RMU Looks To Get Back in Win Column Saturday

Men's Basketball | 2/6/2015 12:36:00 PM

GAME 24
Robert Morris (11-12, 7-4) @ Fairleigh Dickinson (7-15, 2-9)
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 • 4:30 p.m.
Stratis Arena (1,852) • Teaneck, N.J.

Radio: 970 ESPN AM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) & Jim Duzyk (color)
Video: FDUKnights.com • NECFrontRow.com
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball

Quick Hits

- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concludes a two-game road swing Saturday by traveling to Teaneck, N.J., for a 4:30 p.m. tip against Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena.

- RMU opened its road trip with a 72-65 setback @ LIU Brooklyn (2/5/15), its second consecutive loss. Freshman guard Marcquise Reed led the Colonials with 22 points and added four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

- Also scoring in double figures for the Colonials against the Blackbirds was junior guard Rodney Pryor and freshman forward Elijah Minnie. Pryor contributed 17 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Minnie supplied 10 points, seven caroms and a pair of blocks.

- The Colonials saw their season-high four-game winning streak snapped in their last home contest with a 71-68 setback to Bryant (1/31/15) at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Freshman guard Marcquise Reed paced RMU in the loss with 20 points, including 11 straight in a span of 2:02 late in the second half that almost helped Robert Morris climb out of a 10-point deficit.

- Senior forward Lucky Jones contributed 19 points and eight rebounds against the Bulldogs and moved into ninth place all-time at Robert Morris in career points with 1,469. He missed RMU's game @ LIU Brooklyn with a concussion, while senior guard David Appolon missed the contest due to a shoulder injury.

- Robert Morris enters Saturday's game @ Fairleigh Dickinson leading the Northeast Conference in league games in field goal percentage (.473), three-point field goal percentage (.402) and scoring margin (+ 6.1 ppg).

- Freshman guard Marcquise Reed has been named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week a league-high five times after garnering the honor Feb. 2, 2015. Reed averaged 17.0 points, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in a pair of games last week and joined former guard Jeremy Chappell (2005-09) as the only players in school history to be bestowed the freshman honor five times.

- Senior forward Lucky Jones became RMU's all-time leading rebounder by grabbing nine boards against St. Francis Brooklyn (1/16/15). Jones is RMU's active leader in points (1,469) and rebounds (797) entering Saturday's tilt @ Fairleigh Dickinson and also owns career totals of 176 assists and 157 steals.

- Robert Morris closes out the 2014-15 regular season with four of its final six games at home after taking on Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday. The stretch begins Thursday, Feb. 12, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against LIU Brooklyn at the Sewall Center. RMU will also welcome Central Connecticut State Saturday, Feb. 14, with a Noon tip in a game that can be seen live on Fox College Sports.

LIU Brooklyn Tidbits - The Blackbirds snapped a three-game losing streak against the Colonials and notched their first win over RMU at the Steinberg Wellness Center since a 90-73 victory in the 2012 NEC Tournament championship game ... LIU Brooklyn held a 40-32 advantage on the glass and owned a 16-6 edge in second-chance points ... Sophomore guard Kavon Stewart dished out eight assists and established a career high with five steals ... Freshman forward Andre Frederick tied a career high with four blocks and in 13 games this season owns 13 rejections ... Seniors Lucky Jones (concussion) and David Appolon (shoulder) each missed the game due to injury ... The contest featured seven ties and eight lead changes.

Shooter - Freshman guard Marcquise Reed paced Robert Morris with 22 points @ LIU Brooklyn (2/5/15), shooting 9-for-14 from the field while going 4-for-6 at the free-throw line. The performance against the Blackbirds marked Reed's eighth game this season eclipsing the 20-point plateau, tying an RMU freshman record. Former guard and all-time leading scorer Myron Walker (1990-94) also scored at least 20 points in a game eight times during his rookie campaign in 1990-91. Reed leads the Colonials this season with 344 points, which ranks third all-time in program history for points scored by a freshman.

The Bucket List - Freshman guard Marcquise Reed has settled into his role as a scorer for the Colonials in his rookie campaign. A five-time Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, Reed has reached double figures in scoring in 14 of his last 16 games entering Saturday's game @ Fairleigh Dickinson. During that stretch, Reed is averaging 17.0 points per contest while shooting 56.3 percent (99-for-176) from the field, including 47.4 percent (18-for-38) from beyond the arc. Reed ranks sixth in the Northeast Conference in scoring at 15.0 points per game while also placing second in the circuit in steals at 1.83 thefts per contest and fifth in field goal percentage (.525).

Southpaw - Junior guard Rodney Pryor registered his first collegiate double-double in an 87-65 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson (1/29/15) by establishing career highs in both points (28) and rebounds (11). Pryor enters Saturday's game @ Fairleigh Dickinson having reached double figures in eight of his last nine games and over that span is averaging 15.6 points per contest. He has also pulled down an average of 5.8 rebounds over his last nine games while shooting 47 percent (54-for-115) from the field and 83.3 percent (15-for-18) at the free-throw line. RMU owns a record of 11-5 (.688) so far this season when Pryor reaches double figures in scoring, including a perfect 4-0 mark when eclipsing the 20-point plateau.

Board Games - Part of following the formula in regard to being successful for Robert Morris over the last eight seasons has been the program's ability to crash the boards. Since the beginning of 2007-08, Robert Morris owns a record of 124-21 (.855) when the Colonials are even or better in rebounding in a game, including a 119-19 (.862) mark when outrebounding their opponent. In Andrew Toole's five seasons as head coach, Robert Morris has posted a record of 67-15 (.817) when outrebounding its opponent.

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