By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Feb. 16, 2010 

Meyer on Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University, seemingly set up to strike a rather significant pothole last Saturday, managed to swerve in the final seconds and continue on its course toward possible Northeast Conference history this week.

"It's a big weekend coming up,'' head coach Mike Rice said. "This team has given all it has each and every game. It could use some energy from the fans.''

Consider this, then, a heads up to RMU fans.

Those who stop by the Sewall Center Thursday and Saturday evenings will have the opportunity to watch the Colonials (18-9, 13-1 in the NEC) attempt to become the first team in men's program history to achieve three consecutive 20-win seasons.

If this team does, it will be only the second team in NEC history to do so. Long Island had three straight 20-win seasons in 1981-82 (20-10), 1982-83 (20-9) and 1983-84 (20-11). Those Blackbird teams had a combined record of 60-30. Robert Morris, which was 26-8 in 2007-08 and 24-11 in 2008-09, currently is 68-28 over the past three seasons.

What's more, should the Colonials beat Sacred Heart (13-12, 6-8) Thursday and Quinnipiac (18-7, 12-2) Saturday, they'll clinch a third consecutive NEC regular-season championship and a third consecutive No. 1 seed for the league tournament.

That's been done by just one other NEC team. Rider won the regular-season title in 1992-93 (14-4), 1993-94 (14-4) and 1994-95 (13-5). Rider in those three seasons had a combined NEC record of 41-13. The Colonials currently are 44-6 in NEC games under Rice, in his third season at RMU.

Robert Morris, which can finish no worse than second in the regular season, is 26-2 against NEC teams at the Sewall Center since losing to Sacred Heart, 82-69, Jan. 13, 2008. It has won 19 consecutive games against NEC teams at home since losing to St. Francis (N.Y.), 87-79, Dec. 4, 2008.

But we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves here.

As Rice always says: "The most important game for us is our next game.''

That would be Sacred Heart.

However, in this case, the Colonials' previous game also was pretty darned important.

That would be Bryant last Saturday.

The Colonials trailed the winless Bulldogs for much of the game in Smithfield, R.I. Robert Morris fought tired legs on offense - the result of playing five games in 10 days - but still played its trademark defense.

The key to the game was Robert Morris holding Bryant to one field goal and three points over the final 10:11, during which the Colonials erased a 39-35 deficit and turned it into a 52-42 victory.

"We won a championship the same way,'' Rice said, referring to last season's 48-46 win over Mount St. Mary's in the NEC championship game.

The 52 points mustered by the Colonials at Bryant were the fewest they'd scored in a win since that title game victory.

"The ball wasn't dropping, especially on the perimeter,'' Rice said. "(I'm) really proud of these guys for sticking together, especially on the defensive end. People don't understand how mentally tough you have to be not to let (not scoring) affect you on the defensive end.''

However, Rice sensed his players were tight because the offense sputtered, making losing to Bryant a real possibility.

"We were pressing,'' Rice said. "In the huddles, I was telling them, 'Breathe, guys, breathe. You can't make a 20-point shot. You can't make a 10-point assist.'''

In the end, the Colonials did just enough offensively.

Freshman Velton Jones' three-pointer - the only shot the Colonials made from beyond the arc in 11 attempts - with 1:20 remaining gave them a 48-42 lead. They sealed the much-in-doubt victory by making four of six free throw attempts thereafter.

The Colonials have won 11 consecutive NEC games. In that stretch, they've held their opponents under 70 points 10 times. They've also excelled at defending the three-pointer. In their past nine NEC games, they've limited their opposition to 24.9 percent (47-of-189) shooting from deep.

Bryant (0-26) and Alcorn State had been the only winless teams in Division I. Now Bryant is the only one. Alcorn State, which RMU beat, 107-76, Nov. 21, defeated visiting Mississippi Valley State (6-19), 55-54, last Saturday.

Quinnipiac clinched an NEC tournament spot by beating visiting Long Island, 80-72, last Saturday. James Johnson scored 23 points. James Feldeine added 17.

"This team continues to be very pragmatic in finding ways to win games, and that's a comforting feeling for me as a head coach,'' Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said. "I don't want to lose the mystique about being undefeated at home. It's special. We're hoping we can host three games in the NEC Tournament.

