Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #28
LIU Brooklyn (8-16, 3-8 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (16-11, 11-1 NEC)
Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
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 continues a three-game homestand Thursday by hosting LIU Brooklyn in a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Colonials opened the homestand with a 69-61 win over Mount St. Mary's (2/15/14) that stretched RMU's winning streak to four. Junior guard Charles Oliver came off the bench to lead Robert Morris against the Mount with a career-high 19 points, hitting seven of his eight shots from the field, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and was also 2-for-2 at the free-throw line. Also scoring in double figures in the win over the Mount for RMU was senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate and sophomore forward Stephan Hawkins. Myers-Pate finished with 11 points, while Hawkins contributed 10 points and five rebounds. During RMU's four-game winning streak, the Colonials are allowing an average of 56.8 points per game on 38.2 percent (84-for-220) from the field, including 26.1 percent (23-for-88) from deep. Robert Morris closes out its three-game homestand after hosting the Blackbirds Thursday with a 4:00 p.m. tip against St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday, Feb. 22.  

 
Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris received a huge lift off the bench in its 69-61 victory over Mount St. Mary's (2/15/14), as junior guard Charles Oliver supplied the Colonials with a careerhigh 19 points to help lift RMU to the win. Oliver is the first member of the Colonials to lead Robert Morris in scoring in a game other than senior guard Karvel Anderson and junior forward Lucky Jones since freshman forward Jeremiah Worthem scored a game-high 21 points in a 77-69 win @ Mount St. Mary's (1/18/14). Oliver enters Thursday's game against LIU Brooklyn having shot 40.3 percent (31-for-77) from beyond the arc this season, which ranks sixth in the Northeast Conference. He joins Anderson and Jones as three of the top eight shooters in the league from deep in the conference, as Anderson leads the circuit at 47 percent (87-for-185), while Jones ranks eighth at 39.5 percent (51-for-129).
 
Thursday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris meet on the hardwood for the 68th time Thursday, with the Colonials holding a 39-28 (.582) advantage in the all-time series. The Colonials garnered a 65-56 victory over the Blackbirds in the opening game of the 2013-14 season series in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Steinberg Wellness Center (2/6/14). Senior guard Karvel Anderson scored each of his game-high 16 points in the second half of the win and finished the contest 6-for-13 shooting from the field, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, while also adding three rebounds and three assists. Also scoring in double figures in the victory was sophomore forward Stephan Hawkins, who contributed 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and a 2-for-2 performance at the free-throw line while also grabbing four rebounds.    
 
Defense Wins Championships - At the heart of the resurgence of the Robert Morris basketball program over the last seven seasons has been defense. Thanks to a 69-61 win over Mount St. Mary's (2/15/14), RMU improved to 119-23 (.838) since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign when holding its opponent to less than 70 points. In four seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 68-16 (.810) when turning the trick.   
 
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 eight games, Hawkins is averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 58 percent (29-for-50) from the field and 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the free-throw line. Four 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). In the last two years, RMU is 16-4 (.800) with Hawkins in the starting lineup. 
 
Breakout - Senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate has stepped up offensively for Robert Morris since the team has moved to an eight-man rotation. Over the last eight games, Myers-Pate is supplying the Colonials with averages of 10.1 points and 2.5 assists per contest while shooting 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the field, including 50 percent (8-for-16) from beyond the arc. In a 79-76 victory over Bryant (1/30/14), Myers-Pate established a career high in points with 21, hitting eight of his nine shots from the field, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, while going 2-for-2 at the free-throw line. Over the last four seasons, Robert Morris is 18-6 (.750) when Myers-Pate scores in double figures.
 
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 60 career games with the Colonials, Anderson has scored 920 points, an average of 15.3 points per contest. At his current scoring average (18.8 ppg), Anderson is on pace to conclude the 2013-14 regular season with 995 career points. Anderson could 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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