Men's Basketball | 11/15/2016 11:47:00 AM

GAME 3
Robert Morris (0-2) @ Bucknell (1-1)
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 • 7:00 p.m.
Sojka Pavilion (4,000) • Lewisburg, Pa.

Radio: WPGB HD
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
Video: Patriot League Network • BucknellBison.com
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team continues a six-game road trip Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
- The Colonials opened their six-game road swing with a 78-72 setback @ DePaul (11/13/16). Sophomore guard Isaiah Still led RMU by scoring 17 of his career-high 26 points in the second half. He finished 10-for-17 shooting from the field, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, and went 2-for-3 at the free-throw line.
 
- Senior guard Kavon Stewart added 13 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals against the Blue Demons, while freshman guard Dachon Burke tallied six points, five rebounds and four steals.
 
- The Colonials christened the 2016-17 campaign and their 41st season of Division I basketball with a 67-50 setback to Penn (11/11/16) at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Sophomore guard Isaiah Still paced RMU with 15 points and added six rebounds and a steal.
 
- Robert Morris returns three starters and nine letterwinners from a 2015-16 squad that finished with an overall record of 10-22 (.313), including a mark of 8-10 (.444) in the Northeast Conference.
 
- RMU was tabbed sixth in the 2016 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, the program's lowest preseason prediction since being selected to finish 10th in 2005. The Colonials had been picked to finish in the top three, but never the preseason favorite, for 10 consecutive years from 2006 to 2015.
 
- Senior guard Kavon Stewart is six assists shy of becoming the 10th player in school history to eclipse 400 career dimes and has recorded at least one steal in 11 consecutive games dating back to last season.
 
- Forward Aaron Tate, who played only three games in 2015-16 before sitting out the rest of the season due to injury, tied for game-high honors in rebounds @ DePaul (11/13/16) with eight and is RMU's active career leader in caroms with 327. Tate leads the Colonials with an average of 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
- Robert Morris continues its six-game road swing by opening play in the Barclays Classic after taking on the Bison Wednesday. The Colonials visit Richmond Sunday, Nov. 20, for a 1:30 p.m. tip and will also travel to Kansas State Tuesday, Nov. 22. RMU wraps up play in the Barclays Classic with a pair of games at Towson, starting Friday, Nov. 25 with a 7:30 p.m. tip against Hampton. Robert Morris will face either Stony Brook or Towson Saturday, Nov. 26.


 
DePaul Tidbits - Sunday's meeting was the first in the all-time series between the two programs ... Robert Morris outrebounded DePaul, 39-33, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive glass ... Senior forward Billy Giles contributed eight points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench and through two games has converted five of his seven shots (71.4 percent) from the floor ... The Colonials shot 41 percent (25-for-61) from the field, while the Blue Demons converted 46.2 percent (24-for-52) of their attempts from the floor ... DePaul visited the free-throw line 34 times, converting 27 (79.4 percent). 
 
Board Stiff - Robert Morris is coming off a 2015-16 campaign in which it ranked ninth in the Northeast Conference in rebounding offense, grabbing an average of 32.5 caroms per contest. Bolstered by the return of redshirt senior forward Aaron Tate, the Colonials have gotten off to a solid start rebounding in the first two games of 2016-17. In the season opener against Penn, RMU grabbed 44 boards. Two nights later the Colonials outrebounded the Blue Demons, 39-33. In 2015-16, Robert Morris eclipsed 40 rebounds in a game just four times, going 3-1 (.750) in those contests.
 
Still Of The Night - Sophomore guard Isaiah Still put forth the most efficient night scoring the basketball of his young career @ DePaul (11/13/16), garnering game-high honors with 26 points. He shot 10-of-17 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from international waters, and 2-for-3 at the free-throw line. Still's 26 points established a career high, and he enters Wednesday's game @ Bucknell have scored in double figures in each of his last 10 games dating back to last season. Over that span Still is averaging 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 42.7 percent (53-for-124) from the field and 73.5 percent (50-for-68) at the free-throw line.
 
Steal City - Robert Morris has consistently been at the top of the Northeast Conference leaderboard in steals throughout head coach Andrew Toole's tenure, as the Colonials have topped the circuit four times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016) under Toole and six times in the last nine years. In 2015-16, RMU averaged 8.28 thefts per contest to pace the circuit. In the first two games of 2016-17, Robert Morris has compiled 14 steals, an average of 7.0 per game. Freshman guard Dachon Burke owns six of those thefts, while senior guard Kavon Stewart has recorded five steals.
 
Surf Board - The Colonials should be bolstered by the return of forward Aaron Tate in 2016-17, especially on the glass. Tate appeared in RMU's first three games of the 2015-16 campaign before being shut down with a season-ending injury and is the program's active career leader in rebounds with 327. He has an outside chance to join the 500-Rebound Club in his final season of eligibility. Tate has led the Colonials in rebounding each of their first two games of 2016-17, grabbing eight boards in each contest. He needs to average 6.0 caroms per contest over RMU's final 29 games of the regular season to become the 18th member of the club.
 
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