Meyer On Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. – Those ubiquitous basketball gods certainly had a busy evening Wednesday in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
 
How else to explain the bizarre-o stuff that occurred?
 
* In the ultimate bizarre-o happening, RMU's Karvel Anderson had an 0-for against Fairleigh Dickinson, yet the Colonials found a way to win, 60-53, at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
 
* Saint Francis University, seeded sixth and which was just 4-12 on the road this season, won at third-seeded Bryant, 55-54, its first NEC Tournament victory since 1995.
 
* Host Mount St. Mary's, which trailed, 56-37, with 9:15 remaining, steadily chipped away at its deficit and beat Saint Francis Brooklyn, 72-71, on Rashad Whack's three-pointer with two seconds left.
 
The first two of those results produced a semifinal matchup between Robert Morris and Saint Francis University at the Sewall Center today at 2:00 p.m. Mount St. Mary's will play at Wagner in the other semifinal at noon. Wagner took control in the second half and eliminated Central Connecticut State, 83-59, in the other quarterfinal Wednesday.
 
Saint Francis University and Robert Morris play each other twice a season annually, but this will be their first meeting in the NEC Tournament since March 6, 2004, when the event was played at Wagner.
 
"We know it's going to be another hotly contested, close game,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said. "We've played two interesting games with them already. The game here, we were up and then they stormed back and then we had the comeback. The game there was a six-point game and we had to really execute down the stretch. We anticipate that it's going to be something similar to that, and so we're going to need as many guys locked in and focused and playing the way we know we're capable of.''
 
That should include Anderson, named Tuesday the NEC's Player of the Year. The senior guard scored 24 points against the Red Flash in the Sewall Center in the first meeting, followed by 28 points in the game in Loretto, Pa.
 
Those performances were a far cry from what he managed against Fairleigh Dickinson Wednesday night. During the regular season, Anderson averaged 20.9 points a game and shot 52.3 percent from deep in the Sewall Center. Against the Knights, he took only three shots, the last with 8:29 left in the first half, and spent the final 8:37 on the bench.
 
"He wasn't feeling well,'' Toole said. "He wasn't being very effective out there, so we had to put people out there that were going to be effective.''
 
Did Anderson have the flu?
 
"Not sure, to be honest with you,'' Toole said. "I didn't know about it until the game began.''
 
Whatever "it'' was, is it reasonable to expect that Anderson will play more effectively Saturday?
 
"I hope so,'' Toole said. "I would be surprised if he didn't.''
 
Senior point guard Anthony Myers-Pate for sure expects Anderson to be ready Saturday.
 
"I know he's going to come out with some fire,'' Myers-Pate said.
 
Anderson's teammates supported Anderson during the media session after the game.
 
"He definitely contributed when he wasn't on the floor,'' Lucky Jones said. "He was being very vocal, letting us know we had to maintain our focus. We've been playing without people (this season), but he definitely was real special on the bench, and he was part of this win the whole time.''
 
"Even though he didn't score, he did a lot of other things,'' Myers-Pate said. "It's always a team game. With our team, everybody steps up when they need to.''
 
Jones was among those who stepped up against FDU. The junior scored 19 points, his most productive game since a 22-point performance against Central Connecticut State, Feb. 1, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists. He was 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
 
That was in stark contrast to his shooting over the previous 11 games, in which he shot 28.6 percent from the floor. In his previous five games, he was just 5-for-32 from international waters.
 
At Wagner last Saturday in the regular-season finale, Jones made one of 15 field goal attempts. That one was his only make in 10 launches from deep. Teammate Chuck Oliver also had an awful day against Wagner, going 0-for-5 from the field, including three misses from beyond the arc.
 
"I kind of got my confidence back when we got back from Wagner,'' Jones said. "Immediately that night, me and Chuck went to the gym and shot a lot of shots. From (then) until (Tuesday) we just got shots up. I knew when I came into the game I was going to stay confident and just let it fly. That's how I'm supposed to play the whole time.''
 
Myers-Pate was the only other Colonial in double figures Wednesday night. He scored 10 points, four of them from the free-throw line in the final 24 seconds.
 
Stephan Hawkins, who didn't play (ankle) in the Colonials' 69-64 victory at Fairleigh Dickinson Feb. 27, had eight points, four rebounds and three blocked shots Wednesday night.
 
"I think he was effective,'' Toole said. "He had a huge block late. I think at times he was able to disrupt their ability to finish around the rim. I think those were important keys. They did a nice job of having Scooter Gillette try and protect the rim. Hawk was able to hurt them with some jump shots and kind of stretch their defense -- like, 'OK, if you're going to continually put somebody at the rim, well, we have a guy who's pretty good at making 15- and 17-footers.' I think all those contributions were very, very important.''
 
Dave Appolon again brought his "winning plays'' backpack and emptied it against the Knights, producing eight points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
The bench of Kavon Stewart, Aaron Tate and Oliver contributed 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
 
In the end, on a night when Anderson and the Colonials clearly weren't at their best, Robert Morris was able to forge a win and survive and advance.
 
"We stuck together as a family,'' Myers-Pate said. "That just goes to show that the team is more powerful than the individual.''
 
"You like that in your team,'' Toole said. "We've found a variety of ways to win this year, which I think is important if you're going to have opportunities to compete for a regular-season championship and then obviously advance in the conference tournament. No two games are going to be the same. Different guys are going to have to step up and make plays as we go through this, and I think everyone's got to be ready and prepared when their opportunity comes or their time to make a play for our team comes. You have to be able to step up and do that.''
 
The Colonials (20-12) overcame 16 turnovers, perhaps half of which had much more to do with their offensive ineptitude than with FDU's defense.
 
