Men's Basketball | 1/25/2017 1:11:00 PM

GAME 22
Robert Morris (7-14, 3-5 NEC) @ Mount St. Mary's (9-12, 7-1 NEC)
Thursday, January 26, 2017 • 7:00 p.m.
Knott Arena (3,500) • Emmitsburg, Md.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM and 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
TV: CBS Sports Network
TV Talent: Dave Popkin (pxp), Joe DeSantis (color) & Paul Dottino (sideline)
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closes out the month of January with a pair of road games as part of a four-game road trip overall. The Colonials open the swing Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. tip at Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, Md., against Mount St. Mary's in a game that can be seen live on CBS Sports Network.
 
- RMU closed out a two-game homestand at the Charles L. Sewall Center with a 59-56 setback to Bryant (1/21/17). The Colonials let a 12-point lead in the second half slip away but still had two chances inside 25 seconds to either tie or take the lead. A pair of three-point attempts from sophomore guard Isaiah Still, however, were off the mark.
 
- Freshman guard Dachon Burke paced Robert Morris against Bryant with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line. He also added six rebounds and a steal.
 
- Senior guard Kavon Stewart contributed 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and five steals against the Bulldogs. Stewart leads the Northeast Conference in steals with 2.00 per game thanks to 40 thefts in 20 games.
 
- Against Northeast Conference foes, rookie guard Dachon Burke is averaging 11.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 55.6 percent (35-for-63) from the field. He ranks fifth in the circuit against NEC opposition in field goal percentage.
 
- The Colonials snapped a two-game slide by posting a 74-67 victory over Central Connecticut (1/19/17). Senior guard Kavon Stewart matched a season high in scoring by leading RMU with 21 points and also added five rebounds and six assists. Robert Morris shot a season-high 52 percent (26-for-50) from the field in the win.
 
- Sophomore guard Matty McConnell contributed 12 points against the Blue Devils, freshman guard Dachon Burke scored 11 and redshirt senior forward Aaron Tate registered 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
- Prior to its win over CCSU, Robert Morris announced it will break ground on the UPMC Events Center, a 140,000-square foot complex, in July. The Colonials will play their home games at Peoples Court, and the facility is slated to open in January of 2019. In addition, RMU extended the contract of head coach Andrew Toole one season through the 2020-21 campaign.
 
- While the UPMC Events Center is being constructed, Robert Morris will play its home games at PPG Paints Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Colonials will play their entire slate in 2017-18 at the facility as well as its non-conference schedule in 2018-19.
 
- RMU posted a 2-0 record in games at PPG Paints Arena this season, earning a 64-60 victory over Duquesne (12/6/16) in its debut at the facility before garnering a 74-71 win over Buffalo (12/21/16) in its final non-conference tilt of the season.


 
Bryant Tidbits - Robert Morris slipped to 12-3 (.800) all-time against Bryant, with each of the three losses to the Bulldogs coming at the Charles L. Sewall Center ... Bryant shot just 30.4 percent (17-for-56) from the field, including 6.7 percent (1-for-15) from beyond the arc ... The field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage by the Bulldogs marked a season low by an RMU opponent ... Robert Morris shot just 25 percent (4-for-16) from the field in the final 10:46 of the contest after opening up an 11-point advantage ... RMU has had a double-digit advantage in five of its eight Northeast Conference games but is just 3-2 (.600) in those contests ... Each team finished with nine assists and 19 turnovers ... Senior guard Kavon Stewart posted five steals against the Bulldogs, the third time in 2016-17 he has registered at least five steals and the sixth time in his career. 
 
Growing Up - Freshman guard Dachon Burke has become a consistent contributor since Robert Morris has entered Northeast Conference play, as he enters Thursday's game @ Mount St. Mary's averaging 11.4 points and 4.0 rebounds against league foes while shooting 55.6 percent (35-for-63) from the floor. Burke, who paced the Colonials against Bryant with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and a 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line, has reached double figures in four consecutive games and six of RMU's eight league contests. He ranks fifth in the NEC against league foes in field goal percentage and over the last four games is averaging 13.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 61.8 percent (21-for-34) from the field, including 50 percent (4-for-8) from beyond the arc.
 
Stars and Stripes - Senior guard Kavon Stewart enters Thursday's game @ Mount St. Mary's having reached double figures in six of his last eight games and is coming off a solid homestand for the Colonials. Stewart tied a season high in scoring with 21 points in a 74-67 victory over Central Connecticut (1/19/17) and in two games last week averaged 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals while shooting 86.7 percent (13-for-15) at the free-throw line. Against Northeast Conference opponents this season, Stewart is shooting 84.6 percent (33-for-39) at the chalk, which ranks fifth in the circuit. Thanks to an 8-for-9 performance at the line against CCSU, Stewart became the seventh player in school history to convert at least 300 free throws. He ranks sixth all-time in program history with 312.
 
Did You Know? Over his last eight games, senior guard Kavon Stewart is averaging 12.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game while converting 81.6 percent (40-for-49) of his attempts at the free-throw line. Thanks to 13 points against Bryant (1/21/17), Stewart became the 27th player in school history to reach double figures at least 40 times.
 
Under/Over - The 2016-17 version of the Colonials are one of the youngest teams in head coach Andrew Toole's seven-year tenure at RMU, as three freshman and three sophomores help make up the rotation. Through 21 games, the Robert Morris underclassmen have supplied the Colonials with 52.8 percent (2,218-of-4,200) of the minutes played and 57.4 percent (741-of-1,292) of their scoring.

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