Men's Basketball | 1/27/2016 10:14:00 AM

GAME 22
RMU (6-15, 4-4 NEC) @ Mount St. Mary's (9-12, 6-2 NEC)
Thursday, January 26, 2016 • 7:00 p.m.
Knott Arena (3,500) • Emmitsburg, Md.

Radio:  ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
TV: CBS Sports Network
TV Talent: Dave Popkin (pxp) & Joe DeSantis (color)
TV Talent: John Schmeelk (sideline)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball

Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team continues a four-game road trip Thursday looking to extend its winning streak to four with a 7:00 p.m. tip in Emmitsburg, Md.., against Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena in a game seen live on CBS Sports Network.
 
- The Colonials stretched their winning streak to a season-high three games with a 65-54 win @ Bryant (1/23/16). Junior guard Kavon Stewart paced the Colonials with 18 points and added five assists and two steals, while sophomore forward Elijah Minnie recorded his second double-double of the year with 13 points and 12 rebounds while recording a career-high six blocks.
 
- Senior guard Rodney Pryor returned to action in RMU's win @ Bryant (1/23/16) after missing three games due to a concussion and contributed 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Pryor has reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 28 games dating back to last season, the second longest streak in program history.
 
- In picking up victories @ Central Connecticut (1/21/16) and @ Bryant (1/23/16) last week, Robert Morris improved to 16-2 (.889) on the road among the teams that make up its current four-game road swing under sixth-year head coach Andrew Toole. The Colonials are a perfect 4-0 at Knott Arena under Toole.
 
- Robert Morris opened its four-game road trip with a 59-45 victory @ Central Connecticut (1/21/16). Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie and junior guard Kavon Stewart tied for game-high honors in scoring, as each finished with 15 points. The duo combined to shoot 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from the field.
 
- The Colonials held an opponent to 45 points or less for the 12th time in the last nine years in their victory @ Central Connecticut (1/21/16), including the eighth time in six seasons under head coach Andrew Toole.
 
- Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie has reached double figures in six of his last seven games and over that span is averaging 12.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 50 percent (31-for-62) from the field, including 50 percent (13-for-26) from beyond the arc, and 78.6 percent (11-for-14) at the free-throw line.
 
- Sophomore forward Andre Frederick missed his fourth consecutive game @ Bryant (1/23/16) due to concussion symptoms. So far in 2015-16, the Colonials have lost a combined 38 games due to injury.
 
- RMU concluded a two-game homestand at the Charles L. Sewall Center with a 64-58 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson (1/16/16). Junior forward Elijah Minnie paced the Colonials with 17 points and also added five rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
 
- Junior guard Kavon Stewart posted a double-double in RMU's win over the Knights with 12 points and a season-high 10 assists, while junior forward Conrad Stephens contributed a career-high 13 points and also tied for team-high honors in rebounds with six.


 
Bryant Tidbits - Robert Morris improved to 11-2 (.846) in the all-time series against Bryant, including a perfect 6-0 at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I. ... RMU's victory marked the first wire-to-wire win by the Colonials in 2015-16 ... Robert Morris forced 14 turnovers by the Bulldogs, turning those into 25 points, a season high in points off turnovers ... Bryant held a 35-33 edge in rebounding, as Marcel Pettway and Dan Garvin each finished with 10 caroms for the Bulldogs ... RMU registered 10 steals as four different Colonials registered a pair of thefts ... The Colonials improved to 43-16 (.729) in six seasons under head coach Andrew Toole when recording at least 10 steals in a game.
 
300 - RMU's 65-54 win @ Bryant (1/23/16) marked the 300th game for Andrew Toole on the sidelines at Robert Morris. In his sixth year as head coach, Toole's previous three years with the program he served as an assistant coach (2007-08) and associate head coach (2008-10). In the last 300 games, RMU owns an overall record of 189-111 (.630). Exactly half of those games have come against Northeast Conference opposition, with the Colonials owning a record of 115-35 (.767).
 
