Robert Morris (16-6 / 7-2) @ Mount St. Mary's (10-11 / 6-4)
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Knott Arena (3,121) - Emmitsburg, Md. 

Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closes out a two-game road swing looking to match its largest winning streak of the season Saturday night when it takes on Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, Md. The Colonials are coming off a 61-60 win @ Monmouth (1/31/08) for their fourth straight victory and also have won nine of their last 10 contests and 11 of their last 13. RMU, which is tied for third in the Northeast Conference standings with Quinnipiac thanks to a 7-2 league record, is 10 games over .500 for the first time since the club started the 1989-90 season 15-5. Robert Morris returns home to the Sewall Center Thursday, Feb. 7, to host Fairleigh Dickinson after Saturday's tilt with the Mount.

Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris has been able to post a 9-2 record in road games so far this season in large part to its ability to convert from beyond the arc. However, in recent weeks, the three-point shooting hasn't been as reliable for the Colonials. Since converting 11 of its 18 attempts (61.1 percent) in an 86-79 win @ Quinnipiac (1/5/08), RMU has shot just 27.3 percent (21-for-77) from long range in its last four road contests. Despite the woes, Robert Morris will look to tie the school record for consecutive road wins Saturday @ the Mount. The Colonials established the record with six straight road victories from Dec. 30, 1989, to Jan. 27, 1990.

Saturday's Opponent and the All-Time Series - Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's will tip for the 41st time Saturday, with the Mount holding a 23-17 lead in the all-time series. In each of the last two seasons the two clubs have met three times, squaring off twice during the regular season before meeting in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals. Last season the Colonials swept the season series, only to fall to Mount St. Mary's in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals, 78-61, at the Charles L. Sewall Center (3/1/07). During the 2005-06 campaign, the Mount swept the season series from RMU, only to fall to the Colonials, 67-66, at Knott Arena (3/2/06) in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals. Subtract the 17-point victory for Mount St. Mary's in last year's postseason, and the previous five meetings between the two clubs were decided by 12 points.

Probable Starters (Robert Morris @ Mount St. Mary's)

Robert Morris (16-6 / 7-2 NEC)

Head Coach Mike Rice (First Season; Fordham '91) - Robert Morris University ushered in a new era of men's basketball April 26, 2007, as Mike Rice was named the seventh head coach in the 32-year Division I history of the program. He owns an overall record of 16-6, including a mark of 7-2 in the Northeast Conference. Rice, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., has appeared in the NCAA or NIT Tournament seven times as an assistant coach.

Rice brings to Robert Morris a vast background in collegiate coaching, having served as an assistant coach at alma mater Fordham (1991-94), Marquette (1994-97), Niagara (1997-98), Chicago State (1998-2001), Saint Joseph's (2004-06) and Pittsburgh (2006-07).

At Pitt, Rice served as head coach Jamie Dixon's top assistant, helping lead the Panthers to a second-place finish during the Big East regular season and advancing to the Big East Tournament finals as well as the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Pitt finished with an overall record of 29-8 last year, and as the program's top recruiter, Rice was instrumental in attracting a recruiting class for 2007-08 that is ranked 16th by Scout, Inc., and 12th by HoopScoop.

Prior to his appointment with the Panthers, Rice spent two seasons with head coach Phil Martelli at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa., from 2004-06. While with the Hawks, Rice helped guide Saint Joseph's to a combined record of 43-26 (.623 winning percentage) and a pair of NIT bids. In 2004-05, the Hawks finished with an overall record of 24-12, advancing to the 2005 NIT final.

Scouting the Mount - Mount St. Mary's owns an overall record of 10-11 entering its contest with Robert Morris Saturday, including a mark of 6-4 in the Northeast Conference. The Mount sit in fifth place in the league standings, a game and-a-half behind RMU and Quinnipiac. Leading the way offensively has been senior guard Chris Vann, who averages 14.9 points per game and ranks third in the NEC in three-point field goals per game (2.71). Sophomore guard Jeremy Goode contributes 14.5 points per game and leads the club in both assists (122) and steals (50), while the top rebounder has been junior forward Markus Mitchell, who pulls down an average of 6.7 caroms a game.

Mount St. Mary's Head Coach - Milan Brown (Howard '93) is in his fifth season as head coach at the Mount and owns an overall record of 51-87 (.370) entering Saturday's game. Brown guide the Mount to their first NEC Tournament semifinal appearance since 2000 in 2007 and was named the NEC Coach of the Year by www.collegeinsider.com in 2006..

RMU's Last Game - Jhamar Youngblood's three-pointer from the top of the arc as time expired fell short as Robert Morris notched its fourth straight victory, Jan. 31, with a 61-60 win over Monmouth at Boylan Gymnasium. The victory was also the fifth straight on the road for the Colonials. Youngblood had pulled Monmouth within one, 61-60, with just 50 seconds to play after hitting a pair at the free-throw line after a foul by freshman guard Gary Wallace. Robert Morris brought the ball down the court to set up its offense, but with just six ticks left on the shot clock the ball was kicked by Rickie Crews of the Hawks. The Colonials retained possession with 25.6 seconds remaining and also had 15 seconds on the shot clock, but sophomore guard Jimmy Langhurst missed a jumper, and Whitney Coleman came down with the rebound for Monmouth with just over 10 seconds to play. He dished the ball off to Youngblood, who raced up the length of the court before pulling up for a long three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining. The ball never reached the rim, however, and senior guard Tony Lee helped preserve the victory with the rebound as time expired. Senior forward A.J. Jackson hit a big bucket for the Colonials at the 1:39 mark of the second half to give RMU a 61-58 lead just seconds after Youngblood's alley oop pass to Crews for a dunk pulled the Hawks within one, 59-58. It marked the first field goal for Robert Morris since 6:34 remained when junior guard Bateko Francisco converted a fastbreak layup after a steal by Lee. The Colonials trailed, 52-48, with 9:13 to play, but a 9-0 surge gave RMU a 57-52 advantage after Francisco's layup. Jackson hit a pair of free throws to start the run, while junior guard Jeremy Chappell knocked down a three-pointer and Lee provided a finger roll layup. Monmouth had a pair of opportunities to cut into its deficit at the charity stripe, but Crews hit just one of his two free throws while Youngblood missed a pair. Francisco would sink a pair from the charity stripe with 4:35 remaining to up RMU's lead to 59-53, but a three-pointer by Youngblood and the jam from Crews pulled the Hawks within one, 59-58.

