Moon Township, Pa. – A little over three weeks ago, the idea that Robert Morris would land a spot in the Northeast Conference championship game seemed a bit far-fetched.
Back then, the Colonials stood 9-6 in the NEC, which was pretty good, but they were so inconsistent in their play that the notion they could get it together and make a push in March seemed unlikely.
Now?
Well, they're back in the NEC Championship game yet again. For the sixth time in seven seasons.
So what happened over these three weeks?
What enabled this group to coalesce into a team that's reeled off a season-best five consecutive victories, including Saturday's 66-53 semifinal win against visiting Bryant that sends the Colonials to St. Francis Brooklyn Tuesday night for the right to advance to the NCAA Tournament?
"There's definitely some increased urgency,'' RMU coach
Andrew Toole said. "I think that's pretty obvious from the way that we've worked. We've shared the ball really well in the last two and-a-half or three weeks. That's important for us. Our guys understand how important the little plays are that occur during the course of the game that make the difference between winning and losing.''
Toole cited a play junior
Rodney Pryor made Saturday with 9:35 remaining in the game. At that point, the game was tied at 45. Bryant sophomore Dan Garvin had a chance for a tie-shattering slam.
"Three weeks ago, maybe (Pryor) stops and lets Dan Garvin dunk that ball,'' Toole said. "All of a sudden (Saturday) he comes out of nowhere to block it, and it almost is like a four- or five-point swing. Guys are starting to understand that if you give your best effort, if you follow our formula and you do it to the best of your ability you'll have a chance at success. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it certainly seems like guys are thinking that way.''
It also seems that the Colonials finally have bought into Toole's trademark emphasis on defense, something that definitely was not a constant in mid-February.
Toole mentioned Friday's practice the day before the Bryant game.
"Some of our coaches were working against the zone and it was more active than we had seen it in a couple weeks.'' Toole said. "We were actually trying to practice what would happen if the ball did get (into the high post). I had to tell the players, 'Hey, guys, do me a favor. Can you let it get in there once or twice?' The coaches were struggling to get the ball into the zone, and there have been points in time this year when we were going through scouts and different things and situations where our coaches could get the ball into the high post at will. (Friday) there was just a different air about it, and obviously it translated into the game.''
Translated very well, in fact.
The Colonials had a season-high 15 steals, seven over their per-game average, which helped produce 19 Bryant turnovers. Robert Morris turned those into 22 points.
The task for the Colonials Tuesday night is using that new-found defensive vigor to help them end a three-game losing streak in NEC Tournament championship games.
Senior
Lucky Jones has played in the past two of those three.
The first of those two was at LIU Brooklyn in 2012, Jones' freshman season.
"It was a great season, (but) one of the best players to ever play at Robert Morris, Velton Jones, went down and we weren't together,''
Lucky Jones said. "Heads fell and things didn't work together.''
Velton Jones went to the floor in the first minute of that game with a possible rib injury. He returned to the game a few minutes later but wasn't effective in the 30 minutes he played. He was 3-of-12 from the field, missed all six of his casts from deep and finished with only 10 points. Robert Morris lost, 90-73.
Lucky Jones scored a team-high 14 points.
"Last year, obviously the better team won, but we didn't stay together,'' Jones said. "We had only so many people we could depend on.''
Last season's Colonial team had only eight scholarship players. In the championship game in the Charles L. Sewall Center, Mount St. Mary's broke open a close game midway through the first half and won easily, 88-71.
Maybe this third time will become a Lucky charm.
"I think this year is probably our best chance to win the championship,'' Jones said. "We have a lot of depth. We have a lot of athleticism. We have a lot of heart. I think this year we're more together than any team here the last four years.''
Toole saw reason for hope Tuesday night after the win against Bryant.
"There are a lot of things that make this team different than some of our teams in the past,'' Toole said on the eve of his fourth championship game as RMU's head coach. "It's a different group of guys. I think so far in our two tournament games some of our new guys have handled situations well, whether it's Rodney or Marcquise (Reed) or
Elijah Minnie. Those three guys have played excellent.
Kavon Stewart obviously was terrific (against Bryant), but I thought he had a huge impact on the game Thursday night (against Wagner in the quarterfinals). Maybe some of the new blood that's a part of the team this year has a different kind of outlook and mindset. But it has to be maximum energy and effort when we step on the floor on Tuesday.''
The Colonials certainly displayed that against Bryant. They got out to a 14-3 lead in the first six minutes, weathered Bryant's comeback during which the Bulldogs twice had three-point leads in the second half and then put the game away with an impressive 18-5 finish over the final eight minutes.
"It's all about staying aggressive and not being afraid of the moment,'' Pryor said. "I thought we did a great job of staying together as a team. Every timeout we kept talking to each other -- 'Hey, it's OK. We're going to get it back. We're going to get it back.' And then once we got things going, we said, 'We have to step on their throat. We can't let 'em stay close.'''
"I thought our guys played a terrific game,'' Toole said. "We got out to a great start. We had great energy to start the game. In the second half, I thought we did an excellent job defensively. I thought that was the real key. Our energy and intensity picked up defensively and that, maybe for the first time all year, fed our offense. It was great to see. I thought the guys really, really played well together and stayed together in the second half after they took the lead from us.''
