GAME 9
Oakland (3-3) vs. Robert Morris (1-7)
Saturday, December 5, 2015 • 4:00 p.m.
Charles L. Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM 
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 to the Charles L. Sewall Center to host Oakland Saturday, Dec. 5, in a 4:00 p.m. tip.
 
- The Colonials concluded a five-game road trip with a 65-58 setback @ Youngstown State (12/2/15). Senior guard Rodney Pryor scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to garner game-high honors in scoring for the Colonials for the seventh time in eight games.
 
- Freshman guard Matty McConnell came off the bench to register his first double-figure scoring game against the Penguins with 12 points. He finished 4-for-12 shooting, including a 4-for-11 performance from beyond the arc.
 
- RMU concluded play in the Air Force Classic as part of its five-game road trip by picking up its 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.


 
Youngstown State Tidbits - Robert Morris dropped its third straight game to the Penguins but still owns a 9-7 (.563) edge in the all-time series ... Ten of the 16 meetings in the all-time series between RMU and YSU have been decided by 10 points or less, including six by five points or less ... Junior forward Billy Giles grabbed a career-high nine rebounds ... YSU shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from the field in the second half, the sixth time in eight games in 2015-16 an opponent has shot at least 50 percent from the floor after halftime ... Robert Morris shot a season-high 83.3 percent (5-for-6) at the free-throw line ... Youngstown State outscored RMU, 26-14, in points in the paint and 18-9 in points off turnovers.
 
Wicked Garden - For the seventh time in eight games to start the 2015-16 campaign, senior guard Rodney Pryor earned team-high honors in scoring @ Youngstown State (12/2/15) as RMU wrapped up a five-game road trip. Despite being held scoreless for the first 14 minutes, Pryor scored a game-high 20 points, including 13 in the second half. Pryor shot 5-for-8 from the field after halftime, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Pryor leads the Colonials in scoring at 19.5 points per game and is off to the best offensive start in school history through eight games. Former forward A.J. Jackson (2003-08) averaged 19.4 points per contest for Robert Morris in the first eight games of the 2006-07 campaign. Pryor currently ranks second in the Northeast Conference in scoring. 
 
Interstate Love Song - 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 a pair of blocks @ Youngstown State (12/2/15) and through eight games this year has already posted 15 rejections. Minnie currently leads the Northeast Conference in blocks per game (1.88) and has already accumulated a total of 51 rejections in 40 career contests, an average of 1.28 per game.
 
Army Ants - 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. After being held scoreless in his first two games in a Robert Morris uniform, Giles has averaged 8.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over his last five games while shooting 60 percent (18-for-30) from the field.
 
Plush - 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 20 @ Youngstown State (12/2/15) that closed out a five-game road trip, Pryor enters Saturday's game having reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 18 games dating back to last season. During that stretch, Pryor is averaging an even 20.0 points per contest while converting an average of 2.94 three-pointers per game.
 
Big Empty - A key reason senior guard Rodney Pryor has been able to reach double figures in scoring in each of his last 18 games dating back to last season has been his ability to convert when getting to the free-throw line. Pryor enters Saturday's game against Oakland leading the Northeast Conference in free-throw percentage, having shot 94.4 percent (17-for-18) at the chalk so far this year. During RMU's five-game road trip, Pryor averaged 19.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45.7 percent (37-for-81) from the field and was a perfect 9-for-9 at the charity stripe.
 
Heaven & Hot Rods - Senior guard Rodney Pryor is RMU's active leading scorer with 702 points as the Colonials welcome Oakland to the Charles L. Sewall Center Saturday. Pryor has scored a team-high 156 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 12.9 points over RMU's final 23 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.
 
Adhesive - RMU has consistently been at the top of the Northeast Conference much of the previous decade in regard to its three-point shooting, and the Colonials have continued that in 2015-16. The Colonials drilled a season-high 11 three-pointers @ Youngstown State (12/2/15), and despite falling, Robert Morris has compiled a record of 33-6 (.846) in six seasons under head coach Andrew Toole when draining at least 10 three-pointers in a game.

Tweet #PackTheChuck