Game Notes (PDF)
GAME #26
Robert Morris (14-11, 9-1 NEC) @ Saint Francis U. (7-16, 5-5 NEC)
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
DeGol Arena (3,500) • Loretto, Pa.
Radio: 970 ESPN AM
Radio Talent: 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 concludes a three-game road trip Thursday by traveling east on Route 22 to Loretto, Pa., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against in-state rival Saint Francis U. at DeGol Arena. The Colonials are coming off a 72-50 victory @ St. Francis Brooklyn (2/8/14) as junior forward
Lucky Jones scored all of his game-high 18 points in the first half to help guide RMU to its second straight win. Senior guard
Karvel Anderson added 13 points in the victory, while sophomore forward Stephan Hawkins contributed 11 points. During RMU's two-game swing through Brooklyn, N.Y., the Colonials posted their two best defensive performances of the season, allowing an average of just 53.0 points in the two games on 33 percent (38-for-115) shooting from the field, including 25 percent (9-for-36) from deep. Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center after taking on the Red Flash Thursday, opening a three-game homestand by hosting Mount St. Mary's in a 4:00 p.m. tip Saturday, Feb. 15. The Colonials will also host LIU Brooklyn (Feb. 20) and St. Francis Brooklyn (Feb. 22) as part of their homestand.
Quick Stat of the Night - Two key reasons Robert Morris enters Thursday's game @ Saint Francis U. in first place in the Northeast Conference and already having clinched a spot in the 2014 NEC Tournament are rebounding and turnovers. Against league opponents, the Colonials lead the NEC in rebounding defense, yielding an average of 32.3 rebounds per contest, and turnover margin at +3.40. Robert Morris, which owns a record of 54-13 (.806) in four seasons under head coach
Andrew Toole when outrebounding its opponent, including a mark of 10-2 (.833) in 2013-14, has outrebounded seven of its first nine opponents in NEC games so far this season. Likewise, the Colonials have also posted fewer turnovers than their league foes in six of their nine contests so far this year. Those factors have allowed Robert Morris to outscore its NEC opponents, 17.0 ppg to 11.6 ppg, so far this year in points off turnovers and 14.6 ppg to 8.8 ppg in second-chance points.
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 75th time Thursday, with the Colonials owning a 46-28 (.622) advantage in the all-time series. RMU enters Thursday's tilt having won 12 straight in the all-time series against the Red Flash, a school record for consecutive victories against a Northeast Conference opponent. In the opening game of the 2013-14 season series, RMU used a 19-3 run in the final 4:19 to earn a 73-68 victory. The Colonials trailed, 65-54, with 4:40 to go but climbed out of the double-digit deficit for the win. Senior guard
Karvel Anderson led all scorers with 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 5-for-10 from deep, while junior forward
Lucky Jones contributed 12 points and six rebounds.
Here Or There - Robert Morris put forth a statistical oddity in its sweep through Brooklyn, N.Y., last week in victories @ LIU Brooklyn (2/6/14) and @ St. Francis Brooklyn (2/8/14) involving its two leading scorers. Junior forward
Lucky Jones scored each of his 27 points in the first half of RMU's two victories last week, while all of senior guard
Karvel Anderson's 29 points came in the second half. Jones shot 76.9 percent (10-for-13) from the field in the first half last week, including 83.3 percent (5-for-6) from deep, while Anderson converted 62.5 percent (10-for-16) of his shots from the floor in the second half, including 70 percent (7-for-10) from downtown.
Hawkeye - Stephan Hawkins has stepped up his game in recent weeks, as the sophomore forward is playing arguably his best stretch of basketball in a Robert Morris uniform. Over the last seven games, Hawkins is averaging 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 53.5 percent (23-for-43) from the field and 86.7 percent (13-for-15) from the free-throw line. Three times during that span Hawkins has scored in double figures, including a career-high tying 12 points in a 91-65 win over Sacred Heart (1/23/14).
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 71 assists against just 22 turnovers in his last 17 games, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.23. Myers-Pate is threatening to shatter the RMU single-season record in assist-to-turnover ratio, as he enters Thursday's game @ St. Francis U. ranked third the NEC in the category at 2.71. 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 1.99, trailing only Timmerson (2.02).
Moving On Up - RMU's 72-50 victory @ St. Francis Brooklyn helped head coach
Andrew Toole move into tie for second place all-time in program history for career victories. Toole enters Thursday's game @ St. Francis U. with a career record of 82-47 (.636). He moved into a tie for second place all-time at Robert Morris with former head coach Mark Schmidt (2001-07), who in six seasons posted a record of 82-90 (.477). RMU's all-time leader in career victories for a head coach is held by Jarrett Durham, who posted 157 wins in 12 seasons guiding the Colonials from 1984 to 1996.
Shooter - Senior guard
Karvel Anderson enters Saturday's game @ St. Francis U. as RMU's leading scorer, producing an average of 18.8 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 (3.40), is on pace to conclude the 2013-14 regular season with 105 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 58 career contests, Anderson has drilled 167 three-pointers, an average of 2.88 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 (48%) and tied for eighth 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 @ St. Francis U. ranked sixth in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.395) and 11th in three-point field goals made per game (1.96). Through the first 25 games of the 2013-14 campaign, the duo of Anderson and Jones has combined for 134 three-pointers, an average of 5.36 per game. The pair are on pace to finish the regular season with 166 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 25 games this season, RMU has converted 198 of its 483 attempts (40.9%) from beyond the arc. Robert Morris enters Thursday's game leading the Northeast Conference and ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage while ranking second in the NEC in three-point field goals made per game (7.92). 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.
