Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #15
Robert Morris (5-9) @ Alabama (5-7)
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014 • 5:30 p.m. EST
Coleman Coliseum (15,383) • Tuscaloosa, Ala.
 
TV: ESPN3 with Dave Baker (play-by-play) & Kyle Macy (color)
Radio: 970 ESPN AM with Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Duzyk (color)
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Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concludes the non-conference portion of its 2013-14 schedule in continuing a five-game road trip Saturday afternoon when it visits Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a 5:30 p.m. EST tip against Alabama at the Coleman Coliseum. The Colonials, who are 0-2 on their current five-game road swing and 2-8 (.200) overall on the road so far this season, are coming off a 92-66 setback @ No. 6 Oklahoma State (12/30/13). Senior guard Karvel Anderson paced RMU against the Cowboys with 16 points, while senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate finished with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. The Colonials open Northeast Conference play after taking on the Crimson Tide Saturday, closing out its five-game road swing with a pair of games in New England. RMU will visit Fairfield, Conn., for a 7:00 p.m. against Sacred Heart Thursday, Jan. 9, before a 1:00 p.m. tip against Bryant in Smithfield, R.I., Saturday, Jan. 11. In all, the Colonials will have traveled 5,572 miles during its five-game road trip.      


 
Quick Stat of the Night - RMU's point guard tandem of senior Anthony Myers-Pate and freshman Kavon Stewart have settled in nicely as the Colonials wrap up their non-conference slate Saturday @ Alabama and gear up for Northeast Conference play next week. Over the last six games, the duo has combined for 55 assists (9.17 per contest) against just 17 turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.24. Myers-Pate has been extremely effective during that stretch, posting 34 dimes against just six miscues, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.67. He enters Saturday's game against the Crimson Tide ranked fourth in the NEC in assists per game (4.71) while ranking second in the circuit in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.00). Thanks to the solid skills handling the ball of Myers-Pate and Stewart, as a team Robert Morris leads the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22). Myers-Pate is RMU's active leader in career assists with 381 and is just five dimes shy of moving into ninth place all-time at Robert Morris. Former Colonial Gene Nabors (1995-2000) concluded his career with 385 assists.
 
Saturday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Robert Morris and Alabama will meet for the first time on the hardwood Saturday. The Crimson Tide are one of two opponents on RMU's 2013-14 non-conference slate the Colonials have never played in their 38-year Division I history, joining UT Arlington. Robert Morris defeated the Mavericks in their lone home game of the Keightley Classic, 88-81, at the Charles L. Sewall Center (11/21/13). In that contest senior guard Karvel Anderson scored 24 points to lead the Colonials, hitting eight of his 10 shots from beyond the arc.
 
Shooter - Senior guard Karvel Anderson enters the new year as RMU's leading scorer, producing an average of 17.4 points per game. Anderson, who leads the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.442), ranks second in three-point field goals made per game (3.29) and fifth in scoring, is threatening to establish a new single-season school record for three-pointers. At his current pace, Anderson is slated to conclude the 2013-14 regular season with 102 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 47 career contests, Anderson has drilled 128 three-pointers, an average of 2.72 per game that would establish a new career record.
 
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 Saturday's game @ Alabama ranked fifth in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.412) and 10th in three-point field goals made per game (2.00). Through the first 14 games of the 2013-14 campaign, the duo of Anderson and Jones has combined for 74 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.
 
Chuck It Out - Junior guard Charles Oliver provided Robert Morris with a boost off the bench in its first game of a five-game road trip @ Oakland (12/22/13), scoring a career-high 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and a 4-for-6 performance at the free-throw line. Over his last four games entering Saturday's tilt @ Alabama, Oliver is averaging 10.5 points while shooting 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from the floor, including 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from deep. He currently ranks 11th in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 38.3 percent (18-for-47). 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 9.0 points per contest while shooting 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from the field, including 46.2 percent (18-for-39) from deep.
 
Double Nickel On A Dime - Senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate dished out a season-high nine assists in RMU's 88-81 victory over UT Arlington (11/21/13) to go along with 10 points, and thanks to his performance cracked the top 10 all-time in program history for career dimes. Myers-Pate enters Saturday's tilt @ Alabama with 381 career assists, a total that is just five dimes shy of moving into ninth place all-time at Robert Morris. Through 14 games of the 2013-14 season, Myers owns 66 assists against 22 turnovers to rank second in the Northeast Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.00) while ranking fifth in the circuit in assists per game (4.71). In 115 career contests, Myers-Pate has proven to be a steady ball handler, posting a career 1.96 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

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