Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closes out a two-game homestand Saturday night with a 7:00 p.m. tip against St. Francis (N.Y.) at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Colonials are coming off a 75-66 victory over LIU Brooklyn (1/26/12) that stretched their winning streak to a season-high four games. Redshirt junior guard Velton Jones paced RMU with 23 points and also added six rebounds and seven assists. Redshirt sophomore guard Coron Williams finished with 13 points, while freshman forward Lucky Jones contributed 10 points, five assists and three steals. Robert Morris sits in a three-way tie for second place in the Northeast Conference standings with Saturday's opponent, the Terriers, and Wagner. The Colonials return to the road for a three-game swing after hosting St. Francis (N.Y.), beginning with a 7:00 p.m. tip @ Wagner Thursday, Feb. 2. RMU will also visit Mount St. Mary's (2/4/12) and in-state rival Saint Francis (Pa.) (2/8/11) before returning home to the Sewall Center against the Red Flash Saturday, Feb. 11.

Quick Stat of the Night - Redshirt junior guard Velton Jones seems to be heating up at the right time for Robert Morris. Jones led the Colonials to a 75-66 victory over LIU Brooklyn (1/26/12) at the Charles L. Sewall Center by scoring 23 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and an 8-for-11 performance at the free-throw line. Jones enters Saturday's game against St. Francis (N.Y.) having scored at least 20 points in three straight games and four of his last five contests. Over the last five games, Jones is averaging 24.0 points, 5.2 assists and 2.4 steals per contest. Overall, Jones has scored at least 20 points 10 times in his career, becoming just the 18th player in school history to reach the 20-point plateau in a game on at least 10 occasions.

Saturday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Robert Morris will tip against St. Francis (N.Y.) for the 63rd time Saturday, with the Colonials holding a 38-24 (.613) edge in the all-time series. The two teams split the 2010-11 season series, with the Terriers earning a 65-63 victory over the Colonials at the Pope Center (12/4/10) in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., before RMU posted a 54-51 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) at the Charles L. Sewall Center (1/22/11). In the win at the Sewall Center, Robert Morris trailed by 10 in the first half, 24-14, before rebounding to earn the three-point win in the waning seconds as forward Russell Johnson converted a layup with 10 seconds to play to help seal the victory. Guard Velton Jones led RMU with 18 points and four steals.

Balance Beam - Robert Morris carries a four-game winning streak into Saturday's game riding its hottest stretch of the season offensively. Over the last four games the Colonials are converting 44.5 percent (93-for-209) of their shots from the field, including 40.5 percent (34-for-84) from beyond the arc. While redshirt junior guard Velton Jones has scored in double figures in each of those four contests, RMU is receiving a balanced effort. Over the last four games, six different Colonials have produced a double-figure scoring game. Included in that stretch is a career-high 16 points from freshman forward Lucky Jones in a 67-55 win @ Fairleigh Dickinson (1/19/12) and a career-high 16 points from sophomore guard Anthony Myers in an 81-73 overtime victory @ Monmouth (1/21/12). Over the last four games, Velton Jones is shooting 43.1 percent (28-for-65) from the field, including 46.9 percent (15-for-32) from long range.

Steal City - The defensive pressure Robert Morris has turned up this season shouldn't come as a surprise. The Colonials have forced 349 turnovers this year, recording 144 steals. In a 75-66 win over LIU Brooklyn (1/26/12), RMU recorded 11 thefts, including three each from sophomore guard Anthony Myers and freshman forward Lucky Jones. So far this season the Colonials are averaging 8.00 steals per contest, which leads the Northeast Conference. In two seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, RMU owns a record 11-7 (.611) when finishing with at least 10 steals in a game.

Rockin The Chalk - A big key to the reason that redshirt junior guard Velton Jones leads Robert Morris in scoring this season with an average of 17.2 points per game is his ability to get to the free-throw line. In a 75-66 victory over LIU Brooklyn (1/26/12), Jones finished 8-for-11 at the charity stripe, the seventh time this season he has visited the chalk at least 10 times. Jones enters Saturday's game with St. Francis (N.Y.) with a free-throw percentage of 75.5 percent (123-for-163) and is on pace to establish a new Robert Morris single-season record for free throws. The record of 151 is held by former Colonial Gabe Jackson (1992-95), who established the mark as a senior in 1994-95. Jones is on pace to finish with 173 free throws in 2011-12, and he enters Saturday's tilt ranked fourth all-time at RMU in career free throws made with 313.