Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #12
Campbell (4-6) vs. Robert Morris (4-7)
Wednesday, December 18, 2013 • 7:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.
Radio: 970 ESPN AM with Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Elias (color)
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Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team searches for its second straight win Wednesday when it welcomes Campbell to the Charles L. Sewall Center for a 7:00 p.m. tilt. The Colonials are coming a 67-63 victory @ Duquesne (12/14/13), which snapped a five-game losing streak, as senior guard Karvel Anderson scored a game-high 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. Anderson was one of four players to reach double figures for RMU against the Dukes, as freshman forward Jeremiah Worthem added 15 points and senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate and junior guard Charles Oliver each supplied 10 points. Robert Morris returns to the road for a five-game road trip after hosting the Camels Wednesday, beginning in Rochester, Mich., against Oakland Sunday, Dec. 22, in a 1:00 p.m. tip. The Colonials will also visit Oklahoma State (12/30/13) and Alabama (1/4/14) to close out non-conference play and will open Northeast Conference action with road tilts @ Sacred Heart (1/9/14) and Bryant (1/11/14) as part of its longest road trip of the 2013-14 campaign.


 
Quick Stat of the Night - Lucky Jones was a key force on the glass in helping Robert Morris snap a five-game losing streak with a 67-63 victory @ Duquesne (12/14/13), as the junior forward pulled down a game-high 11 boards. Thanks to the outburst against the Dukes, Jones pushed his career total in rebounds to 476, leaving him just 24 caroms shy of becoming the 17th member of the RMU 500-rebound club. Jones is also the active leading scorer for the Colonials with a career total of 843 points entering Wednesday's game against Campbell and, barring injury, should become the 13th player in school history to eclipse career totals of both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in 2013-14. Should Jones eclipse 1,000 career points this year, he would be the ninth player in program history to turn the trick in his junior season and the first since former guard Velton Jones (2008-13) accomplished the feat during the 2011-12 campaign.       
 
Wednesday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Campbell and Robert Morris meet on the hardwood for just the second time Wednesday, with the Colonials having won the first meeting between the two programs, 61-58, last season in Buies Creek, N.C., at Gore Arena (12/4/12). Wednesday's game wraps up a home-and-home series between the two programs. In last year's contest guard Karvel Anderson's three-pointer with 4.5 seconds to play helped lift RMU to the victory. The Camels had one last chance, but Trey Freeman's three-pointer as time expired was off the mark. The contest featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes, with forward Lucky Jones leading Robert Moris with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Anderson added 13 points, while forward Mike McFadden chipped in 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Charles In Charge - Junior guard Charles Oliver provided the Colonials with a huge spark off the bench in the second half of a 67-63 victory @ Duquesne (12/14/13) that helped Robert Morris snap a five-game losing streak. In a three-minute stretch, Oliver scored 10 straight points, which helped RMU turn a 44-43 advantage into a 54-48 cushion with 8:40 to play. It marked the third double-figure scoring game of the season for Oliver, who provides the Colonials with another deep threat. In the three games that Oliver has eclipsed the 10-point plateau, he has averaged 11.0 points while shooting 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from the field, including 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from deep. What shouldn't come as a surprise is that in those three contests, RMU is 3-0. In Oliver's other eight games? He is averaging just 3.6 points per contest while shooting 25.6 percent (10-for-39) from the floor, including 20.8 percent (5-for-24) from beyond the arc. 
 
Shooter - Senior guard Karvel Anderson enters Wednesday's game against Campbell having reached double figures in scoring in each of RMU's first 11 games of the 2013-14 season as well as 12 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 18.4 points per contest while shooting 50.3 percent (78-for-155) from the field, including 48.4 percent (44-for-91) 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.   
 
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 11 games of the 2013-14 season, RMU has converted 90 of its 225 attempts (40.0 percent) from beyond the arc. Robert Morris enters Wednesday's tilt against Campbell leading the Northeast Conference in both three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made per game (8.18). Robert Morris has drilled at least 10 three-pointers in five of its first 11 games of the 2013-14 campaign, posting a 4-1 (.800) record in those contests. RMU is 27-4 (.871) in four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole when converting at least 10 three-pointers in a game.
 
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 110-22 (.833) when holding its opponent to less than 70 points. In four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 59-15 (.797) when turning the trick.

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