GAME 32
#7 Robert Morris (13-18) @ #2 LIU Brooklyn (20-11)
2017 Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 1, 2017 • 9:00 p.m.
Steinberg Wellness Center (2,500) • Brooklyn, N.Y.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM and 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
TV: Fox College Sports, MSG+
TV Talent: Paul Dottino (pxp) & Terry O'Connor (color)  
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team begins its quest for a league-high ninth Northeast Conference Tournament championship Wednesday in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a 9:00 p.m. tip against LIU Brooklyn at the Steinberg Wellness Center. The game can be seen live on Fox College Sports and MSG+.
 
- Seventh-year head coach Andrew Toole has compiled a record of 10-5 (.667) in the Northeast Conference Tournament. The 10 victories are tied for the most in program history with former head coach Jarrett Durham, who posted a record of 10-8 (.556) in 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996.
 
- Robert Morris concluded the 2016-17 regular season riding a season-high three-game winning streak after earning a 79-72 victory over Sacred Heart (2/25/17) in the program's final game at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Colonials shot 51 percent (25-for-49) from the field in the win, knocking down a season-high 10 three-pointers in 18 attempts (55.6 percent).
 
- Sophomore guard Isaiah Still scored 23 of his career-high 28 points in the second half to lead RMU against the Pioneers. He also added six rebounds and shot 7-for-9 from the field, including 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.
 
- Freshman guard Dachon Burke contributed a career-high 17 points and four rebounds in the win over Sacred Heart (2/25/17), while senior guard Kavon Stewart compiled 15 points, five assists and two steals.
 
- In two games last week, freshman guard Dachon Burke averaged 15.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals while shooting 63.2 percent (12-for-19) from the field, including 66.7 percent (4-for-6) from beyond the arc. For his efforts, Burke was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week (2/27/17).
 
- In 32 seasons at the Charles L. Sewall Center, which opened in 1985, Robert Morris finished with an overall record of 278-149 (.651), including a mark of 175-106 (.623) against Northeast Conference foes. The Colonials owned a mark of 66-32 (.673) in the venue under seventh-year head coach Andrew Toole. RMU won four NEC Tournament championships (1989, 1990, 1992, 2009) in the building. 
 
- Robert Morris announced Thursday, January 19, 2017, in a press conference at the Charles L. Sewall Center 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 built, Robert Morris will play its home games at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Colonials will play their entire slate in 2017-18 at the facility as well as its non-conference schedule in 2018-19.
 
NEC Tournament Quick Hits - A charter member of the Northeast Conference, Robert Morris has appeared in the NEC Tournament 33 out of a possible 36 times … RMU owns a record of 39-24 (.619) in the NEC Tournament, with the 39 victories the most by any institution in the history of the tournament … The Colonials own a record of 27-8 (.771) in tournament games played at home, including a record of 22-7 (.759) in games at the Charles L. Sewall Center, 7-9 (.438) in road games and a mark of 5-7 (.417) in neutral site contests ... RMU has appeared in the NEC Tournament in each of the past 14 seasons, advancing to the semifinals 10 times over that span and the NEC Championship game six times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015) ... RMU has hosted the NEC Tournament championship game six times (1983, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2009, 2014), with the Colonials 5-1 (.833) in those games ... RMU is 3-2 (.600) in NEC Tournament championship games on the road, with victories @ LIU Brooklyn (1982), Quinnipiac (2010) and St. Francis Brooklyn (2015) and a pair of losses @ LIU Brooklyn (2011, 2012) ...  Robert  Morris is one of four programs in the NEC to have won back-to-back league titles, having accomplished the feat three times (1982 & 1983, 1989 & 1990 and 2009 & 2010) ... The Colonials have advanced to the semifinals of the NEC Tournament 19 times, the most in league history.
 
