GAME 15
RMU (5-9, 1-0 NEC) @ Fairleigh Dickinson (3-9, 1-0 NEC)
Saturday, December 31, 2016 • 3:00 p.m.
Stratis Arena (5,000) • Hackensack, N.J.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM and 106.7 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
Video: NECFrontRow.com • FDUKnights.com
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concludes a two-game road trip to open Northeast Conference play as well as the 2016 calendar year Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. tip against Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, N.J.
 
- RMU opened league play with a 78-67 victory @ Sacred Heart (12/29/16), using a 14-3 run in the second half to take control and allowed the Colonials to erase a seven-point deficit from earlier in the stanza. Sophomore guard Isaiah Still paced the Colonials with 22 points while tying a career high with seven rebounds.
 
- Senior guard Kavon Stewart contributed 14 points, two assists and four steals in the win over the Pioneers, while redshirt senior forward Aaron Tate and freshman guard Dachon Burke also reached double figures with 10 points each.
 
- The Colonials established a season high in steals against the Pioneers with 16 and enter Saturday's game @ Fairleigh Dickinson leading the Northeast Conference in thefts with an average of 7.79 per contest.
 
- Freshman guard Dachon Burke has recorded at least one steal in each of his last seven games, averaging 1.6 thefts over that span while also producing averages of 6.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.
 
- 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 and is 5-for-7 from deep in his last two games.
 
- In its last non-conference 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 fifth in the Northeast Conference in scoring at 15.7 points per game.
 
- Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for five of its next six games after taking on Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday. The Colonials will open a three-game homestand Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against LIU Brooklyn. RMU will follow by hosting St. Francis Brooklyn (1/7/17) and Saint Francis U (1/12/17).
 
Sacred Heart Tidbits - Robert Morris evened its record at 18-18 (.500) all-time in Northeast Conference openers with its win over Sacred Heart ... RMU improved to 21-10 (.677) all-time against the Pioneers ... The Colonials set a season high in points (78), steals (16), points in the paint (44) and points off turnovers (28) ... Robert Morris held Sacred Heart to a shooting percentage of 37 percent (10-for-27) in the second half after allowing the Pioneers to convert 51.6 percent (16-of-31) of their shots in the first half ... In their five victories this season, the Colonials average 28.0 trips to the free-throw line ... RMU finished 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) at the chalk against the Pioneers ... In its nine losses, Robert Morris averages 18.5 attempts at the stripe ... Freshman guard Clive Allen tied a career high with three blocks and also registered eight points and two steals.
 
The Senior - The reigning Northeast Conference Player of the Week, senior guard Kavon Stewart opened league play by contributing 14 points, two assists and four steals in a 78-67 victory @ Sacred Heart (12/29/16). Stewart enters Saturday's game @ Fairleigh Dickinson having reached double figures in eight of his last nine games, a stretch in which the Colonials have posted a record of 5-4 (.556). During that span, Stewart is supplying RMU with averages of 13.1 points, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals per contest. In his four years on the roster, Robert Morris has posted a record of 20-16 (.556) when Stewart reaches double figures.
 
Triple Threat - Thanks to the strong play of Kavon Stewart over the course of the last month, the senior guard has a chance to join an elite group at Robert Morris. Just two players in program history, former guards Forest Grant (1980-84) and Velton Jones (2008-13), have eclipsed career totals of 1,000 points, 500 assists and 200 steals. Stewart is RMU's active leader in each category, having compiled 799 points, 436 assists and 173 steals. He would need to produce averages of 11.8 points, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals over the final 17 games of the 2016-17 regular season to become the third player in school history to accomplish the feat.
 
Alert and Active - Robert Morris established a season high in steals with 16 in a 78-67 victory @ Sacred Heart (12/29/16) to open its Northeast Conference slate as senior guard Kavon Stewart led the way with four thefts. It marks sixth time in seven years under head coach Andrew Toole the Colonials have posted at least 15 steals in a game. To put that total in perspective, all-time in program history on record RMU has finished with at least 15 steals in a game 15 times against Division I opponents. The record of 19 came Feb. 6, 2012, against Bryant and was matched Dec. 15, 2012, against Duquesne.
 
Still Of The Night - Sophomore guard Isaiah Still returned to the lineup in a 78-67 win @ Sacred Heart (12/29/16) to open Northeast Conference play and paced the Colonials with 22 points while also tying a career high with seven rebounds. Still has led Robert Morris in scoring in 10 of its 14 games this season and has reached double figures 11 times. Dating back to last season, Still has scored in double figures in 19 of his last 21 games, averaging 15.9 points per contest. As RMU closes out a two-game road swing Saturday, Still has improved his scoring average +5.8 points per game from last year.
 
The Rock - Redshirt senior forward Aaron Tate reached double figures for the third time this season in a 78-67 victory @ Sacred Heart (12/29/16), finishing with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and a 2-for-3 performance at the free-throw line. Tate has been a rock for the Colonials over the last nine games, a stretch in which Robert Morris has gone 5-4 (.556), by producing averages of 6.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 59.1 percent (26-for-44) from the field. In his time on the roster, Robert Morris owns a record of 4-2 (.667) when Tate reaches double figures.
 
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. Through 14 games this season, Robert Morris has compiled 109 steals, an average of 7.79 per game that leads the NEC. Senior guard Kavon Stewart ranks paces the circuit individually with an average of 2.07 per contest.

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