GAME 16
Robert Morris (3-13, 1-2 NEC) @ St. Francis Brooklyn (5-11, 1-2 NEC)
Saturday, January 9, 2016 • 4:00 p.m.
Pope P.E. Center (1,200) • Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.

Radio: WPIT AM 730
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
Video: NECFrontRow.com • SFCAthletics.com
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concludes a two-game road trip through Brooklyn, N.Y., Saturday afternoon with a 4:00 p.m. tip against St. Francis Brooklyn at the Pope Physical Education Center.
 
- RMU picked up its first Northeast Conference win as well as its first road victory of the 2015-16 campaign thanks to a 70-60 win @ LIU Brooklyn (1/7/16) in its last contest. Senior guard Rodney Pryor led the Colonials with his fourth double-double of the year thanks to 21 points and 11 rebounds.
 
- Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie added 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench against the Blackbirds, while freshman guard Isaiah Still finished with 13 points and five caroms.
 
- Prior to RMU's win Thursday @ LIU Brooklyn (1/7/16), the previous true road victory for the Colonials came in a 66-63 win @ St. Francis Brooklyn (3/10/15) in the 2015 Northeast Conference Tournament final, a span of 304 days.
 
- Despite converting just 30.3 percent (112-for-370) of its attempts from beyond the arc through 16 games, RMU is shooting 49.8 percent (268-for-538) in two-point field goal attempts. Senior guard Rodney Pryor has converted 56 percent (84-for-150) of his attempts inside the three-point arc.
 
-Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie, who ranks third in the Northeast Conference in blocks per game (1.67) and is the tallest member of the Colonials at 6'9", is shooting 51.9 percent (40-for-77) inside the arc, but 51.9 percent (83-of-160) of his shots from the field have come from beyond the three-point line.
 
 - In its last home game, Robert Morris dropped a 72-69 decision to Wagner (1/4/16) at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Junior guard Kavon Stewart led the Colonials with a career-high 23 points and also added seven assists and a season-high five steals.
 
- Junior forward Billy Giles contributed a career-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and posted six rebounds and a block against the Seahawks. Giles is leading the Northeast Conference in field goal percentage at 62.5 percent (50-for-80).
 
- Of RMU's 13 losses in 2015-16, seven have decided by seven points or less and another was lost in overtime (New Mexico State). In addition, the Colonials dropped their first two Northeast Conference games by a total of seven points. Dating back to last season, 14 of RMU's last 20 games against NEC foes have been decided by seven points or less, with Robert Morris owning a record of 6-8 (.429) in those contests.

- Robert Morris returns to the Charles L. Sewall Center for a pair of home games after taking on the Terriers Saturday. The Colonials open the homestand by hosting Mount St. Mary's Thursday, Jan. 14, in a 7:00 p.m. tip, and will also welcome Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday, Jan. 16, for a 4:00 p.m. tip.


 
LIU Brooklyn Tidbits - Robert Morris earned its first victory over LIU Brooklyn since a 73-64 win at the Charles L. Sewall Center Feb. 20, 2014 ... The Blackbirds converted just 18.2 percent (4-for-22) of their attempts from beyond the arc, and RMU has posted a three-point field goal percent defense of .277 (31-for-112) over its last six games ... The 15 rebounds by LIU Brooklyn's Jerome Frink are the most by a Robert Morris opponent in 2015-16 ... Sophomore forward Andre Frederick grabbed a season-high six rebounds and also posted a pair of blocks. 
 
Pryor Commitment - Senior guard Rodney Pryor helped lead RMU to a 70-60 victory @ LIU Brooklyn (1/7/16) by scoring a game-high 21 points. Thanks to his performance, Pryor has now eclipsed the 20-point plateau 20 times in his career, becoming the ninth player in school history to turn the trick. Pryor enters Saturday's game having scored at least 20 points in each of his last six road games, averaging 22.2 points per contest over that span while shooting 47.9 percent (45-for-94) from the floor, including 40 percent (16-for-40) from deep, and 81.8 percent (27-for-33) at the stripe. 
 
Minnie Me - Sophomore forward Elijah Minnie was a key component in helping Robert Morris earn its first Northeast Conference victory in its first league road contest of the 2015-16 season @ LIU Brooklyn (1/7/16). He supplied 13 points and eight rebounds in the win, scoring eight points during a 15-4 run in the final 4:38 to help the Colonials earn the victory. Since missing RMU's game against Oakland (12/5/15) due to an illness, Minnie is averaging 13.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over his last seven games, reaching double figures in five contests.
 
Settling In - Junior point guard Kavon Stewart is in the midst of the best stretch of basketball of not only this season by arguably for his career as the Colonials conclude a two-game road swing Saturday @ St. Francis Brooklyn. Stewart paced RMU against Wagner (1/4/16) with a career-high 23 points while also adding seven assists and a season-high five steals. Over his last seven games, Stewart is averaging 13.3 points, 5.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game while owning an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.70.
 
The Chase For 1,000 - Senior guard Rodney Pryor is RMU's active leading scorer with 875 points as the Colonials conclude a two-game road swing in Brooklyn, N.Y., Saturday. Pryor has scored a team-high 329 points in 16 games 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 8.3 points over RMU's final 15 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.
 
Board Games - Part of following the formula in regard to being successful for RMU over the last nine seasons has been the program's ability to crash the boards. Since the beginning of 2007-08, Robert Morris owns a record of 131-22 (.856) when the Colonials are even or better in rebounding in a game, including a 126-20 (.863) mark when outrebounding their opponent. In Andrew Toole's six seasons as head coach, Robert Morris has posted a record of 74-16 (.822) when outrebounding its opponent.
 
Defense Wins Championships - At the heart of the resurgence of the Robert Morris basketball program since 2007-08 is defense. Thanks to a 70-60 victory @ LIU Brooklyn (1/7/16) that opened a two-game road swing, RMU improved its record to 141-32 (.815) 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 88-24 (.786) when turning the trick. Overall in the last nine years, RMU has held its opponent to under 70 points 58.6 percent (173-of-295) of the time.

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