GAME 11
Lehigh (1-7) vs. Robert Morris (1-9)
Thursday, December 17, 2015 • 7:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.

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

Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center to host Lehigh Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. tip. It marks the final non-conference home game on RMU's 2015-16 regular-season schedule.
 
- The Colonials returned to action after over a week off due to finals with a 78-71 setback @ Columbia (12/14/15). Senior guard Rodney Pryor scored a game-high 27 points against the Lions and also added eight rebounds.
 
- Junior forward Billy Giles contributed 14 points and four rebounds @ Columbia (12/14/15), while sophomore forward Elijah Minnie finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks off the bench. Also reaching double figures in scoring against the Lions was junior guard Kavon Stewart, who scored 10 points.
 
- Pryor has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games as well as four of his last five contests. In the last five games, Pryor has averaged 24.8 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 48.6 percent (35-for-72) from the floor and 87.5 percent (21-for-24) at the free-throw line.
 
- Three different Colonials are atop the Northeast Conference leader board entering Thursday's game against the Mountain Hawks. Senior guard Rodney Pryor paces the league in scoring (21.8 ppg), junior forward Billy Giles tops the conference in field goal percentage (.611) and sophomore forward Elijah Minnie leads the NEC in blocks (2.00 per game).
 
- In its last game at the Charles L. Sewall Center, Robert Morris dropped a 92-74 decision to Oakland (12/5/15). Senior guard Rodney Pryor paced RMU by registering his third double-double of the year and fourth of his career thanks to a career-high 35 points and 12 rebounds.
 
- Junior forward Billy Giles also recorded a double-double against the Golden Grizzlies thanks to 16 points and 10 caroms. Pryor and Giles are the first Robert Morris duo to finish with a double-double in the same game since Kavon Stewart (12 points, 11 assists) and Elijah Minnie (10 points, 10 rebounds) in a 75-59 win over Duquesne (12/13/14).
 
- Pryor and Giles are also the first pair of RMU teammates to finish with at least 10 rebounds in a game since former Colonials Tony Lee (2004-08) and A.J. Jackson (2003-08) @ LIU Brooklyn (2/16/06), a span of 316 contests. Lee finished with 12 boards against the Blackbirds, while Jackson posted 10.
 
- Robert Morris concludes the non-conference portion of its 2015-16 schedule with a pair of road games after hosting Lehigh Thursday. The Colonials visit Duquesne Saturday, Dec. 19, for a 2:00 p.m. tip, before traveling to Athens, Ga., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Georgia Tuesday, Dec. 29. RMU opens Northeast Conference play Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, against Sacred Heart at the Charles L. Sewall Center.


 
Columbia Tidbits - RMU's 78-71 setback to Columbia marked the first meeting in the all-time series ... Robert Morris finished 1-4 (.200) in five games this season against opponents it was facing for the first time in its 40-year Division I history ... Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie tied a season high with three blocks, the fourth time in nine games this season he has recorded at least three rejections ... Junior forward Billy Giles scored 14 points and in four games as a starter is averaging 11.8 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 63.3 percent (19-for-30) from the field and 75 percent (9-for-12) at the free-throw line ... Columbia's Maodo Lo tied a Levien Gymnasium record by connecting for eight three-pointers. 
 
Southpaw - For the ninth time in 10 games to start the 2015-16 campaign, senior guard Rodney Pryor earned team-high honors in scoring @ Columbia (12/14/15) by finishing with a game-high 27 points. Pryor leads the Northeast Conference in scoring at 21.8 points per game and is off to the best offensive start through 10 games in school history. A closer look at the top five offensive starts through 10 contests in program history ...
 

Name	Year	PPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%
1. Rodney Pryor	2014-15	21.8	47.0%	33.3%	89.7%
2. Maurice Carter	2002-03	18.7	43.3%	29.3%	70.2%
3. Karvel Anderson	2013-14	18.6	50.4%	47.3%	70.8%
4. Chaz McCrommon	2003-04	18.2	58.3%	38.5%	78.0%
5. A.J. Jackson	2006-07	17.9	42.2%	30.5%	81.6%

Billy The Kid - No member of the Colonials is playing with more confidence right now than junior forward Billy Giles. Giles notched the first double-double of his career against Oakland (12/5/15) thanks to 16 points and 10 rebounds and has reached double figures in scoring in four of his last five games. Since being held scoreless in his first two games in a Robert Morris uniform, Giles has averaged 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds over his last eight games while shooting 63.5 percent (33-for-52) from the field.
 
Hot Rod - 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 game-high 27 points @ Columbia (12/14/15), Pryor enters Thursday's game having reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 20 games dating back to last season. During that stretch, Pryor is averaging 21.1 points per contest while converting an average of 2.85 three-pointers per game. Pryor is become just the fourth player in school history to score in double figures in 20 consecutive games and the first in over a decade. A closer look ...
 

Name	No.	PPG	Dates
1. Maurice Carter	40	17.0	12/14/02 to 1/26/04
2. Myron Walker	26	20.1	12/28/91 to 12/1/92
3. Gabe Jackson	20	18.7	1/3/95 to 2/21/95
Rodney Pryor	20	21.1	2/14/15 to 12/14/15

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 in 2015-16. Minnie finished with three blocks @ Columbia (12/14/15) and in nine games this year has already recorded 18 rejections. Minnie leads the Northeast Conference in blocks per game (2.00) and has accumulated a total of 54 rejections in 41 career contests, an average of 1.32 per game.
 
The Chase For 1,000 - Senior guard Rodney Pryor is RMU's active leading scorer with 764 points as the Colonials return home to host Lehigh Thursday. Pryor has scored a team-high 218 points in 10 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 11.2 points over RMU's final 21 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 while playing just two years.

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