#3 Mount St. Mary's (16-14) vs. #2 Robert Morris (21-11)
2010 NEC Tournament Semifinals
Sunday, March 7, 2010 - 7:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) - Moon Township, Pa.

Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team continues its quest for a league-record seventh Northeast Conference championship Sunday night when it hosts No. 3 seed Mount St. Mary's for an 2010 NEC Tournament Semifinal game at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Colonials, the No. 2 seed, opened the tournament with a 71-63 victory over No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State (3/4/10). In that contest freshman guard Karon Abraham, the 2010 NEC Rookie of the Year, led five Colonials in double figures scoring with 18 points, including a pair of big three-pointers in the final three minutes. RMU is making its seventh straight appearance in the NEC Tournament and 26th overall. All-time in tournament action Robert Morris owns a record of 27-19 (.587), including a mark of 19-6 (.760) in tournament home games. At the Sewall Center, the Colonials are 14-5 (.737) in NEC Tournament tilts.

Quick Stat of the Night - Arguably the best rivalry in the last five years in the Northeast Conference, Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's will meet for the fifth straight year in the NEC Tournament Sunday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center. It also marks the 15th meeting between the two programs over that time span, with the Colonials holding a 9-5 (.643) edge in the previous 14 contests. RMU and the Mount have split the four previous games in the NEC Tournament, with each earning a victory over the other in quarterfinal action, Mount St. Mary's winning the semifinal matchup two years ago and Robert Morris claiming victory in the 2009 NEC Tournament Championship game.

Sunday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's will tip for the 49th time Sunday, with the Mount owning a 25-23 (.521) edge in the all-time series. The two programs split the 2009-10 season series, with each team winning on its own home court. In the opening game of the 2009-10 season series at the Charles L. Sewall Center (12/3/09), RMU garnered a 63-57 victory over the Mount as injured guard Jimmy Langhurst led the Colonials with 11 points. Senior guard Mezie Nwigwe added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win. Mount St. Mary's returned the favor with a 63-61 win over the Colonials at Knott Arena (2/27/10) in Emmitsburg, Md., with freshman guard Karon Abraham pacing Robert Morris with 12 points.

Head Coach Mike Rice (Third Season; Fordham '91) - Simply put, Mike Rice has put the men's basketball program at Robert Morris University back on the map.

Just 22 months after being named the seventh head coach in the 34-year history of the program, Rice led the Colonials to their sixth Northeast Conference Tournament championship with a thrilling 48-46 win over Mount St. Mary's March 11, 2009, at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The win helped RMU earn its sixth automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and its first since 1992.

In three years as a head coach, Rice has been at the helm of a program that has claimed back-to-back-to-back NEC regular-season championships, its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament in 2008 and the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Along the way, a total of 17 school records have either been tied or broken under Rice's watch, including victories (26 in 2007-08), NEC wins (16 in 2007-08) and consecutive victories (14 in 2007-08). Robert Morris also posted 15 straight wins in NEC road games over the course of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, a conference record.

A two-time Northeast Conference Jim Phelan Coach of the Year (2008, 2009), Rice owns an overall record of 71-30 (.703), including a mark 46-8 (.852) against league foes. He signed a three-year contract extension with Robert Morris in April of 2009, meaning he will lead the Colonials through the 2015-16 season.

Rice was named the seventh head coach in the 34-year Division I history of the program at a press conference in the Sewall Center on RMU's Moon Township Campus April 26, 2007. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Rice has appeared in the NCAA or NIT Tournament seven times as an assistant coach and twice as the head coach at Robert Morris.

Rice brought to RMU 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).

A 1991 graduate of Fordham, Rice was a three-year starter for the Rams at guard. He appeared in 117 career games, serving as team captain of a 1990-91 squad that posted an overall record of 25-8. That season Fordham earned an appearance in the NIT. Rice and his wife, Kerry, have two children, son Michael and daughter Katie, and reside in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Scouting the Mount - The hottest team in the Northeast Conference, Mount St. Mary's carries an 11-game winning streak into Sunday night's semifinal matchup at Robert Morris. The Mount owns an overall record of 16-14 and is coming off a 65-50 win over No. 6 seed Saint Francis (Pa.) in the quarterfinals of the 2010 NEC Tournament. Against the Red Flash junior forward Kelly Beidler posted 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and four steals, while junior guard Jean Cajou and senior forward Will Holland tied for team-high honors with 14 points. Senior guard Jeremy Goode, a member of the 2010 All-NEC First Team, leads Mount St. Mary's in scoring (13.8 ppg), assists (129) and steals (77), while Beidler produces a team-high average of 7.1 rebounds per contest.

