Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #19
Robert Morris (8-10, 3-0) @ Mount St. Mary's (6-10, 2-1)
Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 • 2:00 p.m.
Knott Arena (3,500) • Emmitsburg, Md.
 
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 looks for its fourth straight win Saturday when it travels to Emmitsburg, Md., for a 2:00 p.m. tip against Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena. The Colonials are coming off a 73-68 victory over Saint Francis U. (1/16/14), closing the game on a 19-3 run to climb out of an 11-point deficit for the win. Senior guard Karvel Anderson paced RMU against the Red Flash with 24 points, hitting seven of his 14 shots from the field, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, while going 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. Junior forward Lucky Jones and freshman forward Jeremiah Worthem combined for 24 points and 11 rebounds in the win over SFU, with each scoring 12 points and Jones grabbing a team-high six boards. RMU, which is off to a 3-0 start in league play for the second time in the last three years under fourth-year head coach Andrew Toole, is in search of its first 4-0 start in the NEC since the 2005-06 campaign. Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for a four-game homestand after taking on the Mount, beginning Thursday, Jan. 23, against Sacred Heart. 


 
Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris is off to a 3-0 start in the Northeast Conference due in large part to defense, as the Colonials enter Saturday's game @ Mount St. Mary's tops in the conference against league foes in scoring defense (68.3 ppg). A big key to RMU owning the top mark in scoring defense has been the job the Colonials have been doing on the glass. In the non-conference portion of its schedule, Robert Morris outrebounded its opponent just four times in 15 games but has posted a +19 rebounding margin and outrebounded each of its first three NEC foes. As a team, the Colonials lead the conference against league foes in rebounding defense, yielding just 27.7 caroms per contest. It's been a balanced attack, as well, as five different players have averaged at least 4.0 rebounds the last three games, with junior forward Lucky Jones pulling down an average of 6.3 boards against the NEC. Robert Morris also leads the NEC against conference opponents in steals with an average of 11.33 per contest.
 
Saturday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - RMU and Mount St. Mary's tip for the 55th time Saturday, with the Colonials owning a 28-26 (.519) edge in the all-time series. The two teams split a pair of games last season, with Robert Morris defeating the Mount, 76-68, at the Charles L. Sewall Center (1/26/13) in the only regular-season meeting. In the 2013 Northeast Conference Tournament, Mount St. Mary's returned to the Sewall Center and knocked off the Colonials, 69-60, to deny RMU a spot in the NEC Tournament championship game for the fifth straight year. In that contest, guard Anthony Myers-Pate led RMU with 15 points off the bench, hitting six of his seven shots from the field, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
 
Free Is For Me - Robert Morris has improved its concentration at the free-throw line since entering Northeast Conference play, as the Colonials currently pace the circuit against league foes in free-throw percentage at 84.4 percent (38-for-45). In a 73-68 win over Saint Francis U. (1/16/14), RMU converted 19 of its 22 attempts (86.4 percent) at the chalk, including 5-for-6 performances from senior guard Karvel Anderson and freshmen Jeremiah Worthem and Kavon Stewart. Overall on the 2013-14 campaign, Robert Morris ranks fifth in the NEC in free-throw percentage at 70.2 percent (257-for-366).
 
Worth Consideration - Jeremiah Worthem brings versatility to the table for the Colonials, as the freshman forward has the ability to attack the rim as well as step out and hit the outside shot. In a 73-68 win over Saint Francis U. (1/16/14), Worthem's three-pointer with 3:07 to play was part of a 19-3 run that helped RMU climb out of an 11-point deficit to grab the victory. Worthem enters Saturday's game having hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last six games, converting 54.5 percent (6-for-11) of his attempts from beyond the arc in that span. Overall, Worthem is shooting 42.3 percent (11-for-26) from deep on the 2013-14 campaign.
 
In A Zone - While senior guard Karvel Anderson exploded for 92 points in RMU's first three games of the Northeast Conference slate, what may get lost is how consistent he has been all season. Anderson has scored in double figures in 17 of RMU's 18 games this year and since the beginning of December is averaging 20.7 points per game, a stretch of 10 contests, while shooting 56.3 percent (76-for-135) from the floor, including 50 percent (39-for-78) from beyond the arc.
 
Wouldn't It Be Grand - Senior guard Karvel Anderson is scoring at a pace not seen at Robert Morris in a long time, and the transfer from Glen Oaks Community College has an outside shot of joining the RMU 1,000-point club this season. In 51 career games with the Colonials, Anderson has scored 765 points, an average of 15.0 points per contest. At his current scoring average (19.6 ppg), Anderson is on pace to conclude the 2013-14 regular season with 1,019 career points. He would be just the third player in school history to eclipse 1,000 points while playing just two seasons at Robert Morris. The only other Division I player to turn the trick at RMU was former guard Gene Nabors (1995-2000), who scored 1,029 points with the Colonials from 1998 to 2000 after transferring from Louisiana State University (LSU). The first player to accomplish the feat was junior college guard Don Mackey, who scored 1,034 points from 1963 to 1965.
 
Comeback Kids - Robert Morris posted a 73-68 victory over in-state rival Saint Francis U. (1/16/14) by climbing out of an 11-point deficit in the final 4:19 of action. The Colonials trailed, 65-54, with 4:40 to play but closed the game on a 19-3 run to earn the win. It marks the 11th time RMU has climbed out of a double-digit deficit to earn a victory in four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, including the second time in 2013-14. Robert Morris also trailed by 11 @ Lafayette in its first road game of the season, 59-48, before climbing back to earn a 90-81 victory.
 
Double Nickel On A Dime - Senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate led the Colonials in assists in a 64-56 setback @ Alabama with six, helping him move into ninth place all-time at Robert Morris for career dimes. Myers-Pate enters Saturday's game @ Mount St. Mary's with 399 career assists, just one shy of 400 for his career, and so far this season owns 84 assists against 29 turnovers. He leads the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.90) while ranking seventh in the circuit in assists per game (4.67). 

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