In earlier games this season, an opponent grabbing a lead in the second half might have finished the Colonials. On Saturday, falling behind seemed to rejuvenate them.
"I was very proud of that, to be honest with you,'' Toole said. "When they took the lead, nobody on our side blinked. Everyone just continued to play and do what they're supposed to do. That's what we talked about at halftime. That's what we talked about the entire second half. And that's what our guys did. I was very proud of the way they continued to stay with our plan and actually increased their intensity and increased their urgency and pulled out the win.''
As relentless as the Colonials were in the second half, Bryant helped them by twice missing the front end of one-and-one free throw opportunities.
"Missed free throws, front ends of one-and-ones, are turnovers,'' Bryant coach Tim O'Shea said. "They kill momentum. They're change of possessions. You have to make free throws.''
So, yes, Bryant missed a couple key free throws. And, yes, the Colonials played great defense.
But probably the most significant aspect of this Robert Morris victory was the outstanding play of Stewart, the sophomore point guard finishing his first full season as a starter.
Consider this …
Entering the game, Stewart was averaging 5.7 points per game. He was shooting 32.9 percent from the field and just 26.2 percent from international waters. His free throw percentage stood at 62.6.
Against Bryant, Stewart scored a career-high 19 points. Made six of his 11 field goal attempts. Hit two of his three casts from beyond the arc. Was 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Had a career-high seven steals. And contributed eight assists while committing just one turnover.
"It was the most important performance of his career,'' Toole said. "Give him credit because when we played them the first time here (Jan. 31), and I can understand why you would do it, he was the guy that they didn't guard. You know, slow Marcquise, slow Rodney, slow Lucky and see if (Stewart) can make some plays. The first time they did it, I thought he was a little unsure. (Saturday) they did something similar, and he not only made big shots, he made the right decisions. He finished strong. He made free throws. He was one of the main guys defensively who was really urgent and alert and active as possible in that guard position of our zone. The stats obviously jump off the page at you, but there was so much more that he provided for us (that) it was just incredible.''
Stewart had eight points by halftime.
"He got in a situation where he had a mismatch a few times and was able to take them off the dribble and get to the rim,'' O'Shea said. "Those were big plays for them.''
Stewart had more big plays in the second half.
With 10:44 remaining, Jones made a steal in the Bryant backcourt and while lying on the floor shoved the ball ahead to Stewart. Stewart led a two-on-one break and fed Reed for a layup. That basket broke a 43-43 tie. The Colonials would not trail again.
A minute or so later, Pryor drove the lane and passed back to Stewart, who drained a three.
That quite excited the sophomore.
"I was screaming at coach Toole like, 'Let's take over the game! Let's take over the game!''' Stewart said.
They did. Two minutes later, Stewart put together an old-fashioned three-point play, then fed
Stephan Bennett for a layup. That pushed RMU's lead to 53-48 with seven minutes left.
Stewart highlighted his performance with a steal at 2:18 and turned it into a half-court dash to the basket for his final field goal and a 65-51 Colonial lead.
"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,'' Stewart said. "I know it starts with me on the defensive end and the offensive end, so I wanted to come out with tons of energy and be aggressive.''
"(Kavon) taking over gave us an energy spark defensively and offensively,'' Pryor said. "But more important on the defensive end. When he's hooked up and full of energy, everybody else is full of energy and that encourages us to get more stops.''
"He's maturing well,'' Jones said. "He's doing some incredible things. His body language. The way he's leading us on the court. Making sure guys are getting to where they need to get to. He's out there directing things, just being the point guard that he is, that he's becoming. He basically led us (Saturday). His steals ignited our transition points. He got assists. He got to the free-throw line (and was) finally knocking down his free throws. It was a great game for him.
"We're a great team. Team first. Together everyone achieves more. And (Saturday) one of our teammates stepped up big-time for us. Rodney, myself and Marcquise didn't shoot it very well, but at the end of the day the most important thing was getting to the championship game.''
And, now, winning it.
"We've been in a couple, and they haven't worked in our favor,'' Toole said. "Maybe this will be the year that it does.''
NOTES: Jones has 1,592 career points and moved past Velton Jones (1,588) into fifth place on RMU's all-time scoring list. Chaz McCrommon (2001-05) is fourth with 1,623 points … Reed's eight points Saturday pushed his season total to 478, a record for a Colonial freshman. Karon Abraham scored 477 points in 35 games in 2009-10 … Minnie in his past nine games has averaged 8.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game … Over the past four games, the Colonials have turned a combined 70 turnovers by their opponents into 91 points … Top seed St. Francis Brooklyn reached the championship game by beating visiting St. Francis University, 62-48, Saturday. This is the Terriers' first appearance in the championship game since 2003, when they lost to Wagner, a team that was led by Jermaine Hall, 78-61. That Wagner team then lost to Pitt, 87-61, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament … The Terriers feature NEC Player of the Year Jalen Cannon. The 6'6'' senior has five double-doubles in his past six games, including a 20-11 performance Saturday. In the five double-doubles Cannon has averaged 22.2 points and 14.2 rebounds per game. He has 20 double-doubles overall this season … The Terriers have won 23 of their past 28 games after beginning the season 0-5 … St. Francis Brooklyn and RMU split their two games during the regular season. The Terriers at the Sewall Center, 68-63, Jan. 16. The Colonials won in Brooklyn, 67-65, Jan. 24.
