Men's Basketball | 11/14/2015 8:23:00 PM

GAME 2
Robert Morris (0-1) @ Cincinnati (1-0)
Sunday, November 15, 2015 • 2:00 p.m.
Fifth Third Arena (13,176) • Cincinnati, Ohio

Radio: 1250 AM WPGP
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
TV: FSO/ESPN 3
TV Talent: Tom Gelehrter (pxp) & Terry Nelson (color)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closes out a two-game road swing to open its 2015-16 campaign Sunday with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

- RMU opened its 2015-16 season with a 76-75 setback @ Penn (11/13/15). Senior guard Rodney Pryor's jumper from the elbow with 3.2 seconds left that would have given the Colonials the win was off the mark.
 
- Pryor scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half against the Quakers and finished 12-for-19 shooting, including 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed eight rebounds and posted a pair of blocks.
 
- Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie contributed a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds @ Penn (11/13/15), while junior guard Kavon Stewart finished with 12 points, three assists and a pair of steals.
 
- Robert Morris returns four starters and six letterwinners from a 2014-15 squad that finished with an overall record of 20-15 (.571), including a 12-6 (.667) mark in the Northeast Conference. The Colonials posted their 10th consecutive winning season.
 
- RMU earned its eighth NEC Tournament title and subsequent bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and posted its first victory in the Big Dance since 1983 and second overall in program history with an 81-77 win over North Florida (3/18/15) in the 2015 NCAA First Four. In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Colonials fell to eventual national champion Duke (3/20/15), 85-56.
 
- RMU was tabbed second in the 2015 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, the 10th consecutive year the Colonials have been picked to finish in the top three in the league. Senior guard Rodney Pryor was named to the Preseason All-NEC Team.
 
- Pryor led the Colonials in scoring last season at 15.6 points per game and was named the 2015 NEC Tournament MVP. In three games of the NEC Tournament, Pryor averaged 14.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and scored a team-high 17 points in the NEC Tournament championship game, a 66-63 win @ St. Francis Brooklyn (3/10/15).
 
- Since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, RMU has compiled an overall record of 183-96 (.656), with the 183 victories ranking ninth among mid-major programs in the last eight years. The Colonials have won at least 20 games in seven of the last eight seasons and have also appeared in seven postseason tournaments, including three appearances each in the NCAA Tournament (2009, 2010, 2105) and NIT (2008, 2013, 2014) as well as the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
 
- Robert Morris opens the home portion of its 2015-16 slate Wednesday, Nov. 18, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Bucknell at the Charles L. Sewall Center after taking on Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.


 
Penn Tidbits - Robert Morris dipped to 20-20 (.500) all-time in season openers by dropping a 76-75 decision @ Penn (11/13/15) ... The Colonials fell to 3-16 (.158) all-time in season openers on the road ... RMU shot 50 percent (16-for-32) from the field, including 50 percent (6-for-12) from beyond the arc, in the second half against the Quakers ... Sam Jones led Penn with 21 points on the strength of a 5-for-12 performance from beyond the arc ... The Colonials slipped to 0-2 in the all-time series against Penn, with both losses coming under head coach Andrew Toole, who is a 2003 graduate of the University of Penn ... Robert Morris held a 36-29 advantage in rebounding against the Quakers.
 
Comeback Kids - Robert Morris has made a habit of climbing out of double-digit deficits under head coach Andrew Toole, and that bore fruit in RMU's 2015-16 season opener. The Colonials trailed Penn at halftime, 44-28, and faced a 17-point deficit, 51-34, with 14:56 to play before roaring back to grab a 72-71 lead with under four minutes to play. It marks the 21st time under sixth-year head coach Andrew Toole the Colonials have erased a double-digit deficit. On 19 of those occasions Robert Morris has earned a victory.
 
Picking Up Where He Left Off - Senior guard Rodney Pryor, who was tabbed to the 2015 Preseason All-NEC Team, picked up where he left off from last season in RMU's 2015-16 season opener @ Penn (11/13/15). Thanks to a game-high 28 points against the Quakers, Pryor enters Sunday's game @ Cincinnati having reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 11 games dating back to last season. During that stretch, Pryor is averaging 21.1 points per contest while converting an average of 3.27 three-pointers per game.
 
Minnie Me - While senior guard Rodney Pryor is off to a good start in 2015-16, the same can be said of Elijah Minnie. The sophomore center scored a career-high 15 points and also tied for game-high honors in rebounds (9) in RMU's 2015-16 season opener @ Penn (11/13/15). Minnie shot 6-for-13 from the field against the Quakers, including a 3-for-5 performance from beyond the arc, and over his last eight games dating back to last year is shooting 52.5 (32-for-61) from the floor.
 
Fresh Prince - Freshman guard Matty McConnell, who started in RMU's 2015-16 season opener @ Penn (11/13/15), became just the seventh true freshman to earn a start in his collegiate debut in the program's 40-year Division I history. McConnell played 34 minutes against the Quakers, supplying seven points, a team-high five assists and a pair of steals. McConnell is also the third true freshman to start his first Division I game under sixth-year head coach Andrew Toole, joining Yann Charles (2010) and Elijah Minnie (2014). Also earning starts in their first collegiate games were Forest Grant (1980), Keith Jones (1995), Jeremy Chappell (2005) and Jonathan Clark (2005).

Tweet #ColonialPride