Leading Scorers: Chappell (18), Jackson (15), Langhurst (9), Lee (8)
Leading Rebounders: Lee (7), Nwigwe (6), Chappell (5), Jackson (4), Langhurst (4)
Assists: Lee (5), Harris (3), Langhurst (2), Wallace (2)

Monmouth Game Notes - Robert Morris has won four of the last five games against Monmouth and has now swept the season series in two of the last three years ... The Hawks still hold a 30-16 advantage in the all-time series ... The Colonials shot just 37.7 percent (23-for-61) from the field and were just 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) from beyond the arc ... Monmouth posted a shooting percentage of 38 percent (19-for-50) and were just 32 percent (8-for-25) from long range ... Robert Morris hit 10 of its 13 free throws (76.9 percent), while the Hawks shot 73.7 percent (14-for-19) at the charity stripe ... The two teams combined for 35 turnovers as RMU finished with 18 and Monmouth 17 ... The Hawks held a 22-17 advantage in points off turnovers ... Robert Morris held a 43-29 edge in rebounding, including a 22-12 advantage on the offensive glass ... RMU outscored the Hawks, 23-12, in second-chance points.

Balance Beam - One look at RMU's cumulative statistics entering Saturday's game @ Mount St. Mary's, and head coach Mike Rice has to be pleased with the balance he's received from his top three scorers. Amazingly, just two points separate the clubs top three scorers. Junior guard Jeremy Chappell has scored 311 points, followed by senior forward A.J. Jackson (310) and senior guard Tony Lee (309). The balance extends beyond that, as the trio have each led or tied for the team lead in scoring in a game eight times, while Chappell, Jackson and Lee each have also posted 12 games scoring 15 or more points.

Board Stiff - After being outrebounded by nine, 32-23, in an 83-78 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) (1/26/08), which tied for the highest deficit in a Northeast Conference game this season for Robert Morris, the Colonials did a better job in a 61-60 win @ Monmouth (1/31/08). RMU finished with 43 boards against the Hawks, the club's highest output in a league game this season and second highest total overall. Robert Morris posted 50 rebounds in a 93-77 win @ Navy (11/14/07) for its highest total of the year. It also marked the first time RMU outrebounded its opponent in a road game since posting a +3 margin in a 74-71 win @ Youngstown State (12/17/07). In that game the Colonials held a 37-34 advantage on the glass.

Thirsty Thursday - Thanks to its 61-60 win @ Monmouth (1/31/08), Robert Morris improved its record to 5-0 so far this year when playing on a Thursday. In those games, the Colonials have yielded just 59.4 points per game while scoring at a 71.2 points per game clip, a scoring margin of +11.8. Entering its game @ the Mount, RMU owns a record of 5-1 in Saturday games.

Surging - Over the past few seasons, Robert Morris has seemed to turn its concentration up a few notches in regard to free-throw shooting when playing in earnest against Northeast Conference foes. The same holds true this season. RMU, which has led the league in free-throw percentage against NEC opponents in two of the last four seasons, including a league-best 77.1 percent last year, enters Saturday's game @ Mount St. Mary's having converted 65 of its last 79 opportunities (82.2 percent) at the charity stripe in the last five games. The surge has the Colonials leading the NEC against league foes with an overall shooting percentage of 78.9 percent (116-for-147).

Strange But True - In the nine games Robert Morris has played at the Charles L. Sewall Center so far this season, opponents have shot 39.3 percent (77-for-196) from beyond the arc. On the flip side, in the 11 road games the Colonials have played, opponents have shot just 28.2 percent (64-for-227) from long range. In regard to RMU's three-point shooting, the club has converted 38.4 percent (89-for-132) of its shots from beyond the arc away from home but 36.2 percent (71-for-196) at the Sewall Center.

It's Your Team - Head Coach Mike Rice often looks to the three seniors on the Robert Morris 2007-08 roster for leadership, and so far Tony Lee, A.J. Jackson and Freddie Harris have helped contribute to RMU's 16-6 record. Not only has each contributed with overall numbers, but it's obvious in crunch time the trio are go-to options. In the last five minutes of games, Lee, Jackson and Harris have combined to shoot 54.4 percent (31-for-57) from the field.

Defense Wins Championships - Mike Rice has preached in his first season as head coach of Robert Morris that defense wins championships, and the numbers bear that out. Thanks to a 61-60 win @ Monmouth (1/31/08), RMU improved to 9-1 this season and 68-20 (.773) over the last seven seasons when holding its opponents under 70 points.