Meyer on Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris University will induct its 1981-82 basketball team into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame at halftime of the Colonials game against Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon.
 
This is a really neat deal all around.
 
"We're fortunate to be kind of carrying the torch for Robert Morris basketball,'' current RMU coach Andrew Toole said. "It's great for our players to see there's a connection here, that this was a very good program long before they got here and hopefully will be after they leave. It's a reminder that you're teammates forever and there are memories of what you go through together as a team.''
 
The 1981-82 squad, led by Chipper Harris, Forest Grant and Tom Parks, was the first team to play in the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to defending national champion Indiana.
 
While fans and the current Colonials will applaud that bunch, perhaps members of that team will applaud this group.
 
The 2013-14 Colonials Thursday night improved their Northeast Conference record to 10-1 with a 66-60 victory at Saint Francis U., the only NEC game played that night. Winter storm Pax forced postponements of the other four contests.
 
In Loretto, Pa., the Colonials again demonstrated their ability to finish strongly. They had a 47-39 lead with 11 minutes remaining before the Red Flash rallied to tie the game at 51 with 5:12 left. However, the Colonials steadied behind Karvel Anderson's hot hand and perfect accuracy from the free throw line in the final five minutes.
 
"I was really proud of the way we executed down the stretch,'' Toole said. "When it was time to get a stop, our guys stepped up.''
 
And when it was time to score, the Colonials stepped up, too.
 
Dave Appolon's free throw at 4:50 gave Robert Morris the lead for good and began an 11-for-11 streak from the stripe.
 
The Colonials' zone defense helped cause the Red Flash to miss a trio of three-pointers over a nearly two-minute span.
 
"We played defense for a minute and a half at the four-minute mark, and we stayed strong,'' Toole said. "I think that's why we won the game.''
 
Two Anderson jump shots in the space of a minute put Robert Morris up, 58-53, with 1:51 remaining and left the Red Flash in a precarious position.
 
"I thought in the second half we gave them too many second-chance opportunities,'' Saint Francis coach Rob Krimmel said. "There were a few times when we got the stop and we had momentum on our side, but then they got the rebound."
 
A really good case in point? What happened with 39 seconds left and the Red Flash down by four points.
 
With the shot clock winding down, Anderson missed a three-point attempt. However, Anthony Myers-Pate grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled by Ronnie Drinnon. Myers-Pate made both free throws, showing how the final seconds would play out.
 
With 23 seconds left, Lucky Jones made two free throws. RMU led, 62-57.
 
With 12 seconds left, Appolon made two free throws. RMU led, 64-57.
 
And with seven seconds left, Anderson made two free throws. Ball game.
 
"This is conference basketball in February,'' Toole said. "We weren't at our best, but give Saint Francis credit for that.''
 
"It's a tough one because our guys were prepared,'' Krimmel said. "They did everything we asked them to do. It was a great atmosphere. The students were tremendous.''
 
The crowd at DeGol Arena was 1,119, the largest for a Saint Francis home game this season. Most, however, went out into the snow disappointed.
 
"When you play a team like Robert Morris, which is a championship-caliber team, your margin for error is slim," Krimmel said.
 
"I didn't think we had the proper energy defensively in the first half, but I was proud of our defense in the second half," Toole said.
 
Ah, that defense. The Colonials switched from a man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone just over two months ago. What was a sieve of a man defense has become a weapon as a zone. The Colonials lead the NEC in points allowed per game to league foes with a 65.9 yield.
 
You'll recall they held Saint Francis Brooklyn to 50 points last Saturday, the same total the Terriers managed against top-ranked Syracuse and its zone in a 56-50 loss Nov. 18.
 
"Syracuse is big and long," Terrier coach Glenn Braica said. "(The Colonials) are smaller and quicker and scrappy. I think they do a good job getting back in transition and into it. I think they do a good job rebounding out of it, which a lot of teams don't."
 
The Colonials won the glass at DeGol Thursday, 32-22. Jones had nine rebounds. Stephan Hawkins and Appolon had six each.
 
"Dave Appolon's energy was huge," Toole said. "Everybody who stepped on the floor contributed, and that's the way it has to be.''
 
Anderson contributed a ton. He scored 28 points and added four rebounds, two assists and a career-high four steals.
 
"He was locked in for sure,'' Toole said. "He was aggressive, He attacked the rim and he made some incredibly difficult shots.''
 
Anderson was 11-for-17 from the field, including 2-of-4 from deep. Anderson has 87 three-pointers this season, just six short of the program record for most triples in a season held by Scott Shepherd (1988-89). If Anderson maintains his 48.1 percent accuracy from international waters, he'll set an RMU record. Ron Winbush shot 47.7 percent from beyond the arc in the 1986-87 season.
 
Anderson has scored 912 points in his two seasons as a Colonial after transferring from Glen Oaks (Mich.) Community College.
 
UP NEXT: Mount St. Mary's (6-4 in the NEC) was scheduled to entertain Bryant Thursday night. The Bulldogs were at their hotel in Gettysburg, but Maryland declared a state of emergency, forcing the game's postponement. No makeup date was announced immediately. It's likely the game will be made up during the final week of the regular season.
 
Mount St. Mary's lost at Bryant, 78-75, Feb. 8. Rashad Whack scored 21 points, while 7'0'' sophomore Taylor Danaher produced his first career double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Over his past six games, Danaher is averaging 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
 
The Colonials won at Mount St. Mary's, 77-69, Jan. 18. Robert Morris was 25-of-30 from the free throw line. The Mountaineers were just 7-of-29 from deep.
 
NEC NUGGETS: Not many nuggets today because of the Thursday postponements … This is the fourth season Robert Morris is 10-1 after 11 league games, and the third time in the past six seasons. The Colonials also were 10-1 in 1988-89, 2008-09 and 2009-10. In each of those three seasons Robert Morris wound up in the NCAA Tournament … Robert Morris has limited its past three opponents to 26.2 percent shooting (16-of-61) from three-point range … Makeup dates for three of the postponed games have been set. Wagner will play at Fairleigh Dickinson Feb. 24. LIU Brooklyn is scheduled to play at Sacred Heart Feb. 25. Central Connecticut State will make up its game at Saint Francis Brooklyn Feb. 18 … Wagner has suspended starting guard Jay Harris (10.3 points per game, 38.6 percent from deep) for the remainder of this season because of a violation of school policy. Sacred Heart has suspended junior guard Chris Evans (11.3 points per game) for 30 days because of a violation of departmental and team policy.

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