RMU Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #22
Bryant (13-8, 5-1 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (11-10, 6-0 NEC)
Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 • 8:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
TV: ESPNU with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) & Adrian Branch (color)
Radio: 970 ESPN AM with 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 continues a four-game homestand in search of its seventh consecutive win Thursday when it hosts Bryant at the Charles L. Sewall Center for an 8:00 p.m. tip in a game that will be televised live on ESPNU. The Colonials are coming off a 74-70 victory over Wagner to extend their season-high winning streak to six games. Robert Morris took control against the Seahawks with a 13-2 run that opened up its biggest lead of the game, 61-55, with 7:36 to play and was able to seal the win by going 8-for-10 at the free-throw line in the final minute and-a-half of action. Senior guard Karvel Anderson led four players in double figures for RMU with a game-high 21 points while also adding three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate added 12 points, while junior forward Lucky Jones and freshman guard Kavon Stewart each supplied 10 points. RMU closes out its homestand at the Sewall Center after taking on the Bulldogs Thursday with a 4:00 p.m. tip against Central Connecticut State Saturday, Feb. 1. 


 
Quick Stat of the Night - Senior guard Karvel Anderson led Robert Morris in its 74-70 victory over Wagner (1/25/14) with a game-high 21 points, notching his ninth game of 2013-14 season eclipsing the 20-point plateau. Anderson cracked the top 10 in the RMU single-season record book for three-pointers, as he enters Thursday's game against Bryant ranked 10th with 72. Anderson has been extremely effective at home in the Charles L. Sewall Center this season, averaging 20.6 points in seven games while shooting 60 percent (48-for-80) from the field, including 61.5 percent (31-for-52) from dep, and 84.2 percent (16-for-19) at the free-throw line. Anderson is looking to become the first Colonial to average at least 20 points per game at home since former Colonial A.J. Jackson (2003-08) averaged 20.8 points and 11.3 rebounds in 13 contests at the Sewall Center during the 2005-06 campaign.  
 
Thursday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Bryant and Robert Morris square off on the hardwood for the ninth time Thursday, with the Colonials owning a 7-1 (.875) advantage in the all-time series. In the opening contest of the 2013-14 season series, RMU earned a 71-67 win over the Bulldogs in Smithfield, R.I., at the Chace Athletic Center (1/11/14). Senior guard Karvel Anderson hit a jumper with 38 seconds to play that snapped a 67-67 tie and finished with a game-high 32 points in the victory. In a contest that featured 13 ties and 19 lead changes, Anderson scored the final nine points for Robert Morris and finished 12-of-23 shooting from the field, including 6-for-13 from deep. He also added four rebounds and four assists.  
 
Finding His Footing - Kavon Stewart has had an up-and-down rookie season, but the freshman guard seems to be settling in as RMU's reserve point guard. In his last four games, Stewart has averaged 7.3 points, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals while posting an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.67. In a 74-70 win over Wagner (1/25/14), Stewart scored 10 points and led the Colonials in assists with four. He enters Thursday's tilt with Bryant ranked seventh against NEC foes in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.71). 
 
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 548 career caroms, became the 17th member of the fraternity and based on his current rebounding average of 6.3 per contest is on pace to finish the regular-season with 611 rebounds. That total would rank seventh all-time entering his final season of eligibility in 2014-15. Jones enters Thursday's game as RMU's active leading scorer with 988 points and, based on his current scoring average (14.1 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 Bryant as RMU's leading scorer, producing an average of 19.0 points per game, and is threatening to establish a new single-season school record for three-pointers. Anderson, who leads the NEC in three-point field goals made per game (3.43), is on pace to conclude the 2013-14 regular season with 106 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 54 career contests, Anderson has drilled 154 three-pointers, an average of 2.85 per game that would establish a new career record. He enters this week's action ranked third in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage (47.7%) and 10th in the three-point field goals made per game.
 
Dynamic Duo - While senior guard Karvel Anderson has been RMU's leading scorer so far this season thanks in large part to his ability to convert from beyond the arc, junior forward Lucky Jones has developed into a solid outside shooter, as well. Jones enters Thursday's game against Bryant ranked eighth in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.402) and 12th in three-point field goals made per game (1.86). Through the first 21 games of the 2013-14 campaign, the duo of Anderson and Jones has combined for 111 three-pointers, an average of 5.29 per game. The pair are on pace to finish the regular season with 164 triples, which would establish a new single-season school record for three-pointers by a Robert Morris tandem.
 
International Waters - Robert Morris produced 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 21 games this season, RMU has converted 166 of its 402 attempts (41.3%) from beyond the arc. Robert Morris enters Thursday's game against Bryant leading the Northeast Conference and ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage while ranking third in three-point field goals made per game (7.90). The Colonials are 29-5 (.853) in four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole when converting at least 10 three-pointers in a game, including 6-2 (.750) in 2013-14.
 
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 54 career games with the Colonials, Anderson has scored 813 points, an average of 15.1 points per contest. At his current scoring average (19.0 ppg), Anderson is on pace to conclude the 2013-14 regular season with 1,003 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. 

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