RMU Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #18
Saint Francis U. (3-12, 1-1) vs. Robert Morris (7-10, 2-0)
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014 • 7 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
Radio: 970 ESPN AM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Elias (color)
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Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for the first time in almost a month Thursday when it welcomes in-state rival Saint Francis U. for a 7:00 p.m. tip. The Colonials are coming off a 71-67 victory @ Bryant (1/11/14), which wrapped up a five-game road trip. RMU finished 2-3 (.400) on its road swing, picking up both of its victories in Northeast Conference play. Senior guard Karvel Anderson led RMU in its win over the Bulldogs with 32 points, hitting 12 of his 23 shots from the floor, including 6-for-13 from beyond the arc, while hitting his only two attempts at the free-throw line. Anderson scored the final nine points of the game for Robert Morris, including a jumper with 38 seconds left that snapped a 67-67 tie. Freshman forward Jeremiah Worthem added 10 points and six rebounds in the win @ Bryant, while junior forward Lucky Jones compiled nine points, a game-high 11 rebounds and three steals. RMU returns to the road after hosting SFU Thursday, visiting Emmitsburg, Md., Saturday, Jan. 18, for a 2:00 p.m. tip against Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena.  

  
 
Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris has employed a 2-3 zone on the defensive end this season after struggling earlier this year with its man-to-man defense, and the Colonials put forth their best stretch of the year with it in starting 2-0 in Northeast Conference play thanks to road victories @ Sacred Heart (1/9/14) and @ Bryant (1/11/14) last week. Getting comfortable in the zone allowed RMU to register 23 steals in the two wins, including a season-high 13 in a 79-70 win over the Pioneers. Robert Morris, which has led the NEC in steals in four of the last six seasons, enters Thursday's game against in-state rival Saint Francis U. ranked fourth in the NEC in steals with 6.59 per game. Bryant currently leads the circuit with an average of 6.88 steals per contest. RMU's active leader in steals is senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate, who registered six thefts in two games last weekend and owns 127 career steals. Senior guard Karvel Anderson and junior forward Lucky Jones, meanwhile, currently lead the Colonials so far this season in steals with 19 each. 
 
Thursday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - The longest running rivalry in program history, Saint Francis U. and Robert Morris will meet for the 74th time Wednesday, with the Colonials owning a 45-28 (.616) advantage in the all-time series. RMU enters Thursday's tilt having won 11 straight in the all-time series against the Red Flash, a school record for consecutive victories against a Northeast Conference opponent. RMU swept the 2012-13 season series from SFU thanks to an 84-70 win at DeGolArena (1/24/13) in Loretto, Pa., followed by a 60-48 victory at the Charles L. Sewall Center (2/6/13). In the two games, guard Karvel Anderson averaged 19.5 points while shooting 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the floor, including 60 percent (6-for-10) from deep. 
 
The 30-30 Club - Senior guard Karvel Anderson became just the second player in school history to eclipse the 30-point plateau in back-to-back games when he turned the trick in RMU's swing through New England to open Northeast Conference play last week. Anderson finished with a career-high 36 points in a 79-70 win @ Sacred Heart (1/9/14), followed by 32 points in a 71-67 victory @ Bryant (1/11/14). Anderson joins former Colonial Gene Nabors (1995-2000), who accomplished the feat in the 2000 NEC Tournament in Trenton, N.J., at Sovereign Bank Arena. In the quarterfinals of the 2000 NEC Tournament, Nabors scored 38 points in a 72-52 win over Saint Francis U. (3/3/00). The next day, Nabors dropped 35 points to lead Robert Morris to an 80-61 win over Mount St. Mary's (3/4/00) in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament.   
 
Joining The Club - Junior forward Lucky Jones joined the Robert Morris 500-rebound club in RMU's final non-conference tilt of the 2013-14 campaign @ Alabama (1/4/14), tying for game-high honors with seven boards to eclipse the mark. Jones, who owns 513 career caroms, became the 17th member of the fraternity and based on his current rebounding average of 5.7 per contest is on pace to finish the regular-season with 593 rebounds. That total would place him ninth all-time entering his final season of eligibility in 2014-15. Jones enters Thursday's game as RMU's active leading scorer with 932 points and, based on his current scoring average (14.2 ppg) and barring injury, will become the 13th player in school history to eclipse both 1,000 points and 500 boards. Jones is on pace to become the 22nd member of the RMU 1,000-point club Jan. 30, 2014, against Bryant.
 
Shooter - Senior guard Karvel Anderson enters Thursday's game against Saint Francis U. as RMU's leading scorer, producing an average of 19.3 points per game, and is threatening to establish a new single-season school record for three-pointers. Anderson, who leads the NEC and ranks eighth in NCAA Division I in three-point field goals made per game (3.59), is on pace conclude the 2013-14 regular season with 111 triples. That total would eclipse the single-season school record of 93 that was established by former guard Scott Shepherd (1988-91) as a sophomore in 1988-89 and has stood for almost 25 years. In 50 career contests, Anderson has drilled 143 three-pointers, an average of 2.86 per game that would establish a new career record.
 
In A Zone - While senior guard Karvel Anderson exploded for 68 points in RMU's first two games of the Northeast Conference slate last weekend in New England, what may get lost is how consistent he has been all season. Anderson has scored in double figures in 16 of RMU's 17 games this year and since the beginning of December is averaging 20.3 points per game, a stretch of nine contests, while shooting 57 percent (69-for-121) from the floor, including 50 percent (34-for-68) from beyond the arc.
 
Chuck It Out - Charles Oliver seems to be settling into his role as a scorer off the bench for Robert Morris, and the junior guard is coming off a solid five-game road trip. Oliver enters Thursday's game against in-state rival Saint Francis U. having averaged 8.2 points over his last five games while shooting 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the field, including 50 percent (7-for-14) from beyond the arc. Included in that stretch was a career-high 18 points @ Oakland (12/22/13). For Oliver, if you subtract a four-game stretch from @ Buffalo (11/26/13) through Toledo (12/7/13) in which he went 0-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, he is averaging 8.0 points per contest while shooting 52.2 percent (36-for-69) from the field, including 45.5 percent (20-for-44) from deep.
 
Protect The Rock - No member of the Colonials has done a better job of protecting the basketball in recent weeks than senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate. As Northeast Conference play gets into full swing, Myers-Pate has posted 48 assists against just 11 turnovers in his last nine games, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.36. Myers-Pate is threatening to shatter the RMU single-season record in assist-to-turnover ratio, as he enters Thursday's tilt against Saint Francis U. leading the NEC in the category at 2.96. The single-season mark of 2.29 was established by former RMU point guard Wade Timmerson (1988-92) during the 1990-91 campaign. Myers-Pate also ranks second in the Robert Morris career record book for assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.98, trailing only Timmerson (2.02).
 
Defense Wins Championships - At the heart of the resurgence of the Robert Morris basketball program over the last seven seasons has been defense. Thanks to a 71-67 victory @ Bryant (1/11/14), RMU improved to 112-23 (.830) since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign when holding its opponent to less than 70 points. In four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 61-16 (.792) when turning the trick.

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