Mount St. Mary's Head Coach - Milan Brown (Howard '93) is in his seventh season as head coach at the Mount and owns an overall record of 95-119 (.444) entering Sunday's game. Brown has guided Mount St. Mary's to the semifinals of the NEC Tournament each of the last five years and two straight championship games.

RMU's Last Game - No. 2 seeded Robert Morris closed the game on an 11-4 run en route to a 71-63 victory over No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State, March 4, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Northeast Conference Tournament at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Nursing a one-point lead, 60-59, with 2:59 to go, freshman guard Karon Abraham started the final surge with a three-pointer and scored eight points during the run. Abraham's three-pointer from beyond the arc with 1:49 to go gave Robert Morris a 66-61 advantage, and after a dunk from senior forward Dallas Green with 1:01 remaining increased RMU's lead to 68-61, Abraham helped seal the victory with a pair from the free-throw line with just 36 ticks left on the clock. Robert Morris jumped out to a 9-0 advantage in the first five minutes of action and converted seven of its first 11 shots from the field, but CCSU held the Colonials to just 2-of-11 shooting the rest of the stanza in closing to within four at halftime, 28-24. RMU's biggest lead in the first half came with 12:20 remaining before the break on a pair of free throws by Abraham, 17-6, but an 11-1 run by the Blue Devils cut their deficit to one, 18-17. Four different players from Central Connecticut State scored during the spurt, including four points from Ptacek. Robert Morris never trailed after taking the early lead, though Central Connecticut State closed to within one on three occasions in the first half and six times after intermission. The Colonials stretched their lead to six early in the second half on layups from senior guard Mezie Nwigwe and Green, but David Simmons helped pull CCSU within one, 38-37, with 14:24 to play with a jumper. RMU responded by scoring the next seven points to open up a 45-37 lead as junior guard Gary Wallace hit a pair from the free-throw line, redshirt freshman Russell Johnson hit a layup in the lane and redshirt freshman guard Velton Jones hit a three-pointer. The Blue Devils climbed back thanks to Ptacek, who scored 15 of his career-high 26 points in the second half. His jumper with 2:59 to go pulled Central Connecticut State within one for the ninth and final time before the Colonials ended the game on their flurry. The Colonials were led by Abraham, who finished with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Leading Scorers: Abraham (18), Nwigwe (10), Jones (10), Whitehead (10), Green (10)
Leading Rebounders: Robinson (9), Nwigwe (6), Johnson (6), Green (3), Abraham (3)
Assists: Nwigwe (3), Robinson (2), Johnson (2), Green (1), Jones (1)

NEC Tournament Quick Hits - Robert Morris owns an all-time record of 27-19 (.587) in the NEC Tournament, with the 27 wins tied for the most in conference history with Fairleigh Dickinson ... Broken down, the Colonials own a record of 19-6 (.760) in tournament games played at home, including a record of 14-5 (.737) in games at the Charles L. Sewall Center, 3-6 in road games and a mark of 5-7 in neutral site contests ... Robert Morris is hosting its eighth straight NEC Tournament game at the Charles L. Sewall Center Sunday night against No. 3 seed Mount St. Mary's, with the Colonials having gone 5-2 over the last seven contests ... RMU has appeared in the NEC Tournament in each of the past seven seasons, advancing to the semifinals five times over that span and the NEC Championship game once (2009) ... RMU has hosted the NEC Tournament championship game five times (1983, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2009), with the Colonials a perfect 5-0 in those games ... RMU's first NEC Tournament championship game tilt in 1982 came with an 85-84 win over Long Island at the Schwartz Center in Brookyln, N.Y. ... Robert Morris is the only current team in the Northeast Conference to have won back-to-back league titles, having accomplished the feat twice (1982 and 1983 and 1989 and 1990) ... Former members Marist (1986 and 1987) and Rider (1993 and 1994) also won back-to-back NEC titles, with Rider the last team to turn the trick ... The Colonials have advanced to the semifinals of the NEC Tournament 14 times in school history, the second most of any team in the league behind only Fairleigh Dickinson (17) ... The 43 points RMU held Saint Francis (Pa.) in the 2004 tournament quarterfinals is the fewest points scored in a tourney game ... The Colonials are one of four teams to score 100 points in a tournament game, joining Long Island, Wagner and Saint Francis (Pa.) ... Former Colonial Gene Nabors (1995-2000) owns two of the top six tournament scoring games in league history, with 38 points against the Red Flash (3/3/00) and 35 against Mount St. Mary's (3/4/00) ... Former Colonials Vaughn Luton (1986-89), Myron Walker (1990-94) and Jeremy Chappell (2005-09) are three of 11 players in league history to be named the NEC Player of the Year, then went on to claim NEC Tournament MVP honors ... Robert Morris owns a share of the longest NEC Tournament winning streak in league history at eight games ... The Colonials owned an eight-game tourney winning streak from 1982 to 1984.

