Moon Township, Pa. – RMU's first four Northeast Conference games went by in a blur. Four games in eight days. Whoosh!
They began their league schedule Jan. 3, and just like that four games were in the books.
Think that stretch went quickly? Well, they'll play their next two league games in lickety-split fashion, too. Two games in the Charles L. Sewall Center with tipoffs scheduled only 40 hours apart.
Hold on to your sneakers.
First up this week is a 9 p.m. start against Saint Francis Brooklyn Friday, a fairly important NEC game. Each team is 3-1 in league play. Next is a 1 p.m. tip Sunday against Sacred Heart.
"In our first six games, we really won't (have been) on our regular Thursday-Saturday schedule, which makes it a little bit interesting,'' RMU coach
Andrew Toole said early this week. "We were able to get our guys a second off-day (Monday), which is something that's unusual for January. Hopefully it can pay dividends for us as we move forward. It's going to be another quick turnaround. It's going to be another situation for us to handle as a group. Hopefully our upperclassmen can help prepare us for Friday, and as soon as Friday's over help us turn the page to Sunday because it will be a quick turnaround and we have to be ready to compete.''
The Colonials did play a Thursday-Saturday routine last weekend, but even that was a bit out of the norm. Their game at Wagner last Thursday night had a 9:00 p.m. tip because the contest was televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
"The day's just so long,'' Toole said. "You get up and have breakfast and then you go to your shoot-around and then you go to your pregame meal. The day just seems to take forever. It's only a two-hour difference, but those two hours just kind of stretch your day out much, much further than a normal seven o'clock tip.''
One fortunate aspect of having done that, though, is that the Colonials will have a better feel for handling Friday night's later-than-usual tipoff.
For sure, they have a better feel for themselves after zipping through their first four NEC games with that 3-1 record. That mark appears even more solid when one considers that they played three of those four on the road.
Toole said before that stretch began that the Colonials would know more about themselves after their first four league games.
Do they?
"I think so,'' Toole said. "I think we definitely learned a lot as a team. I think we learned how to handle ourselves each and every game.''
Robert Morris easily handled Mount St. Mary's in the NEC opener Jan. 3, sending the Mountaineers home with a 70-45 loss. Two nights later at Saint Francis University, the Colonials started sluggishly, spotting the Red Flash a 28-10 lead, and dropped a 66-59 decision.
"I thought we did a good job of handling ourselves against Mount St. Mary's in terms of coming out with the proper amount of energy and defending the way you need to defend,'' Toole said. "We didn't necessarily do that in our (next) game, but I thought that was a great learning lesson for us because when we went to Wagner, when we went to Central Connecticut, I thought we started the games the way you need to start. In conference play, you need to prepare yourself as best you can for the game that's in front of you and then, win or lose, you need to move on quickly to the next game. I thought we were able to handle those things.''
The Colonials won at Wagner, 77-73, after holding a 43-36 halftime lead. They kept the Seahawks at bay by making 11 consecutive free throws in the final 4:07.
Lucky Jones was 7-for-7 in that stretch.
Two days later, the Colonials won, 72-60, at Central Connecticut State. Again, they led at halftime, 33-27, and blunted any Blue Devil hopes of a comeback by shooting 52.8 percent from the floor.
Those two NEC road wins perhaps demonstrated that the Colonials are beginning to build some toughness, a characteristic of this team that did not manifest itself consistently during the non-conference portion of their season.
"We talked a lot about (toughness), especially late in the game at Central when it was single digits,'' Toole said. "They had a couple possessions where they took it down really late in the (shot) clock and we weren't able to get the stop we needed, so it was something we talked about at the last four-minute media timeout. I thought in the last four minutes we did a good job of getting those stops and hold on for the win.
"At Wagner we came up with some stops late. Even a couple times when we didn't get stops we made them make a really, really tough shot. We were able to step to the (free throw) line and execute press offense, get the right people to the free-throw line and make big free throws late. There were a lot of times when there was good communication between the bench and what was going was happening on the floor. Everybody seemed to be on the same page.
"Those are things I think you need when you go on the road. You're out there with just your program, your teammates, your coaches, your managers. Everybody's trying to figure out a way to win the game. I thought we definitely made some good strides this week and hopefully we can build on them.''
Jones also seemed to sense that these Colonials, who last season won the NEC regular-season championship, have built some mental toughness.
"I've always looked at this team (as having) an amazing upside,'' Jones said. "Right now, guys just want to finish out the season by playing as hard as they can for each other and having fun together. I believe (we) see something at the end of the road if we continue to buy in and do the little things.''
Jones, a senior, might have "found'' himself during the first four league games. In his first three seasons at Robert Morris, he was a good player but didn't have to be "the guy" on those teams. This season, as a Preseason All-NEC selection, he perhaps felt he had to "the guy" for the Colonials and he had a tough time getting comfortable with that role.
"There's more pressure and responsibility that comes with that position,'' Toole said of Jones' stature. "Early in the year, I think he wanted to do everything. He wanted to have the perfect season. He started to understand that he's got to take care of his responsibility. He has to be a guy who helps set the tone for the way we practice, the way we prepare and the way we carry ourselves. He just has to continue to bring all the skills that he brought for the previous three years. I think he's learned that and he's become comfortable with that. That's why you've seen his play improve in the last two or three weeks."
Last weekend, Jones scored 18 points in each game and had a total of 15 rebounds. In the first four NEC games, he averaged 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
His rebounding surge has lifted his career total to 750, just two rebounds away from becoming the all-time leading rebounder in Robert Morris history. Anthony Dickens (1985-90) and Tony Lee (2004-08) each finished with 751 rebounds.
Robert Morris also has received a lift from freshman guard
Marcquise Reed, who has averaged 16.1 points per game over his last nine contests. He's also won or shared three NEC Rookie of the Week awards this season, meaning he's building a strong resume to at least make the All-NEC Rookie Team this year.
"Marcquise has had up to this point an absolutely tremendous freshman year,'' Toole said. "He's a guy we really trust with the ball making plays for himself or making plays for his teammates. We went to him late in the Wagner game to get a big foul and free throws. He just has that knack and that ability to score. He has a unique gift because of the versatility he has. He makes enough three-pointers to keep everybody honest. He has great body control around the rim. He's very good in transition, and he has an excellent mid-range game.''
Reed is ninth in the NEC with an overall scoring average of 13.6 points per game. His 52 percent shooting mark from the field ranks fourth in the league.
"The percentage he's shooting as a freshman is mind-boggling a little bit,'' Toole said. "When people come into Division I basketball they usually struggle with shooting. That's usually the last piece of the pie for them. For him to be shooting over 50 percent as a freshman is pretty incredible. We're going to need a lot of big plays from him coming down the stretch. We're going to continue to talk to him about defensive urgency, but that's something I think he understands and (is) capable of doing and wants to get better at. He's really set himself up here for a tremendous season and career.''
