Colonials doubled up at home was Feb. 12, 2006, when A.J. Jackson (39 points, 11 rebounds) and Tony Lee (11, 14) achieved that in an 89-77 victory against Quinnipiac … Toledo stretched its winning streak to three consecutive games with a 73-65 victory against Arkansas State last Saturday. The Rockets have five players averaging in double figures, led by Julius Brown (14.8). Two of Toledo's four losses came at Virginia Commonwealth (87-78) and at Oregon (78-68).

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