Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #3
Robert Morris (2-0) @ Eastern Michigan (2-0)
Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 • 7:30 p.m.
EMU Convocation Center (8,754) • Ypsilanti, Mich.
Radio: 970 ESPN AM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Duzyk (color)
 
Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team continues a three-game road trip and opens play in the Keightley Classic Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. tip against Eastern Michigan at the EMU Convocation Center. The Colonials opened their road swing with a 90-81 victory @ Lafayette (11/12/13) to improve to 2-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign and second time under fourth-year head coach Andrew Toole. Senior guard Karvel Anderson scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half against the Leopards, all of which came in the final 6:15 as RMU erased an 11-point deficit. Anderson was one of five Colonials to reach double figures in scoring, as junior forward Lucky Jones added 14 points while senior forward Mike McFadden and junior guards David Appolon and Desjuan Newton each scored 10 points. Robert Morris continues play in the Keightley Classic after taking on the Eagles Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Kentucky at Rupp Arena Sunday, Nov. 17.


 
Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris has hung its hat on defense during its golden era, but the start of the 2013-14 season has the Colonials showing an offensive prowess not seen in a long time, even with six newcomers dotting the roster. RMU earned an 86-66 win over Savannah State (11/9/13) in its season opener, followed by a 90-81 victory @ Lafayette (11/12/13) in its first road game of the year. It marks the first time the Colonials have scored at least 85 points in each of its first two games of the season since the 2002-03 campaign and just the second time in the program's 38-year Division I history. Robert Morris has never opened a season eclipsing the 85-point plateau in each of its first three contests. 
 
Thursday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Robert Morris and Eastern Michigan will square off on the hardwood for the fourth time Thursday, with the Eagles having won each of the previous three meetings in the all-time series. Thursday's tilt marks the first meeting between the two programs since Nov. 26, 2002, when EMU garnered a 99-85 victory over the Colonials. In that game, the coach of the Eagles at the time was Jim Boone, who served as RMU's head coach from 1996 to 2000. Leading the way for Robert Morris in that contest was former guard Maurice Carter (2001-05), who established a Division I single-game school record with 42 points. Carter finished 16-for-26 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, and was also 6-for-8 at the free-throw line. Despite the 42 points by Carter, he ranks second all-time in program history for points in a game by a Robert Morris student-athlete. Former junior college standout Don Mackey (1963-65) scored 43 points in a 125-111 win over Walsh Jan. 30, 1965.
 
Comeback Kids - Robert Morris earned a 90-81 victory @ Lafayette (11/12/13) in its first road game of the 2013-14 campaign by climbing out of an 11-point deficit in the second half. The Colonials fell behind the Leopards, 59-48, with 14:01 remaining before coming back to tie the score, 70-70, and closing the game 15-6 run to earn the win. It marks the 10th time RMU has climbed out of a double-digit deficit to earn a victory in four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole.
 
International Waters - Robert Morris is coming off a record-breaking season in shooting from beyond the arc in 2012-13, and the Colonials have picked up right where they left off from a season ago. Through the first two games of the 2013-14 season, RMU has converted 22 of its 45 attempts (48.9 percent) from beyond the arc. It's been a balanced attack, as six different Colonials have hit at least a pair of three-pointers, including a team-high seven trifectas from senior guard Karvel Anderson. Robert Morris has drilled 11 three-pointers in each of its first two games of the 2013-14 campaign, helping the Colonials improve to 25-3 (.893) in four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole when converting at least 10 three-pointers in a contest.
 
Karvelous - Senior guard Karvel Anderson was again the leading offensive force for Robert Morris in a 90-81 victory @ Lafayette (11/12/13), scoring 21 points to pace the Colonials. Thanks to a game-high 21 points in an 86-66 win over Savannah State (11/9/13) in RMU's 2013-14 season opener, Anderson is the first Colonial to eclipse the 20-point plateau in each of the first two games of a season since former forward A.J. Jackson (2003-08) averaged 24.0 points over RMU's first four contests of the 2006-07 campaign. Anderson has scored 42 points in his first two games this season, 34 of which have come in the second half. So far this season after halftime, Anderson is averaging 17.0 points while shooting 64.7 percent (11-for-17) from the field, including 62.5 percent (5-for-8) from deep, and a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.
 
There's An App For That - Junior guard David Appolon played arguably his best game in an RMU uniform in a 90-81 victory @ Lafayette (11/12/13), contributing a career-high 10 points off the bench while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists. Appolon hit four of his five shots from the field against the Leopards, including both of his attempts from deep, and ignited RMU's comeback from an 11-point deficit in the second half. Trailing, 59-48, with 14:01 to play, Appolon scored five consecutive points to help start a 22-11 surge that tied the game, 70-70, with 5:35 to go. 
 
Big Mac - There may not be another member of the 2013-14 Robert Morris roster playing with more confidence right now than senior forward Mike McFadden. In RMU's first two games of the 2013-14 season McFadden has averaged 11.5 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds while shooting an even 50 percent (8-for-16) from the field. McFadden, who hit a pair of free throws with 8.7 seconds to play to help lift the Colonials to arguably their biggest win in school history in the first round of the 2013 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) with a 59-57 win over Kentucky, enters Thursday's tilt @ Eastern Michigan with career totals of 665 points and 313 rebounds. He also owns a career shooting percentage of .524 (263-for-502), which ranks sixth all-time at RMU. In 62 career games with the Colonials, however, McFadden's career field goal percentage is 55.1 percent (207-for-376).

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