Men's Basketball | 2/9/2016 2:48:00 PM

GAME 26
Saint Francis U. (12-11, 8-4 NEC) vs. RMU (7-18, 5-7 NEC)
Thursday, February 11, 2016 • 5:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
TV: ESPNU
TV Talent: John Brinckley (pxp) & Bob Valvano (color)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concludes a three-game homestand at the Charles L. Sewall Center Thursday with a 5:00 p.m. tip against Saint Francis U. in a game that will be televised live on ESPNU.
 
- The Colonials snapped a three-game slide in their last contest with an 89-71 victory over Bryant (2/6/16). Junior forward Billy Giles led the way against the Bulldogs by registering his second double-double of the year with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds.
 
- Freshman guard Isaiah Still finished with 22 points and five rebounds in the win over Bryant (2/16/16), while senior guard Rodney Pryor notched his fifth double-double of the year with 14 ponts and 11 boards.
 
- RMU established season highs in points (89), field goals (33) and field goal percentage (.550) in its win over Bryant. The Colonials also outrebounded the Bulldogs, 42-27, helping Robert Morris improve to 4-1 (.800) this season and 76-16 in six seasons under head coach Andrew Toole when outrebounding its opponent. 
 
- Thanks to a season-high 89 points, RMU improved to 28-3 (.903) in six years under head coach Andrew Toole when eclipsing the 80-point plateau.
 
- RMU's 89-71 victory over Bryant (2/6/16) marked Andrew Toole's 200th game on the sidelines as head coach of the Colonials. He owns an overall record of 117-83 (.585), and exactly half of those games have come against Northeast Conference foes. Toole owns a mark of 70-30 (.700) against NEC opposition.  
 
- Robert Morris opened its homestand by dropping a 65-60 decision to Central Connecticut (2/4/16). Freshman guard Isaiah Still scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to pace the Colonials and also tied a career high with seven rebounds.
 
- Junior forward Billy Giles and freshman guard Matty McConnell each finished with 13 points against the Blue Devils. McConnell added a career-high eight assists and tied a career high with five steals.
 
- RMU wrapped up a four-game road trip with a 90-78 setback @ Saint Francis U. (1/30/16). The Colonials trailed by as many as 25 before rallying late to trim their deficit to seven before falling. Robert Morris finished 2-2 (.500) on its four-game road swing.
 
- Freshman guard Isaiah Still scored 23 of his career-high 25 points in the second half to lead the Colonials against the Red Flash. Senior guard Rodney Pryor supplied 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
 
- RMU takes to the road after hosting Saint Francis U. Thursday with a 6:00 p.m. tip against Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016, in a game that will be televised live on Fox College Sports and MSG.


 
Bryant Tidbits - Robert Morris earned its third straight win over Bryant, improving its record in the all-time series against the Bulldogs to 12-2 (.857) ... RMU shot 64 percent (16-for-25) from the field in the first half in building a 44-37 halftime edge ... Robert Morris finished with 16 assists against Bryant, a season high against a Northeast Conference opponent ... For the second time this season junior forward Billy Giles and senior guard Rodney Pryor recorded double-doubles in the same game ... Giles finished with 23 points and 10 boards, while Pryor recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds ... Giles and Pryor each also recorded a double-double against Oakland (12/5/15) ... Bryant finished 0-for-8 from deep in the second half and was 5-for-19 overall (26.3 percent) ... Guards Matty McConnell (6) and Kavon Stewart (5) combined for 11 assists in the win against just one turnover.
 
Zeah Hey Kid - Freshman guard Isaiah Still earned the first weekly honor of his career when he was tabbed Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week Feb. 8, 2016. Still garnered the honor after averaging 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in RMU's first two games of its current three-game homestand. Still eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the second time in three games with 22 points in an 89-71 victory over Bryant (2/6/16) and has reached double figures in each of his last four games. He enters Thursday's tilt averaging 19.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over his last four contests while shooting 49 percent (25-for-51) from the floor and 75 percent (21-for-28) at the free-throw line.
 
Billy The Kid - Junior forward Billy Giles paced Robert Morris in an 89-71 win over Bryant (2/6/16) with a career-high 23 points while also tying a personal best with 10 rebounds to record his second double-double of the 2015-16 campaign. Giles shot 11-for-16 from the floor against the Bulldogs, including five dunks, and over his last four games is averaging 12.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest while shooting 66.7 percent (24-for-36) from the floor. Giles enters Thursday's game against Saint Francis U. ranked fourth in the Northeast Conference in field goal percentage at 56.8 percent (84-for-148). Against league foes, Giles has shot 53.5 percent (46-for-86) from the floor, which ranks seventh in the circuit. 
 
Attack The Paint - While Robert Morris has struggled knocking down the three-point shot in recent weeks, converting at the rim hasn't been an issue. In an 89-71 victory over Bryant (2/6/16) at the Sewall Center, the Colonials established a season high in points in the paint with 48, the second time in three games RMU has scored at least 40 points down low. Against the Bulldogs, RMU shot a staggering 64.4 percent (29-for-45) in two-point field goal attempts. Overall in 2015-16, the Colonials own a success rate inside the three-point arc of 49.7 percent (427-for-860). Through 12 games against Northeast Conference foes, Robert Morris has averaged 29.7 points in the paint per game.
 
Active Thief - Freshman guard Matty McConnell has teamed with junior guard Kavon Stewart to give the Colonials a solid combination at the top of RMU's 2-3 zone. Over the last 11 games, McConnell has posted 29 steals, an average of 2.64 per contest. The surge has pushed him into second in the Northeast Conference with an average of 1.82 steals per game overall on the year. Stewart and McConnell, meanwhile, rank first and second in the NEC against league foes in steals per game. Stewart owns 27 steals in 11 games, an average of 2.45 per contest, while McConnell owns 29 thefts in 12 games, an average of 2.42 per tilt.
 
The Chase For 1,000 - Senior guard Rodney Pryor is RMU's active leading scorer with 939 points as the Colonials conclude a three-game homestand Thursday against Saint Francis U. Pryor has scored a team-high 393 points in 22 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 10.2 points over RMU's final six 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 352 career assists in 88 games, an average of 4.00 per contest, and is 33 dimes short of cracking the top 10 in school history in the category. Stewart is also RMU's active leader in steals with 132 career thefts.

Defense Wins Championships - At the heart of the resurgence of the Robert Morris basketball program since 2007-08 is defense. Despite a 65-60 setback to Central Connecticut (2/4/16) that opened a three-game homestand, RMU still owns an overall record of 144-34 (.809) 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 91-26 (.778) when turning the trick. Overall in the last nine years, RMU has held its opponent to under 70 points 58.6 percent (178-of-304) of the time.
 
On The Offensive - Robert Morris snapped a three-game losing streak with an 89-71 victory over Bryant (2/6/16) and in the process shot a season-high 55 percent (33-for-60) from the field, including 64 percent (16-for-25) in the first half. In six seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, RMU owns a mark of 34-5 (.872) when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, including a mark of 26-1 (.963) against NEC opponents. Broken down against league foes, Robert Morris is 23-1 (.958) in the regular season and 3-0 in the NEC Tournament when converting at least half of its shots. Against non-conference opponents under Toole, RMU is 8-4 (.667) when turning the trick.

Tweet #PackTheChuck