GAME 14
Robert Morris (4-9, 0-0 NEC) @ Sacred Heart (5-8, 0-0 NEC)
Thursday, December 29, 2016 • 3:30 p.m.
William H. Pitt Center (2,062) • Fairfield, Conn.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM and 106.7 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
Video: NECFrontRow.com • SacredHeartPioneers.com
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team opens Northeast Conference play with a two-game road swing. The Colonials open their league schedule Thursday with a 3:30 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn.
 
- RMU concluded the non-conference portion of its 2016-17 slate at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., posting a 74-71 victory over Buffalo (12/21/16). The Colonials tied a season high in points scored despite playing without their leading scorer in sophomore guard Isaiah Still, who missed the game due to injury.
 
- Senior guard Kavon Stewart led Robert Morris against Buffalo with 18 points and a season-high seven assists. He also recorded three rebounds and a steal in the win. For his efforts, Stewart was tabbed the Northeast Conference Player of the Week (12/26/16), his first career weekly honor.
 
- Junior guard Lorenzen Wright, Jr., came off the bench and scored a career-high 12 points in the win over the Bulls. Wright, Jr., finished 4-for-6 from beyond the arc against Buffalo. He entered the game just 9-for-33 (27.3 percent) from deep in his first 11 games.
 
- Robert Morris owns an overall record of 17-18 (.486) in Northeast Conference openers, including a mark of 8-12 (.400) on the road. The Colonials have faced the Pioneers three times in league openers, going 1-2 (.333) in those contests.
 
- In its last road game, RMU dropped a 79-39 decision @ No. 13 Virginia (12/17/16). Sophomore guard Isaiah Still paced RMU against the Cavaliers with a game-high 16 points, hitting five of his 10 shots from the field, including 2-for-4 from deep, while going 4-for-8 at the free-throw line. Still leads the Colonials and ranks sixth in the Northeast Conference in scoring at 15.2 points per game.
 
- The Colonials wrapped up a two-game homestand with a 74-53 loss to Oakland (12/10/16) at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Senior guard Kavon Stewart was the only member of the Colonials to reach double figures, scoring 10 points while also tallying six rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
- Robert Morris opened its homestand by hosting a game at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., for the first time in program history, earning a 64-60 victory over Duquesne (12/6/16). Sophomore guard Isaiah Still converted a driving layup with 15.3 seconds to play to put the Colonials ahead for good and followed by blocking a layup attempt by Emile Blackman to help preserve the win.
 
- Sophomore guard Isaiah Still scored a game-high 22 points to pace Robert Morris against the Dukes, hitting seven of his 13 attempts from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, while finishing 4-for-6 at the free-throw line.
 
- RMU concludes 2016 with a 3:00 p.m. tip @ Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday, Dec. 31, after taking on the Pioneers Thursday.



Buffalo Tidbits - RMU earned its first win in four meetings against the Bulls ... Robert Morris shot 35.6 percent (21-for-59) from the field, marking its first win in 10 games when failing to shoot at least 40 percent from the floor ... Junior guard Lorenzen Wright, Jr., contributed a career-high 12 points off the bench, converting four of his six attempts from beyond the arc ... The Colonials tied a season high in both points (74) and steals (10) ... Blake Hamilton scored a game-high 24 points for Buffalo, the most points scored by an opponent against RMU in 2016-17.
 
The Senior - In a 74-71 victory over Buffalo (12/21/16) at PPG Paints Arena that concluded RMU's 2016-17 non-conference slate, senior guard Kavon Stewart was a key force for the Colonials, leading the way with 18 points and a season-high seven assists. Thanks to his performance against the Bulls, Stewart earned the first weekly honor of his career, as he was selected Northeast Conference Player of the Week (12/26/16). Over his last eight games, a stretch in which Robert Morris has gone 4-4 (.500), Stewart is supplying the Colonials with averages of 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game. During that span, Stewart is averaging 6.8 free-throw attempts per contest, as he is 36-for-54 (66.7 percent) from the stripe.
 
Still Of The Night - Sophomore guard Isaiah Still led the Colonials @ Virginia (12/17/16) by finishing with a game-high 16 points. He converted five of his 10 shots from the field, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, and also went 4-for-8 at the free-throw line. Still has led Robert Morris in scoring in nine of its 13 games this season and has reached double figures 10 times. Dating back to last season, Still has scored in double figures in 18 of his last 20 games, averaging 15.6 points per contest. As RMU opens Northeast Conference play Thursday, Still has improved his scoring average +5.3 points per game from last year.
 
Did You Know? In seven seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, Robert Morris has compiled a record of 72-28 (.720) when scoring at least 70 points in a game. Included in that record is a mark of 28-3 (.903) when eclipsing the 80-point plateau. RMU is 1-2 this season when eclipsing 70 points, falling @ DePaul (11/13/16) and suffering a one-point setback to Youngstown State (11/30/16) before beating Buffalo (12/21/16).
 
Start Me Up - Head coach Andrew Toole, who is in his seventh year at the helm of the Colonials in 2016-17, has already employed six different starting lineups this season. Toole, who has won 124 games in seven seasons as head coach at Robert Morris, has used 58 different starting lineups during his tenure. That equates to an average of 2.14 victories per starting five. In his seven seasons on the sideline, Toole has used an average of 8.7 starting lineups per year.
 
Free Is For Me - Robert Morris went to the free-throw line a season-high 38 times in a 74-71 victory over Buffalo (12/21/16) to close out its non-conference slate, converting a season-high 26 (68.4 percent). Getting to the charity stripe at least 30 times in a game is a good sign for the Colonials. RMU owns a record of 22-9 (.710) under head coach Andrew Toole when visiting the chalk at least 30 times in a contest.

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