Game Notes (PDF)
GAME #11
Robert Morris (3-7) @ Duquesne (3-4)
Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013 • 2:00 p.m.
A.J. Palumbo Center (4,406) • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Radio: 970 ESPN AM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Elias (color)
Follow RMU Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram: RMUMBasketball
Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team returns to action after a week off looking to snap a five-game losing streak Saturday when it takes on Duquesne in a 2:00 p.m. tilt at the A.J. Palumbo Center. The Colonials are coming off an 80-77 setback to Toledo (12/7/13) despite shooting a season-high 63.3 percent (31-for-49) from the field. Junior forward Lucky Jones paced RMU against the Rockets with a career-high 25 points, hitting 10 of his 12 shots from the floor, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, while also posting three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior guard Karvel Anderson added 23 points against Toledo, drilling nine of his 11 shots from the floor, including 5-of-6 from deep, and also grabbed four rebounds. Anderson, who leads RMU and ranks third in the Northeast Conference in scoring at 18.6 points per game, has eclipsed the 20-point plateau five times in 10 games. Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center after taking on the Dukes Saturday, welcoming Campbell for a 7:00 p.m. tip Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Quick Stat of the Night - Senior guard Karvel Anderson is one of the purest shooters to don a Robert Morris uniform in a long time, and in getting off to a solid start in 2013-14 is looking to break a single-season record that has stood at RMU for almost a quarter of a century. Anderson leads the Colonials with 35 three-pointers, an average of 3.50 per game that leads the Northeast Conference and is tied for 14th in NCAA Division I with Jarrell Eddie of Virginia Tech and Damon Lynn of NJIT entering this week's action. Anderson is on pace to finish the regular season with 109 three-pointers, which would break the single-season mark of 93 that former guard Scott Shepherd (1988-91) established in his first season at Robert Morris in 1988-89. In 43 career games at RMU, Anderson has compiled 117 three-pointers, an average of 2.72 per contest that would stand as a career record with the Colonials.
Saturday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - RMU and Duquesne will meet for the 24th time Saturday, with the Dukes holding a 15-8 (.652) advantage in the all-time series. Robert Morris has won three straight over Duquesne for the first time in the all-time series after posting a 91-60 victory at the Charles L. Sewall Center (12/15/12) in last year's meeting. In the win the Colonials shot 65.6 percent (21-for-32) from the field in the second half en route to the victory as former guard Velton Jones (2008-13) led Robert Morris with 22 points and six assists. Forward Mike McFadden added 12 points, while forward Lucky Jones chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals. In RMU's last game at the A.J. Palumbo Center (12/6/11), the Colonials used a late 10-2 run to pull out a 64-60 victory.
Get Lucky - Junior forward Lucky Jones has established a career high in points in each of his last two games and is coming off a 25-point performance against Toledo (12/7/13). Jones is proving to be an adept shooter, as he enters Saturday's game @ Duquesne having converted 65.8 percent (27-for-41) of his shots from the field over his last four games. Included in that stretch is a success rate of 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from beyond the arc while shooting 80 percent (12-for-15) at the free-throw line. Thanks to the surge, Jones is the only player to rank in the top 10 in the Northeast Conference in field goal, three-point field goal and free-throw percentages. He enters Saturday's tilt against the Dukes ranked sixth in free-throw percentage (.837) and eighth in both field goal (.494) and three-point field goal (.419) percentages.
Shooter - Senior guard Karvel Anderson enters Saturday's game @ Duquesne having reached double figures in scoring in each of RMU's first 10 games of the 2013-14 season as well as 11 straight dating back to last season. It marks the longest streak by a member of the Colonials since former guard Velton Jones (2008-13) scored in double figures in 19 consecutive games from Feb. 19, 2011 to Dec. 22, 2011. During his streak, Anderson is averaging 18.5 points per contest while shooting 50.7 percent (73-for-144) from the field, including 48.1 percent (39-for-81) from deep. Anderson, who scored at least 20 points in a game a total of five times last year, has already eclipsed the 20-point plateau five times this season. Thanks to his 23-point performance against Toledo (12/7/13), Anderson became the 20th player in school history with at least 10 games of 20 or more points.
Defense Wins Championships - At the heart of the resurgence of the RMU basketball program over the last seven seasons has been defense. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign, Robert Morris owns a record of 109-22 (.832) when holding its opponent to less than 70 points. In four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 58-15 (.795) when turning the trick.