"I always say that winning begets winning and losing begets losing, and we seem to be on the favorable end of that wave right now.''

Sacred Heart, which had lost five straight games, got a much-needed win with a 62-50 victory over St. Francis (N.Y.). The Pioneers trailed, 13-5, early but assumed control with a 21-4 run. The visiting Terriers, who have lost five of their past six games, were just 21-of-63 from the field, including 2-of-16 from beyond the arc.

MOUNTAINEERS CLIMBING: Mount St. Mary's continued to recover from a 2-6 start in NEC play - having to play its first four league games on the road contributed to that - by winning its sixth straight. The visiting Mountaineers trailed Fairleigh Dickinson, 32-29, at halftime but took control early in the second half and won, 77-67.

Mount St. Mary's, one of three 8-6 teams tied for third place, plays its final four regular-season games at home, including the finale Feb. 27 against Robert Morris.

"I'm excited to see what the ending is going to be because it could be a great story for everybody involved to tell about what you have to do when rough times hit,'' Mountaineer coach Milan Brown recently told the Carroll County Times. "(It's) about sticking together, continuing to work, and then all of a sudden, when you get through the storm, you're a better person, a better team, for it. I told (the players) that's the story that I'm expecting to read at the end of the year.''

Kelly Beidler led Mount St. Mary's with 22 points. Senior Will Holland continued to provide a spark off the bench with 14 points. Holland, who missed seven consecutive games early this season because of an injury, has scored 52 points in the past four games - while shooting 15-of-20 from beyond the arc.

TAYLOR MADE: Travis Taylor, who missed seven games because of a suspension, made a spectacular return for Monmouth in the Hawks' 76-67 win over visiting Wagner. The 6'7" sophomore scored a career-high 30 points and had eight rebounds. He was 8-of-16 from the field and 14-of-18 from the free throw line.

"I couldn't wait for him to come back,'' said sophomore guard Will Campbell, who scored 16 points. "I just felt like we had our whole team back. It felt like things were the way they should be.''

"It felt real good to be back on the court - the whole atmosphere, the arena and everything,'' Taylor said.

Monmouth, one of three 7-7 teams tied for sixth place, was 2-5 during Taylor's absence.

"(Taylor) had a big game,'' Wagner coach Mike Deane said. "He's a forward-like center in this league (where) we have center-like centers. They can't guard him.''

STARTING A BETTER STREAK: Saint Francis (Pa.), which entered last weekend's game having lost 23 consecutive road games overall and 17 straight NEC road games, won its second straight road game by beating Central Connecticut State, 59-57. The Red Flash zipped ahead, 17-5, but trailed by two points with 2:11 remaining. A pair of three-pointers by freshman Will Felder gave Saint Francis (Pa.) the win.

The Blue Devils had four shots to at least tie the game in the final 18 seconds but missed them all.

"We lacked, and we have lacked all season, scoring,'' CCSU coach Howie Dickenman said. "Even though (Saint Francis) shot 50 percent or so, we held them to 59, which is below their scoring average. But you're not going to win too many games scoring 57.''

It was the first time Saint Francis (Pa.) won back-to-back road games since the 2002-03 season and ended a nine-game losing streak at CCSU for the Red Flash.

NEC NUGGETS: Karon Abraham, Robert Morris' leading scorer, had a rough day at Bryant. The freshman was 1-of-9 from the field, including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, and finished with just seven points. That inched his season point total to 349. Jeremy Chappell holds the program record for most points in a season by a freshman with 410 (2005-06) … The Colonials and Bryant were tied at halftime, 25-25. Bryant has been ahead at halftime in four games this season and tied at halftime in three others … Taylor's 30-point game was the first by a Monmouth player since Jhamar Youngblood scored 31 points in the Hawks' 82-75 loss to visiting Sacred Heart Feb. 23, 2007. Youngblood has since transferred to Rider … Freshman Danny Mundweiler is making a bid to be voted to the NEC's All-Rookie Team. The Wagner guard has scored in double figures in five of the past seven games (a total of 74 points) and had 18 and 14 points, respectively, last weekend in games against FDU and Monmouth … Against Monmouth, Wagner was 8-of-14 from the free throw line; Monmouth was 26-of-31.