Moon Township, Pa. - A pair of student-athletes from the Robert Morris University men's basketball team were honored with weekly awards by the Northeast Conference Monday, as redshirt junior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) was named the Choice Hotels Co-NEC Player of the Week, while freshman forward Lucky Jones (Newark, N.J. / St. Anthony) earned his second Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week accolade of the 2011-12 campaign.
In helping lead the Colonials to a pair of victories last week in New Jersey, Velton Jones averaged 28.5 points, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals in road wins at Fairleigh Dickinson (1/19/12) and Monmouth (1/21/12).
In a 67-55 victory over the Knights, Velton Jones keyed a 20-5 run to close out the game by scoring seven points and dishing out three assists en route to the win. He finished with a game-high 22 points points and also recorded six assists and three steals in the victory.
Two nights later, Velton Jones exploded for 35 points and added six assists and three steals to lead RMU to an 81-73 overtime victory over the Hawks. The Colonials trailed, 53-38, with 12:20 to play in regulation, but in the final 12 minutes of the second half Velton Jones scored 12 points to help erase the deficit and send the game to overtime. In the extra period, he added six points to help bolster RMU to the victory.
Thanks to his performance against Monmouth, Velton Jones became the 20th player in school history to join the Robert Morris 1,000-point club. He entered the contest 11 points shy of the mark and enters Thursday's game against LIU Brooklyh with 1,024 points.
Lucky Jones is honored with the Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week accolade for the second time, as he was also honored Dec. 5, 2011. In two games last week, Lucky Jones averaged 11.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in assisting the Colonials to wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth.
In the win over the Knights, Lucky Jones tied a career-high with 16 points and added nine rebounds and four steals. During a 20-5 run to close out the game, he provided five points and a pair of steals to propel the Colonials to the victory. Two nights later in the win over the Hawks, Lucky Jones provided seven points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.
Robert Morris, led by second-year head coach Andrew Toole, opens a two-game homestand Thursday, Jan. 26, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against LIU at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
The Colonials own an overall record of 15-6 and are in a four-way tie for second place in the league standings with a 6-2 NEC record. LIU sits in first place with an unblemished 8-0 conference mark.
