GAME 12
Robert Morris (2-9) @ Duquesne (9-2)
Saturday, December 19, 2015 • 2:00 p.m.
A.J. Palumbo Center (4,390) • Pittsburgh, Pa.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Video: Atlantic10.com • GoDuquesne.com
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball

Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closes out its 2015-16 non-conference schedule with a pair of road games, beginning with a 2:00 p.m. tip Saturday against crosstown rival Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
 
- The Colonials picked up their first home victory of the 2015-16 campaign in their last contest, posting a 69-67 win over Lehigh (12/17/15) at the Charles L.. Sewall Center. Senior guard Rodney Pryor came off the bench and scored a game-high 20 points while also leading RMU in rebounds (6) and assists (5).
 
- Freshman guard Matty McConnell contributed a career-high 13 points in the win over the Mountain Hawks, while junior guard Kavon Stewart finished with 11 points and four assists. As a team, Robert Morris shot a season-high 53.1 percent (26-for-49) from the field against Lehigh.
 
- Pryor has eclipsed the 20-point plateau in four consecutive games as well as five of his last six contests. In the last six games, Pryor has averaged 23.3 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 51.5 percent (50-for-97) from the floor and 89.7 percent (26-for-29) at the free-throw line.
 
- Three different Colonials sit atop the Northeast Conference leader board in various categories entering Saturday's game @ Duquesne. Senior guard Rodney Pryor paces the league in scoring (21.6 ppg) and free-throw percentage (.902), junior forward Billy Giles tops the conference in field goal percentage (.610) and sophomore forward Elijah Minnie leads the NEC in blocks (1.88 per game).
 
- Despite converting just 30.8 percent (80-for-260) of its attempts from beyond the arc through 11 games this season, Robert Morris is shooting 50.4 percent (188-for-373) in two-point field goal attempts. Senior guard Rodney Pryor has converted 59.4 percent (60-for-101) of his attempts inside the three-point arc.
 
- In its previous road game, RMU 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.
 
- Robert Morris concludes the non-conference portion of its 2015-16 schedule Tuesday, Dec. 29, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga., after taking on Duquesne Saturday. The Colonials open Northeast Conference play with a pair of home games at the Charles L. Sewall Center, beginning Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, with a 4:00 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart.


 
Lehigh Tidbits - Robert Morris notched its first victory over Lehigh since 1984 thanks to its 69-67 win and improved to 3-2 (.600) in the all-time series against the Mountain Hawks ... RMU's 26-16 advantage with eight minutes to play in the first half marked the first double-digit lead for the Colonials in 2015-16 ... Robert Morris matched that lead by taking a 60-50 advantage with 9:16 remaining in the game ... Lehigh suffered 18 turnovers, a season high by an RMU opponent ... The Colonials held an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers ... Robert Morris was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the first half but was 0-for-3 from the stripe after the break.
 
Mix and Match - In a 69-67 win over Lehigh (12/17/15), head coach Andrew Toole employed his sixth different starting lineup in the last seven games as well as the seventh different starting five overall in 2015-16. Toole, who has won 112 games in six seasons as head coach at Robert Morris, has used 49 different starting lineups during his tenure. That equates to an average of 2.29 victories per starting five. 
 
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 20 points in a 69-67 victory over Lehigh (12/17/15), Pryor enters Saturday's game having reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 21 games dating back to last season. During that stretch, Pryor is averaging 21.0 points per contest while converting an average of 2.81 three-pointers per game. Pryor is just the fourth player in school history to score in double figures in at least 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. Rodney Pryor	21	21.0	2/14/15 to 12/17/15
4. Gabe Jackson	20	18.7	1/3/95 to 2/21/95

 
Pryor Commitment - Senior guard Rodney Pryor has eclipsed the 20-point plateau in each of his last four games, becoming the first member of the Colonials to turn the trick since former guard Karvel Anderson (2012-14). Anderson closed out his career by averaging 25.8 points in his final four games in an RMU uniform. Pryor, meanwhile, has averaged 25.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 blocks over his last four contests while shooting 51.5 percent (35-for-68) from the field and 88 percent (22-for-25) at the free-throw line.
 
On The Offensive - Robert Morris picked up its first victory at the Charles L. Sewall Center in 2015-16 in a 69-67 win over Lehigh (12/17/15) by shooting a season-high 53.1 percent (26-for-49) from the field. In six seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, RMU owns a mark of 33-5 (.868) when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, including a mark of 25-1 (.962) against NEC opponents. Broken down against league foes, Robert Morris is 22-1 (.957) in the regular season and 3-0 in the NEC Tournament when converting at least half of its shots. Against non-conference opponents under Toole, RMU is 8-4 (.667) when turning the trick.
 
Defense Wins Championships - At the heart of the resurgence of the Robert Morris basketball program since 2007-08 is defense. Thanks to a 69-67 win over Lehigh (12/17/15) at the Charles L. Sewall Center, RMU has compiled a record of 140-31 (.819) over the last nine seasons when holding their opponent to under 70 points. In six years under Andrew Toole, the Colonials own a mark of 87-23 (.791) when turning the trick. Overall in the last nine years, RMU has held its opponent to under 70 points 59 percent (171-of-290) of the time.
 
The Chase For 1,000 - Senior guard Rodney Pryor is RMU's active leading scorer with 784 points as the Colonials travel to Duquesne Saturday. Pryor has scored a team-high 238 points in 11 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 10.8 points over RMU's final 20 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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