By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Feb. 23, 2010 

Meyer on Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University didn't capitalize its golden opportunity.

Now the Colonials will have to take advantage of the silver lining.

They had a chance to clinch their third consecutive Northeast Conference regular-season championship at home on Senior Night last Saturday but lost to second-place Quinnipiac, 87-79.

However, RMU still leads the NEC by a game over the Bobcats and can grab the top seed in the NEC Tournament by winning at Wagner Thursday evening and at rival Mount St. Mary's Saturday.

Of course, one Robert Morris victory and one Quinnipiac loss will settle the issue, too, but the Colonials certainly don't want to have to rely on the Bobcats losing to either Monmouth at home Thursday or at Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday.

"We're still a game up and we have to act like that, and act like we have a lot of unfinished business to do,'' head coach Mike Rice said.

There was a keen sense of disappointment surrounding the Colonials after the loss to Quinnipiac.

"There were a couple of guys hanging their heads feeling sorry for themselves and for this team,'' Rice acknowledged.

What the Colonials have to do is get their heads back up and realize the brass ring is still there to grab.

"It was a letdown that we lost, especially with Senior Night and all,'' senior Mezie Nwigwe said. "But I don't think we're going to have trouble (being focused at Wagner). I just think we have to learn from our mistakes and bounce back. I think we'll be all right.''

"The coaches are not going to let us come out flat,'' senior Rob Robinson said. "We're going to prepare like it's the most important game of our lives. That's what we have to do. It's not like it was the biggest loss in the world. We're not out of it. It was a setback, and we just have to bounce back.''

"It's very frustrating,'' freshman Karon Abraham said of losing to Quinnipiac, "but we have to regroup and come back ready to work and go get two wins on the road.''

"We just have to play as a team,'' Nwigwe said. "When we have all five guys (on the court) together, I don't think there are too many teams that can beat us on a given night.''

Not many NEC teams have.

The Colonials are 14-2 in league play this season and 45-7 in Rice's three seasons as their coach.

Rice was buoyed a bit in the tough moments immediately after the loss to Quinnipiac ended by what "a couple of our younger guys said in the locker room.''

That message?

"Basically that this thing's not over,'' Rice said. "I love it when I don't have to stay anything. I love it when they self-police themselves.''

Rice certainly will reinforce that "it's not over'' point again and again in the run-up to the Wagner game.

"We're still a game ahead,'' Rice emphasized. "This is not over. We'll make sure we relay that to them. If you'd told me at the beginning of the year that I have a game lead and I have to go on the road and win two (games), I'm fine with that. I hated, and it ripped out my insides, that we lost on Senior Night when we had a chance to close it out. Didn't happen. But that's what sports are.

"You can't control what happens. But you can control how you respond. You have to get off the mat. We're going to get off the mat and start swinging again because that's what this program's about. We're going to get better and keep on fighting and see what happens.''

That said …

"We have a big challenge ahead of us,'' Rice said.

No question that winning the game at Mount St. Mary's on the Mountaineers' Senior Day will be a challenge for Robert Morris.

The Mountaineers, picked by the league's coaches to win the NEC championship this season, have won eight straight games, the last six by an average of 22.3 points per game, to raise their league record to 10-6. They can't finish any higher than third in the regular season, but they'd like nothing better in the short term than to cost the Colonials a regular-season championship.

However, the Colonials certainly can't look ahead to that game. Winning at Wagner poses its own problems. For one thing, the Colonials have lost three straight games at Wagner.

For another, this is a game that Robert Morris absolutely "should'' win. It's just like the Colonials' game at then-winless Bryant Feb. 13. They struggled big-time in that one before pulling away in the final couple of minutes to win, 52-42.

The Seahawks, who have a roster loaded with freshmen and sophomores, are 4-25 overall and 2-14 in the NEC and have lost six consecutive games. They have nothing to play for except next season.

But they gave the Colonials more than a little bit of a game at the Sewall Center back on Dec. 5, losing by only three points, 73-70.

And six of their losses, including that one, have been by five points or less.

"It feels like in every game we have a chance late and then something happens,'' Wagner sophomore Tyler Murray said. "Now we're just doing our best to make something out of the season. We want to win a couple of games for the seniors and get on a little streak. We know we're playing for next year now, but we are a close-knit group, and we still want to be able to take something away from this year.''

So, too, does Robert Morris - at a much higher level.

"Wagner and Mount,'' Rice said. "We have two important games.''

FIELD GROWS: The NEC Tournament field added four teams last weekend. Mount St. Mary's, Long Island, Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Francis (Pa.) all clinched spots.

For Saint Francis (Pa.), which swept Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart at home last weekend to raise its NEC record to 9-7 and run its winning streak to four games, this marks a return to the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2005.

"It means a lot - especially for the program,'' Red Flash senior Devin Sweetney said. "And especially for the seniors - me, Kurt (Hoffman) and Chris (McFarland). It means a lot (from) where we started and now leaving our mark. It feels great.''

Long Island, tied with Mount St. Mary's for third place, clinched its NEC tourney spot with an 83-74 win over visiting Monmouth last Saturday.

Senior guard Jaytornah Wisseh scored all 21 of his points in the second half.

"He's a game changer,'' Monmouth senior Whitney Coleman said of Wisseh. "We knew he was going to wake up in the second half, and it was our job to stop him. We couldn't do it.''

Mount St. Mary's beat visiting Bryant, 74-45, despite shooting just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc and making only 13-of-25 free throws.

FDU got its tourney spot when Alvin Mofunanya made a field goal with three seconds left to lift the Knights to a 56-55 win at St. Francis (N.Y.).

ELDER STATESMAN: Former Colonial standout Derek Coleman, who celebrated his Senior Night in 2007, attended Saturday night's game against Quinnipiac. Coleman, 17th on RMU's career scoring list with 1,042 points, has played professionally in Germany. Currently, he's working as an accountant in Boston but might continue to play in Germany. He's also considering getting into coaching.

NEC NUGGETS: Robert Morris had won 19 consecutive games against NEC teams at the Sewall Center before its loss to Quinnipiac. Its last NEC loss at home was to St. Francis (N.Y.) Dec. 4, 2008 - coincidentally by the same score of 87-79 … Abraham scored 12 points against Quinnipiac, raising his season total to 378. Jeremy Chappell (2006) holds the Robert Morris record for most points in a season by a freshman with 410 … Monmouth can clinch an NEC Tournament berth by winning at Quinnipiac Thursday night … In Sacred Heart's 73-68 loss at Saint Francis (Pa.) Saturday, Pioneer long-range standouts Corey Hassan and Ryan Litke, who misfired repeatedly at Robert Morris, were a combined 4-of-16 from beyond the arc. Sacred Heart on its two-game trip to western Pennsylvania was a combined 10-of-42 from deep … Sweetney closed his regular-season career at home with 31 points and 13 rebounds against Sacred Heart … In Long Island's win over Monmouth, Blackbird guard Kyle Johnson scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half.