GAME 11
Robert Morris (6-4) @ Buffalo (6-3)
Saturday, December 16, 2017 • 2:00 p.m.
Alumni Arena (6,100) • Buffalo, N.Y.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Video: ESPN3
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team, winners of six of its last seven after an 0-3 start to the 2017-18 season, opens a two-game road trip Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Buffalo at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
 
- RMU wrapped up a two-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena with a 74-60 victory over Drexel (12/10/17). Sophomore guard Dachon Burke paced the Colonials with 25 points and added four rebounds and five steals. He set a career high with six three-pointers.
 
- Freshman forward Koby Thomas added 21 points and a team-high six rebounds in the win over the Dragons, while junior guard Matty McConnell registered his third career double-double courtesy of 10 points and a career-high 11 assists.
 
- The win over Drexel marked RMU's 600th victory as an NCAA Division I program. All-time the Colonials are 600-625 (.490). It also marked the 250th game on the sideline for eighth-year head coach Andrew Toole. Only Jarrett Durham (340) has coached more games in the 42-year Division I history of Robert Morris basketball.
 
- Robert Morris has received seven weekly honors from the Northeast Conference through the first five weeks of the 2017-18 season. Sophomore guard Dachon Burke is the three-time reigning NEC Player of the Week, while freshman forward Koby Thomas has been named NEC Rookie of the Week three times. In addition, freshman guard Jon Williams was named NEC Rookie of the Week Dec. 4, 2017.
 
- Over his last four games, freshman guard Jon Williams is averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 54.2 percent (13-for-24) from the field, including 63.2 percent (12-for-19) from beyond the arc.
 
- The Colonials enter Saturday's game @ Buffalo leading the Northeast Conference in turnover margin at +3.00 and defensive efficiency (101.6). Robert Morris is forcing an average of 18.8 turnovers per game.
 
- RMU opened the home portion of its 2017-18 slate with a 78-75 victory over Rider (12/6/17) at PPG Paints Arena. Freshman forward Koby Thomas finished with a game-high 20 points, including six in the final 2:59 to help seal the victory.
 
- Sophomore guard Dachon Burke contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the win over the Broncs, while freshman guard Jon Williams and junior guard Matty McConnell each scored 10 points. Williams dished out a career-high eight assists in the victory, while McConnell registered six dimes.
 
- Burke, Williams and McConnell are the second RMU trio to dish out at least five assists in a game this season. In a 75-53 win over Norfolk State (11/24/17) in Little Rock, Ark., as part of the Grand Canyon Classic, Williams notched seven dimes, while Burke and freshman guard Leondre Washington each had five helpers.

LINKS:
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
Drexel Tidbits - The victory helped RMU even the all-time series against Drexel, 2-2 (.500) ... Freshman guard Jon Williams played a career-high 38 minutes and over the last four games is averaging 36.5 minutes per contest ... Robert Morris posted a season-high seven dunks in the win over the Dragons, including four from freshman forward Koby Thomas ... Also supplying a flush for the Colonials was sophomore guard Dachon Burke (2) and graduate transfer Ronnie Gombe ... Gombe posted career highs in points (6) and rebounds (4) against Drexel ... Robert Morris outscored Drexel, 36-34, in points in the paint and also owned a 19-10 advantage in fast break points.
 
Court Vision - Junior guard Matty McConnell notched his third career double-double in a 74-60 victory over Drexel (12/10/17), scoring 10 points while dishing out a career-high 11 assists. Thanks to the performance, Robert Morris improved to a perfect 7-0 under eighth-year head coach Andrew Toole when a student-athlete compiles at least 10 assists in a game. Over the last seven games, McConnell is supplying the Colonials with averages of 10.6 points and 4.6 assists per contest. More impressive is the fact that McConnell ranks second in the Northeast Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.95) thanks to 37 dimes on the season against just 19 turnovers.
 
Three's Company - Robert Morris was able to secure its sixth win in the last seven games with a 74-60 victory over Drexel (12/10/17) with another solid performance from beyond the arc, as the Colonials tied a season high with 11 three-pointers. Over its last six games, Robert Morris is averaging 10.0 three-pointers per contest and is shooting 40.8 percent (60-for-147) from international waters. Under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 38-8 (.826) when hitting at least 10 triples in a game over the course of the last eight seasons.
 
Blast Off - Dachon Burke seems to stepping into his own in his second year with the Colonials, as the sophomore guard has reached double figures in each of his nine games this season and enters Saturday's game @ Buffalo leading RMU and ranking fifth in the Northeast Conference in scoring at 17.3 points per game. Over his last six games, Burke is averaging 19.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals per contest while shooting 52.4 percent (43-for-82) from the field. Included in that stretch is a trio of 20-point performances, the first three of his career, including a career-high 26 points @ Siena (12/2/17). RMU is 12-8 (.600) the last two years when Burke scores in double figures.
 
Did You Know? Sophomore guard Dachon Burke ranks third in the Northeast Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 53.6 percent. In nine games this season, Burke is 15-for-28 from deep. As a rookie last season, Burke hit 14 three-pointers in 33 games.
 
Weekly Honors - The recent surge from Dachon Burke has allowed the sophomore guard to claim each of the last three Northeast Conference Player of the Week honors. He is the first NEC student-athlete to be named the NEC Player of the Week three consecutive times since former CCSU forward Ken Horton in February of 2011. It also marks the first time in program history an RMU student-athlete has claimed three straight NEC Player of the Week accolades. Former guard Chipper Harris (1980-84) was previously the only member of the Colonials to claim the award in back-to-back weeks in February of 1984.
 
Fantastic Frosh - Freshman forward Koby Thomas earned his third Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week accolade of the season Dec. 11, 2017, after averaging 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in wins over Rider (12/6/17) and Drexel (12/10/17) last week. Thomas scored 20 points in the victory over the Broncs and added 21 against the Dragons. Thanks to those performances, Thomas has eclipsed the 20-point plateau four times in his first 10 collegiate games, the most in school history. RMU's all-time leading scorer Myron Walker (1990-94) turned the trick three times in his first 10 games. Thomas is also proving to be extremely capable around the rim, as he has posted 14 dunks so far this season. The most dunks in a season by an RMU student-athlete in eight years under head coach Andrew Toole is 30, which came in 2015-16 by former forward Billy Giles (2015-17).

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