Game Notes (PDF)

GAME #32
#8 Fairleigh Dickinson (10-20) vs. #1 Robert Morris (19-12)
2014 Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 • 7:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
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Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Elias (color)
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Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team begins its quest for a league-record eighth Northeast Conference Tournament title Wednesday by hosting No. 8 seed Fairleigh Dickinson at the Charles L. Sewall Center in a 7:00 p.m. tip as part of quarterfinal action of the 2014 NEC Tournament. The Colonials concluded the 2013-14 regular season with an overall record of 19-12 (.613) and claimed their second straight NEC regular-season championship with a ledger of 14-2 (.875) against league foes. In a vote of league head coaches, senior guard Karvel Anderson was named the 2014 NEC Player of the Year, while fourth-year head coach Andrew Toole was named the 2014 NEC Jim Phelan Coach of the Year. In addition to Anderson earning a spot on the 2014 All-NEC First Team, junior forward Lucky Jones was selected to the 2014 All-NEC Second Team. Anderson leads the NEC in scoring at 19.6 points per game, while Jones supplies Robert Morris with averages of 13.3 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per contest.     


 
Quick Stat of the Night - Senior guard Karvel Anderson and junior forward Lucky Jones have been at the center of the Robert Morris offense throughout the 2013-14 campaign, and the pair became just the second tandem in school history to combine for at least 1,000 points in a season when they broke the threshold in RMU's 2013-14 regular-season finale @ Wagner. Anderson and Jones enter the 2014 Northeast Conference Tournament having combined for 1,018 points so far this season, joining former Colonials Myron Walker (1990-94) and Ricky Cannon (1987-92) as the only pair to turn the trick. During the 1991-92 campaign, Walker and Cannon combined for 1,028 points in helping lead Robert Morris to its fifth NEC Tournament title and subsequent berth in the NCAA Tournament. Walker finished with 614 points in 1991-92, an RMU single-season school record, while Cannon contributed 414 points.
 
NEC Tournament Quick Hits - The Colonials own a record of 23-7 (.767) in tournament games played at home, including a record of 18-6 (.750) in games at the Charles L. Sewall Center, 6-8 (.429) in road games and a mark of 5-7 (.417) in neutral site contests … RMU has appeared in the NEC Tournament in each of the past 11 seasons, advancing to the semifinals eight times over that span and the NEC Championship game four times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) … RMU has hosted the NEC Tournament championship game five times (1983, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2009), with the Colonials a perfect 5-0 in those games … RMU is 2-2 in NEC Tournament championship games on the road, with victories @ LIU Brooklyn (1982) and Quinnipiac (2010) and a pair of losses @ LIU Brooklyn (2011, 2012) …  Robert  Morris is one of four programs in the NEC to have won back-to-back league titles, having accomplished the feat three times (1982 & 1983, 1989 & 1990 and 2009 & 2010) … The Colonials have advanced to the semifinals of the NEC Tournament 17 times in school history, tied with Fairleigh Dickinson for the most in league history … The 43 points RMU held Saint Francis U. in the 2004 tournament quarterfinals is the fewest points scored in a tourney game … The Colonials are one of four teams to score 100 points in a tournament game, joining LIU Brooklyn, Wagner and Saint Francis U.

Wednesday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Fairleigh Dickinson and Robert Morris tip for the 69th time Wednesday, with the Colonials holding a 38-30 (.559) edge in the all-time series. RMU enters Wednesday's game against the Knights having won 12 straight over FDU in the all-time series, including a 69-64 win less than a week ago at Stratis Arena (2/27/14) in Hackensack, N.J. In that contest the Colonials outscored the Knights, 22-2, over the final 8:34 of action to earn the win. Senior guard Anthony Myers-Pate got the decisive surge started with a three-pointer, and over the final five minutes of the game FDU went 0-for-8 from the field while suffering a pair of turnovers. Robert Morris was led by senior guard Karvel Anderson, who led all scorers with 22 points, including 17 in the first half.
 