Central Connecticut State Game Notes - Robert Morris earned its sixth straight win over the Blue Devils and improved to 16-11 (.593) all-time against CCSU ... The Colonials hit seven of their first 11 shots from the field but finished the first half just 9-of-22 (40.9 percent)... Overall RMU converted 46.8 percent (22-of-47) of its shots ... Central Connecticut State shot 47.8 percent (22-for-46) ... Robert Morris held a 30-22 edge in rebounding, including a 13-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

The White House - One Colonial playing his best basketball of the season in the stretch run of the 2009-10 campaign has been senior forward Josiah Whitehead. Having played sparingly in the first few months of the season, Whitehead has done an about face in the last 10 games against Northeast Conference opponents, converting a white hot 73.7 percent (28-for-38) of his shots from the floor and 75 percent (18-for-24) of his attempts at the free-throw line over that span in averaging 7.4 points and 2.3 rebounds while playing an average of 15.4 minutes per contest. Five times over that stretch Whitehead has scored in double figures, including 10 points in a 71-63 win over No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State (3/4/10) in the 2010 NEC Tournament Quarterfinals.

Home Cooking - No Colonial has enjoyed playing at the Charles L. Sewall Center this season more than freshman guard Karon Abraham. In 14 games at home in 2009-10, Abraham has averaged 15.1 points per game while shooting 48.7 percent (56-for-115) from the field, including 48.8 percent (40-for-82) from long range, and 89.4 percent (59-for-66) from the free-throw line.

Surf Board - A big key to the success RMU has had in Northeast Conference games this season has been its ability to rebound. The Colonials have outrebounded 10 of their last 16 league foes, including a 30-22 edge on the glass in a 71-63 victory over No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State (3/4/10) in the 2010 NEC Tournament Quarterfinals. So far this season Robert Morris is 15-1 (.938) when outrebounding its opponent and owns a sparkling record of 50-3 (.943) in three seasons under head coach Mike Rice when turning the trick.

Three's Company - Thanks to a 2-for-5 performance from beyond the arc @ Pittsburgh (2/8/10), freshman guard Karon Abraham, the 2010 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, established a new RMU freshman record for three-pointers. On the 2009-10 campaign Abraham owns 76 three-pointers, breaking the old mark of 56 that was held by former guard Bubba Donnelly (1991-95) during the 1991-92 campaign. Abraham also established a new Robert Morris freshman mark for free throws earlier this season and enters Sunday's game against Mount St. Mary's with 117 on the year. For Abraham, it's two of three key freshman records Abraham has established this season ...

Biscuit in the Basket - Freshman guard Karon Abraham led Robert Morris in scoring in a 71-63 win over No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State (3/4/10) with 18 points, and he enters Sunday's tilt against the Mount as RMU's leading scorer at 13.1 points per game. Thanks to a three-pointer with 5:45 to play against the Blue Devils that gave the Colonials a 55-51 lead, Abraham established a new Robert Morris freshman mark for points. Abraham owns a team-high 419 points this season, and he snapped the old record of 410, which was held by former guard Jeremy Chappell (2005-09) in 2005-06.

Moving On Up - Already having established a new RMU freshman record for three-pointers with 76, freshman guard Karon Abraham cracked the top five in the Colonial single-season record book for three-pointers by going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in a 71-63 win over No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State (3/4/10) in the 2010 NEC Tournament Quarterfinals. Abraham's total currently ranks fifth all-time.

Green Day - Senior forward Dallas Green was one of five Colonials to score in double figures in a 71-63 victory over No. 7 seed Central Connecticut State (3/4/10) in the 2010 NEC Tournament Quarterfinals by contributing 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and a 2-for-2 performance from the free-throw line. So far this season RMU is a perfect 6-0 when Green scores in double figures, and over the last four years the Colonials are 14-1 (.933) when he scores at least 10 points in a game. RMU has won 13 straight contests when Green reaches the double-figure scoring plateau, as the last loss came in a 111-107 overtime setback @ Seton Hall (11/18/08) as part of The Philly Hoop Group Classic.