Men's Basketball | 12/1/2015 12:49:00 AM

GAME 8
Robert Morris (1-6) @ Youngstown State (3-4)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 • 7:00 p.m.
Beeghly Center (6,300) • Youngstown, Ohio

Radio: WPIT AM 730
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Video: ESPN3 • YSUSports.com
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball

Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concludes a five-game road trip Wednesday by traveling to Youngstown, Ohio, for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center.
 
- The Colonials concluded play in the Air Force Classic in their last contest by picking up their first victory of the 2015-16 campaign with a 67-64 win over Mississippi Valley State (11/28/15) at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tenn. Senior guard Rodney Pryor hit a jumper in the lane with 47.1 seconds to play that put RMU in front for good and finished with his second double-double of the year thanks to 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
 
- Junior forward Billy Giles contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a pair of steals in the victory over the Delta Devils, while freshman guard Isaiah Still tallied 10 points, seven boards and three assists.
 
- RMU finished 1-3 (.250) in the Air Force Classic after splitting a pair of games in Cookeville, Tenn. The Colonials fell @ Tennessee Tech (11/27/15), 85-72, prior to knocking off MVSU. Senior guard Rodney Pryor came off the bench to garner game-high honors in scoring against the Golden Eagles with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, while going 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.
 
- Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie contributed 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks @ Tennessee Tech, while junior forward Billy Giles scored a career-high 16 points off the bench, grabbed six boards and posted three blocks.
 
- Prior to falling to Tennessee Tech, Robert Morris suffered an 81-71 loss in overtime @ New Mexico State (11/24/15). Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie paced the Colonials with a career-high 29 points and also added six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
 
- The Colonials opened play in the Air Force Classic with a 64-52 setback @ Air Force (11/22/15). Senior guard Rodney Pryor paced RMU against the Falcons with his first double-double of the year with a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
 
- RMU dropped its 2015-16 home opener to Bucknell (11/18/15), 81-76, at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Senior guard Rodney Pryor led four players in double figures for Robert Morris with 15 points and also added six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
- The Colonials return 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. RMU posted its 10th consecutive winning season.
 
- Robert Morris 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, who led RMU in scoring last season at 15.6 points per game, was named to the 2015 Preseason All-NEC Team.


 
Mississippi Valley State Tidbits - The meeting between the Colonials and Delta Devils marked the first in the all-time series between the two programs ... RMU concluded the Air Force Classic with a record of 1-3 (.250) ... Robert Morris shot a season-high 77.8 percent (14-for-18) at the free-throw line and also posted its best rebounding margin (+12) of the young season ... The Colonials improved to 25-8 (.758) in six seasons under head coach Andrew Toole when compiling at least 40 rebounds thanks to a season-high 44 caroms ... Junior guard Kavon Stewart, who did not start for the first time in 26 games dating back to last season, played only four minutes due to an ankle injury ... Freshman guard Jordan Lester started in place of Stewart and scored seven points and dished out four assists ... Robert Morris produced season highs in points in the paint (38) and second-chance points (15).
 
The Anatomy Of A Road Trip - RMU's participation in the Air Force Classic marked the longest road trip in the program's 40-year history. Over the course of nine days, the Colonials traveled 4,583 miles, stayed in six different hotels and visited six different airports. Robert Morris opened the 2000-01 season with five games in seven days and a nine-day road trip, playing two games in North Carolina (Appalachian State, East Carolina) before taking part in the Energia Systems Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
 
Block Party - Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie set an RMU single-season school record for blocks in his rookie campaign last year by recording 36 rejections, and he continues to protect the rim early in the 2015-16 season. Minnie finished with three blocks in a 67-64 win over Mississippi Valley State (11/28/15) and through seven games this year has already posted 13 rejections. Minnie currently leads the Northeast Conference in blocks per game (1.86) and has already accumulated 49 rejections in 39 career games, an average of 1.26 per contest.
 
Billy The Kid - No member of the Colonials is playing with more confidence right now than junior forward Billy Giles. Giles parlayed a 16-point, seven-rebound performance @ Tennessee Tech (11/27/15) into his first collegiate start in a 67-64 win over Mississippi Valley State (11/28/15). Against the Delta Devils, Giles contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a pair of steals. In four games of the Air Force Classic, Giles averaged 9.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 rebounds while shooting 64 percent (16-for-25) from the field and 70 percent (7-for-10) at the free-throw line.
 
Picking Up Where He Left Off - Senior guard Rodney Pryor has picked up where he left off from last season in the early portion of the 2015-16 season. Thanks to a team-high 17 points in a 67-64 win over Mississippi Valley State (11/28/15), Pryor enters Wednesday's game having reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 17 games dating back to last season. During that stretch, Pryor is averaging an even 20.0 points per contest while converting an average of 2.88 three-pointers per game. Pryor is the seventh player in program history to score in double figures in at least 16 consecutive games.
 
Toe The Line - A key reason senior guard Rodney Pryor has been able to reach double figures in scoring in each of his last 17 games dating back to last season has been his ability to convert when getting to the free-throw line. Pryor enters Wednesday's game @ Youngstown State leading the Northeast Conference in free-throw percentage, having shot 93.8 percent (15-for-16) at the chalk so far this year. During RMU's four-game run in the Air Force Classic, Pryor averaged 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 45.5 percent (30-for-66) from the field and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe.
 
The Chase for 1,000 - Senior guard Rodney Pryor is RMU's active leading scorer with 682 points as the Colonials close out a five-game road trip Wednesday @ Youngstown State. Pryor has scored a team-high 136 points in seven games, a year after leading the Colonials with 546 points last season, and he is looking to become the second player in the last three years to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau in just two seasons at RMU. Former guard Karvel Anderson scored 1,123 points in 69 career games from 2012 to 2014. Pryor needs to average 13.3 points over RMU's final 24 games of the 2015-16 campaign to eclipse 1,000 career points. He would be the fourth player in school history, and third at the Division I level, to score at least 1,000 points playing just two years.
 
Liftoff - In search of a secondary scorer behind senior guard Rodney Pryor, sophomore forward Elijah Minnie had a breakthrough offensive performance @ New Mexico State (11/24/15). Minnie paced RMU with a career-high 29 points, shooting 11-for-18 from the field, including a 5-for-10 performance from beyond the arc, while going 2-for-2 at the free-throw line. In four games in the Air Force Classic, Minnie averaged 15.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest.

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