 
Sacred Heart Tidbits - Robert Morris swept the season series from Sacred Heart and improved to 22-10 (.688) all-time against the Pioneers ... RMU held SHU to just 36.1 percent (13-for-36) shooting in the second half ... Sacred Heart held a 43-33 edge on the glass and outscored Robert Morris, 14-4, in second-chance points ... The Colonials owned a 24-9 advantage in points off turnovers ... RMU is averaging 22.0 points per game off turnovers during its three-game winning streak ... Sophomore guard Matty McConnell posted a team-high nine rebounds ... In his final two home games, senior guard Kavon Stewart averaged 11.0 points and 7.0 assists.
 
February Fun - Isaiah Still helped Robert Morris send the Charles L. Sewall Center out in style in the program's final game at the facility with a 79-72 victory over Sacred Heart (2/25/17). The sophomore guard scored 23 of his career-high 28 points in the second half and also added six rebounds in the win. He finished 7-for-9 from the floor against the Pioneers, including 6-for-7 from beyond the arc. The performance wrapped up a virtuoso February for Still, as in eight contests during the month he averaged 19.6 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 44.5 percent (49-for-110) from the floor. Still eclipsed the 20-point plateau four times during the month and has turned the trick nine times this season, which is tied for fourth in the Northeast Conference with Darian Anderson of Fairleigh Dickinson. In 13 career games during the month of February in his first two years with RMU, Still has reached double figures in each one and has averaged 18.3 points per contest.
 
Burke Breakout - In the final two games in program history at the Charles L. Sewall Center, freshman guard Dachon Burke helped the Colonials earn a sweep by averaging 15.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals while shooting 63.2 percent (12-for-19) from the field, including 66.7 percent (4-for-6) from deep. In a 79-72 victory over Sacred Heart (2/25/17) in the final game at the Sewall Center, Burke established a career high with 17 points and also added four rebounds, an assist, block and steal. Thanks to his performance last week, Burke was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week (2/27/17), the first weekly honor of his career.
 
Close and Late - Robert Morris earned a 77-76 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson (2/23/17) to open its final homestand in program history at the Charles L. Sewall Center and in the process improved to 2-2 (.500) this season in games decided by just a single point. Playing close games late has been a reoccurring theme for the Colonials this season, as nine of RMU's 18 contests in the Northeast Conference have been decided by five points or less. Robert Morris owns a record of 4-5 (.444) in those games. In seven seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 51-31 (.622) in games decided by five points or less.
 
Close Out - Robert Morris enters the 2017 Northeast Conference Tournament as one of the top teams in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percent defense. The Colonials have held opponents to a shooting percentage of just 29.8 percent (153-for-513) from beyond the arc, which is tops in the Northeast Conference and ranks sixth in the country behind Morgan State (28.1 percent), South Carolina (28.7 percent), Rhode Island (29.3 percent), Gonzaga (29.3 percent) and N.C. Central (29.4 percent). League foes shot 29.4 percent (90-for-306) from deep against the Colonials this season. 
 
Under/Over - The 2016-17 version of the Colonials marks one of the youngest teams in head coach Andrew Toole's seven-year tenure at RMU, as a trio of freshman and three sophomores help make up the rotation. Through 31 games, the Robert Morris underclassmen have supplied the Colonials with 55.7 percent (3,465-of-6,225) of the minutes played and 60.4 percent (1,204-of-1,990) of their scoring.
 
Surf Board - Redshirt senior forward Aaron Tate joined the RMU 500-Rebound Club in the opening tilt of a two-game swing through New England by registering his second career double-double courtesy of 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds @ Bryant (2/16/17). Tate grabbed his 500th career board at the 8:36 mark of the second half thanks to an offensive rebound, one of his nine on the game. Tate is the 18th member of the club and through 31 games this season has led the Colonials in caroms a total of 17 times. Tate, who averages 6.7 rebounds per contest, finished the regular season with 520 career boards.
 
Did You Know? In seven seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, Robert Morris has compiled a record of 78-32 (.709) when scoring at least 70 points in a game. Included in that record is a mark of 28-4 (.875) when eclipsing the 80-point plateau. RMU is 7-6 (.538) this season when eclipsing 70 points, including 6-4 (.600) in Northeast Conference games.
 