Lockdown - Robert Morris has built its season-high three-game winning streak on defense. Thanks to a 65-54 victory @ Bryant (1/23/16), the Colonials have held each of their last three opponents under 60 points. It marks the eighth time in school history RMU has yielded less than 60 points to three consecutive opponents, including the second time under sixth-year head coach Andrew Toole. The school record of four straight was set in 2009-10. All-time under Toole, Robert Morris is 45-3 (.938) when holding its opponent under 60 points.
 
Point Break - Junior guard Kavon Stewart is in the midst of his best stretch of basketball in a Robert Morris uniform, as after leading the Colonials to a 65-54 victory @ Bryant (1/23/16) with 18 points he has reached double figures in scoring in four straight games and seven of his last nine contests. Included in that stretch is Stewart's second career double-double with 12 points and a season-high 10 assists in a 64-58 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (1/16/16). Over his last 10 games, Stewart is averaging 13.8 points, 5.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game while owing an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.54.
 
Block Party - Elijah Minnie is just 52 games into his Robert Morris career, but it's safe to say that the Colonials have never had anyone protect the rim better in program history. Minnie recorded a career-high six blocks in a 65-54 win @ Bryant (1/23/16) and already ranks sixth in school history for career blocks with 77. Minnie broke his own single-season school record for rejections thanks to his six against the Bulldogs and on the 2015-16 campaign has posted 41 blocks, an average of 2.05 per game that leads the Northeast Conference.
 
Dynamic Duo - Robert Morris opened its four-game road trip with a pair of victories over Central Connecticut (1/21/16) and Bryant (1/23/16) thanks in large part to the play of junior guard Kavon Stewart and sophomore forward Elijah Minnie. Combined, the duo averaged 30.5 points in wins over the Blue Devils and Bulldogs while shooting 59.5 percent (25-for-42) from the floor, including a white hot 72.4 percent (21-for-29) in attempts inside the three-point arc. Minnie has been a consistent presence on the road for the Colonials in 2015-16, as he enters Thursday's game @ Mount St. Mary's averaging 13.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 13 road tilts so far this season.
 
Hot Rod - Senior guard Rodney Pryor returned to the rotation in a 65-54 victory @ Bryant (1/23/16) after missing the previous three games with a concussion and contributed 10 points in the win. Thanks to the performance against the Bulldogs, Pryor enters Thursday's contest @ Mount St. Mary's having reached double figures in scoring in each of his last 28 games dating back to last season. During that stretch, Pryor is averaging 19.9 points per contest while converting an average of 2.46 three-pointers per game. Pryor is just the fourth player in school history to score in double figures in at least 20 consecutive games. A closer look ...
 

Name	No.	PPG	Dates
1. Maurice Carter	40	17.0	12/14/02 to 1/26/04
2. Rodney Pryor	28	19.9	2/14/15 to 1/23/16
3. Myron Walker	26	20.1	12/28/91 to 12/1/92
4. Gabe Jackson	20	18.7	1/3/95 to 2/21/25

The Chase For 1,000 - Senior guard Rodney Pryor is RMU's active leading scorer with 899 points as the Colonials continue a four-game road trip Thursday @ Mount St. Mary's. Pryor has scored a team-high 353 points in 18 games this year and 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 10.1 points over RMU's final 10 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.
 
The Floor General - The 2015-16 campaign marks junior guard Kavon Stewart's second full season as the starting point guard for Robert Morris. Thanks to a game-high six assists in RMU's 2015-16 Northeast Conference opener against Sacred Heart (1/2/16), Stewart became the 14th player in program history to eclipse 300 career assists. He enters Thursday's game with 340 career assists in 85 games, an average of 4.00 per contest, and is 45 dimes short of cracking the top 10 in school history in the category. Stewart is also RMU's active leader in steals with 130 career thefts.
 
Rejection - Led by the exploits of sophomore forward Elijah Minnie, Robert Morris continues a four-game road trip Thursday @ Mount St. Mary's ranked second in the Northeast Conference in blocks with an average of 4.38 per game. The Colonials finished with a season-high eight rejections @ Duquesne (12/19/15) and are ranked fourth in the NEC against league opposition with an average of 4.13 blocks per contest. RMU is on pace to finish the 2015-16 regular season with 136 blocks, which would establish a new team record. The current mark of 121 was set in 2008-09.
 
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