Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #16
Robert Morris (5-10, 0-0) @ Sacred Heart (3-12, 0-0)
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
William H. Pitt Center (2,062) • Fairfield, Conn.
 
Radio: 970 ESPN AM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Duzyk (color)
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Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team continues a five-game road trip Thursday by opening Northeast Conference play when it visits Fairfield, Conn., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart at the William H. Pitt Center. The Colonials, who are 0-3 on their current five-game road swing and 2-9 (.222) overall on the road, concluded their 2013-14 non-conference slate with a 64-56 setback @ Alabama (1/4/14). Senior guard Karvel Anderson led RMU against the Crimson Tide with 16 points and enters Thursday's game against the Pioneers leading the Colonials in scoring (17.3 ppg) while pacing the NEC in three-point field goal percentage (.454) and ranking second in the circuit in three-point field goals made per game (3.27). Junior forward Lucky Jones, who supplies Robert Morris with averages of 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest, added 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals against the Crimson Tide. RMU concludes its five-game road trip after taking on Sacred Heart Thursday with a 1:00 p.m. tip against Bryant at the Chase Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I., Saturday, Jan. 11.     
 


Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris opens its 33rd season of competition in the Northeast Conference Thursday @ Sacred Heart and all-time owns a record of 15-17 (.469) in league openers, including a mark of 2-1 (.667) under fourth-year head coach Andrew Toole. The Colonials are opening their NEC slate on the road for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign, when RMU split a pair of games in Brooklyn, N.Y. Robert Morris earned a 70-69 victory @ LIU Brooklyn (12/2/10) before suffering a 65-63 setback @ St. Francis Brooklyn (12/4/10). Thursday's tilt against the Pioneers marks the second time in program history the Colonials will christen their NEC slate against Sacred Heart. RMU dropped a 90-74 decision to the Pioneers at the William H. Pitt Center in the other league opener Dec. 7, 2006. RMU enters NEC play having posted an overall record of 85-23 (.787) against league foes since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign. Last season, Robert Morris claimed the 2013 regular-season title with a mark of 14-4 (.778).
 
Thursday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Robert Morris and Sacred Heart tip for the 25th time Thursday, with the Colonials owning a 16-8 (.667) advantage in the all-time series. RMU enters the contest having won four straight over the Pioneers, including a season series sweep in 2012-13. Robert Morris earned a 66-62 win over Sacred Heart at the Charles L. Sewall Center (1/17/13), followed by a 68-63 victory at the William H. Pitt Center (2/16/13) in Fairfield, Conn. In the sweep last season, forwards Mike McFadden and Lucky Jones each averaged 12.5 points in the two games, combining to shoot 45.2 percent (14-for-31) from the field and 91.7 percent (22-for-24) at the free-throw line.  
 
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 push his career total to an even 500. Jones becomes the 17th member of the fraternity and based on his current rebounding average of 5.6 per contest is on pace to finish the regular-season with 590 rebounds. That total would place him ninth entering his final season of eligibility in 2014-15. Jones enters Northeast Conference action this week as RMU's active leading scorer with 906 points and, based on his current scoring average (14.3 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.
 
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 heats up this week, Myers-Pate enters RMU's league opener @ Sacred Heart Thursday having posted 40 assists against just nine turnovers in his last seven games, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.44. While continuing to assist his teammates, Myers-Pate has also been in his best offensive stretch of the year, averaging 7.1 points in that span.  
 
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 @ Sacred Heart ranked fifth in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.405) and tied for ninth in three-point field goals made per game (2.00). Through the first 15 games of the 2013-14 campaign, the duo of Anderson and Jones has combined for 79 three-pointers, an average of 5.27 per game. The pair are on pace to finish the regular season with 163 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 five games entering Thursday's game @ Sacred Heart, Oliver is averaging 8.8 points while shooting 68.2 percent (15-for-22) from the floor, including 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from deep. He currently ranks 14th 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 8.4 points per contest while shooting 52.5 percent (32-for-61) from the field, including 46.2 percent (18-for-39) from deep.
 
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 Thursday's Northeast Conference opener @ Sacred Heart with 387 career assists and so far this season owns 72 assists against 25 turnovers. He ranks second in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.88) while ranking sixth in the circuit in assists per game (4.80). In 116 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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