"We didn't take care of the ball as much as we wanted to,'' Jones said. "Once we settled down, we were able to execute.''
 
"We had some issues holding onto the basketball,'' Toole said. "That's something we talked about in the locker room. I said to the guys they have to relax and play. Everything that's been accomplished previously is now over and now everybody's zero and zero and you have to go out and play. We played like a team that was afraid to lose, really, in all honesty. Every single pass was like taking a deep breath. Relax. Play basketball. You guys have been doing this since you were little kids. You've played in thousands of games. Ant Myers, this is probably his ninth, 10th Northeast Conference Tournament game.
 
"Everyone's just got to relax and play the game. I think early on some of our miscommunications and some of our inefficiency in executing good offense was because everybody was a little bit on edge. Now you also have to give credit to FDU. Their ability to switch defenses is very good and so that keeps us on our heels a little bit. Talking to Kavon and Ant, we have to do a better job of recognizing quicker and adjusting and then moving into whatever our next offensive plan is. I don't think we did a great job of that throughout the game.''
 
The Colonials outrebounded FDU, 33-30, and held the Knights to 36.4 percent shooting from the floor. FDU made only 3-of-17 shots from beyond the arc.
 
"People talk about teams being in an offensive groove. They were in a defensive groove,'' FDU coach Greg Herenda said. "They were bouncy and aggressive at the top of their zone. They contested passes, not just shots. You don't see that that often.''
 
Down the stretch, the Knights endured a seven-minute stretch in which they made only one field goal in 10 attempts.
 
"We just had to get stops when we really needed them,'' Jones said, "and that's what we did in the final minutes of the game.''
 
There's no question there's some pressure on a top seed in its first game in a conference tournament, especially in a one-bid league like the NEC. It seems reasonable to expect that the Colonials, having slogged through that first game, will play better Saturday against Saint Francis University.
 
"I think a lot of times it's reasonable to expect that,'' Toole said. "We're not sure what's going to happen on Saturday with this group of guys. Would you hope they'll play better? Yes. I would hope that they've gotten the game out of their system and now they can just kind of relax and play and everybody can go about their business. That would be great.''
 
UP NEXT: Saint Francis University, which missed the NEC Tournament the previous two seasons, rallied from 11 points down with 9:21 left to win at Bryant, its first road win in the NEC Tournament since 1989. Ronnie Drinnon made a layup with 43 seconds remaining to put the Red Flash ahead for good, 53-52, then made two free throws 16 seconds later, giving Saint Francis a three-point lead. Bryant's Dyami Starks' two free throws trimmed the Red Flash lead to one. After a Saint Francis turnover, the Red Flash withstood Corey Maynard's three-point attempt with eight seconds left.
 
"I told these guys to be prepared for the game in the playoffs in terms of the intensity and what it was going to take defensively to rebound on the road,'' SFU coach Rob Krimmel said, "It's so hard to simulate that in a practice experience, especially for those who haven't been to the playoffs before at the collegiate level. I thought our guys really responded to that well and lived up to that challenge that we issued and (were) able to make plays in a tough environment.''
 
Drinnon, a 6'7'' sophomore, scored 20 points and had 18 rebounds. In his past four games, Drinnon has scored 56 points, made 22-of-34 field goal attempts, and grabbed 36 rebounds. Teammate Earl Brown contributed eight points, six rebounds and seven assists.
 
Starks led the Bulldogs with 19 points. Bryant standout Alex Francis had seven points and six rebounds in what could have been his final college game. Francis is the only player in NEC history to rank in the top five in career points (2,085) and career rebounds (990).
 
NEC NUGGETS: Here's the breakdown of how Mount St. Mary's rallied against Saint Francis Brooklyn: Down, 56-37 (9:15); down, 58-43 (6:19); down, 64-53 (1:47); down, 68-60 (:54); down, 70-65 (:42) … "Saint Francis, for the first 35 minutes, really dominated the game with (its) physicality,'' Mountaineer coach Jamion Christian said. "The last six or seven minutes we were able to really get the game going at our tempo. When it looked the bleakest, our guys really rallied around each other and focused in on little details.''  … "We should have gotten to the finish line," St. Francis Brooklyn head coach Glenn Braica said. "Bottom line is, we should have finished it out. We didn't. That's life. We live with it. We face up to it.'' … Whack, who was only 3-of-12 from deep before hitting his game-winner, scored 28 points. Lowell Ulmer led the Terriers with 18 points but was just 8-of-14 from the free throw line. In the second half, Mount St. Mary's was 24-of-31 from the free throw line, while Saint Francis Brooklyn was 21-of-29 … Wagner held CCSU to 33.9 percent shooting (21-of-62) from the field while extending its winning streak to nine consecutive games. "Wagner is, I believe, the best defensive team in the league, and I think they demonstrated that (Wednesday night),'' CCSU coach Howie Dickenman said. Wagner held just a five-point lead (49-44) with 12:24 left but took control soon after. Wagner had no players selected to the All-NEC first or Second teams despite finishing second behind Robert Morris and seemed to play with a chip on its collective shoulders. "We've got some guys who had some stuff to say about the selections,'' Seahawk coach Bashir Mason said, "so I will say this -- the way we played the last 10 or 12 games, it goes hand-in-hand with the all-conference team stuff. Our team play is really, really good. When we play the way we played (Wednesday night) and the way we played the last 12 (games), we're able to beat some teams with a lot of talent.'' Wagner outrebounded the Blue Devils, 56-44, and had 24 offensive rebounds. Orlando Parker had a 13-12 double-double for Wagner, while teammate Kenny Ortiz, named the NEC's Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, scored 21 points. Brandon Peel scored 12 points, had 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots for CCSU, which received 20 points from Kyle Vinales.

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