Exclusivity - Junior forward Lucky Jones joined the Robert Morris 1,000-point club in a 74-73 setback to Central Connecticut State (2/1/14), as his layup at the 12:07 mark of the first half helped him become the 22nd player in program history to join the fraternity. Jones finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Blue Devils and enters the 2014 NEC Tournament with 1,102 career points. Earlier this season, Jones also joined the RMU 500-rebound club when he finished with seven boards in RMU's final non-conference tilt of the 2013-14 campaign @ Alabama (1/4/14). Jones is one of just 13 players in school history to eclipse career totals of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and, based on his current averages, is slated to the season with 1,128 points and 638 rebounds, totals that would rank 17th and seventh, respectively, in the career record book.
 
Mission Accomplished - Many have tried over the years, and many have failed. Yet senior guard Karvel Anderson was the one that came through and established a new RMU single-season school record that had stood for almost a quarter of a century. Thanks to a trio of three-pointers in a 71-70 overtime victory over St. Francis Brooklyn (2/22/14), Anderson set a new single-season record for triples and on the year owns 103. That total surpassed the old single-season school record of 93 that was established by former guard Scott Shepherd (1988-91) during the 1988-89 campaign. In 64 career contests, Anderson has drilled 185 three-pointers, an average of 2.89 per game that would also establish a new career record. He enters Wednesday's game ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percentage (46.4%) and 10th in the three-point field goals made per game (3.32).
 
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 the 2014 Northeast Conference ranked 10th in three-point field goals made per game (1.81). The duo of Anderson and Jones has combined for 159 three-pointers, an average of 5.13 per game, which has established a new single-season school record for three-pointers by a Robert Morris tandem. The old record of 156 was established last season by Anderson and former guard Coron Williams (2009-13). Anderson hit 82 triples in 2012-13, while Williams connected for 74.
 
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 69-64 win @ Fairleigh Dickinson RMU improved to 121-24 (.834) 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 70-17 (.805) when turning the trick.
 
Consistency - If there is one thing that 2014 Northeast Conference Player of the Year Karvel Anderson has been over the course of the 2013-14 campaign, it's been consistent.  Thanks to a game-high 21 points in RMU's 2013-14 regular-season finale, Anderson recorded his 15th game of the year eclipsing the 20-point plateau. That ties an RMU single-season record, which is also held by former Colonials Myron Walker (1990-94), Gene Nabors (1995-2000) and Maurice Carter (2001-05). Walker turned the trick twice, first as a sophomore in 1991-92 in leading RMU to the NEC Tournament championship and again as a senior in 1993-94. Nabors reached the 20-point plateau in 15 games as a senior in 1999-2000 in helping guide the Colonials to the 2000 NEC Tournament championship game, while Carter finished with at least 20 points in 15 contests during his sophomore season in 2002-03.
 
Grand Concourse - Senior guard Karvel Anderson became the 23rd member of the Robert Morris 1,000-point club in RMU's 2013-14 regular-season finale @ Wagner (3/1/14), as his three-pointer at the 18:07 mark of the first half helped him join the fraternity. In 65 career games with the Colonials, Anderson has scored 1,020 points, an average of 15.9 points per contest. Anderson is 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. Anderson would be the 23rd member of the Robert Morris 1,000-point club.
 
Rise Up - Senior guard Karvel Anderson continues to the move up the rankings in a number of different top 10 lists in single-season history at Robert Morris this year, and he has a shot of challenging the program's single-season mark for points scored. One of just eight players in school history to eclipse the 500-point plateau in a season, Anderson enters the 2014 Northeast Conference Tournament with 607 points so far in 2013-14. Based on his current scoring average (19.6 ppg), Anderson is on pace to establish a new single-season record in points in the quarterfinals Wednesday against Fairleigh Dickinson. He is just seven points shy of the record of 614 points that former guard Myron Walker (1990-04) scored as a sophomore in 1991-92.

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