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 31 games this season, Robert Morris has compiled 245 steals, an average of 7.90 per game that leads the NEC. Senior guard Kavon Stewart ranks second in the circuit individually with an average of 1.70 per contest.
 
Triple Threat - Senior guard Kavon Stewart enters the 2017 Northeast Conference Tournament as RMU's active leader in points (977), assists (495) and steals (195). He is looking to become just the third player in program history to eclipse career totals of 1,000 points, 500 assists and 200 steals. Former guards Forest Grant (1980-84) and Velton Jones (2008-13) are the two players to have turned the trick. Grant finished with 1,494 points, 555 assists and 332 steals, while Jones concluded his career with 1,588 points, 551 assists and 220 thefts.
 
Start Me Up - Head coach Andrew Toole, who is in his seventh year at the helm of the Colonials in 2016-17, has employed 10 different starting lineups this season. Toole, who has won 133 games in seven seasons as head coach at Robert Morris, has used 62 different starting lineups during his tenure. That equates to an average of 2.15 victories per starting five. In his seven seasons on the sideline, Toole has used an average of 8.9 starting lineups per year.
 
Comeback Kids - Robert Morris has made a habit of climbing out of double-digit deficits under Andrew Toole, and that bore fruit in a 79-72 victory over Sacred Heart (2/25/17) in the program's final game at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Colonials trailed the Pioneers, 18-7, with 13:16 to play in the first half before charging back to earn the victory. It marked the 25th time under Toole the Colonials have erased a double-digit deficit in his seven seasons as head coach. On 23 of those occasions Robert Morris has earned a victory.
 
Did You Know? Sophomore guard Isaiah Still has eclipsed the 20-point plateau 11 times in his first two seasons in a Robert Morris uniform, including nine times in 2016-17. The only players in school history to have more 20-point scoring games in their first two years are all-time leading scorer Myron Walker (23) and Maurice Carter (16). 
 
On The Offensive - Thanks to shooting 51 percent (25-for-49) from the field in a 79-72 win over Sacred Heart (2/25/17) that closed out the Charles L. Sewall Center, RMU improved to 37-5 (.881) when shooting 50 percent or better from the field in seven seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, including a mark of 29-1 (.967) against NEC opponents. Broken down against league foes, Robert Morris is 26-1 (.963) in the regular season and 3-0 in the NEC Tournament when converting at least half of its shots.
 
Defense Wins Championships - At the heart of the resurgence of the Robert Morris basketball program since 2007-08 is defense. Thanks to a 74-64 win @ Central Connecticut (2/18/17), the Colonials improved to 156-44 (.780) over the last 10 seasons when holding their opponent to under 70 points. Under Andrew Toole, RMU owns a mark of 103-36 (.757) when turning the trick. Overall in the last nine years, the Colonials have held their opponent to under 70 points 58.5 percent (200-of-342) of the time.
 
Offensively Speaking - The Colonials enter the 2017 Northeast Conference Tournament riding a season-high three-game winning streak and are in the midst of their best stretch of the season offensively. During the last three games, Robert Morris is averaging 76.7 points per game while shooting 48 percent (72-for-150) from the field, including 41.8 percent (23-for-55) from beyond the arc. RMU established a season high in three-pointers with 10 in a 79-72 victory over Sacred Heart (2/25/17).
 
Board Games - Part of following the formula in regard to being successful for RMU over the last nine seasons has been the program's ability to crash the boards. Since the beginning of 2007-08, Robert Morris owns a record of 140-32 (.814) when the Colonials are even or better in rebounding in a game, including a 132-27 (.830) mark when outrebounding their opponent.
 
Free Is For Me - Robert Morris closed out the Charles L. Sewall Center by earning a 79-72 victory over Sacred Heart (2/25/17) and visited the free-throw line 32 times, converting 19 (59.4 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 26-10 (.722) under head coach Andrew Toole when visiting the chalk at least 30 times in a contest.

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