Men's Basketball | 2/8/2017 2:13:00 PM

GAME 26
Mount St. Mary's (12-13, 10-2 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (9-16, 5-7 NEC)
Thursday, February 9, 2017 • 7:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM and 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Video: NECFrontRow.com • RMUColonials.com 
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closes out the 2016-17 regular season by hosting four of its final six games at the Charles L. Sewall Center. The Colonials open the stretch Thursday by hosting Mount St. Mary's in a 7:00 p.m. tip.
 
- RMU concluded a four-game road trip with a 78-54 win @ St. Francis Brooklyn (2/4/17). The Colonials finished 2-2 (.500) in their four-game trek and held the Terriers to just 29.1 percent (16-for-55) shooting, a season low by a Robert Morris opponent, including 12 percent (3-for-25) from beyond the arc.
 
- Sophomore guard Isaiah Still notched the first double-double of his career in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Dachon Burke contributed 14 points and five rebounds against the Terriers, while sophomore guard Matty McConnell finished with 10 points.
 
- Over its last seven games, Robert Morris has held its opponents to an average of 61.9 points per game on 38.4 percent (144-for-375) from the field, including 25.2 percent (30-for-119) from beyond the arc. The Colonials rank third in NCAA Division I in three-point field goal percent defense (28 percent).
 
- Robert Morris snapped a three-game losing streak with a 67-63 victory @ LIU Brooklyn (2/2/17) in the opening game of its swing through Brooklyn. Sophomore guard Isaiah Still paced the Colonials with 21 points and also added five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
 
- Senior guard Kavon Stewart added 15 points in the win over the Blackbirds on the strength of an 11-for-13 performance at the free-throw line. He also finished with a career-high nine rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard Dachon Burke registered his first career double-double @ LIU Brooklyn with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
- Redshirt senior forward Aaron Tate is RMU's active leader in rebounds with 477 and is 23 caroms shy of becoming the 18th member of the Robert Morris 500-Rebound Club. Senior guard Kavon Stewart is RMU's active leading scorer with 920 points and is 80 points shy of becoming the 25th member of the Robert Morris 1,000-Point Club.
 
- 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. RMU posted a 2-0 record in the facility this season.


 
St. Francis Brooklyn Tidbits - Robert Morris swept the 2016-17 series from the Terriers and improved to 45-29 (.608) all-time against St. Francis Brooklyn ... The 24-point margin of victory marked its largest since posting a 70-45 win over Mount St. Mary's (1/3/15) at the Charles L. Sewall Center ... The Terriers shot just 29.1 percent (16-for-55) from the field, a season low by an RMU opponent ... A total of 71.9 percent (56-of-78) of the Robert Morris offense in the win came from underclassmen, including each of its top three scorers ... RMU outscored St. Francis Brooklyn, 34-22, in points in the paint and 21-7 in points off turnovers ... The Colonials shot 81.3 percent (26-for-32) at the free-throw line, the best mark in 2016-17 outside of a perfect 5-for-5 performance at Lehigh (12/3/16).
 
The Stretch Run - Robert Morris entered the final month of the 2016-17 regular season riding its best stretch of the year defensively and kept it up in posting a pair of wins last week in Brooklyn, N.Y. Over its last five games, the Colonials have held four of their opponents to under 40 percent shooting, posting a field goal percent defense of 36 percent (99-for-275) while yielding an average of 62.6 points per contest. Against Northeast Conference foes, RMU ranks fourth in the league in scoring defense (65.1 ppg) and second in field goal percent defense (.410). In seven seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, RMU has posted a record of 38-12 (.760) in the month of February.
 
Joining The Ranks - Sophomore guard Isaiah Still became the fourth member of the Colonials, and second in as many games, to record their first career double-double in 2016-17 by leading RMU in a 78-54 victory @ St. Francis Brooklyn (2/4/17) with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The performance against the Terriers wrapped up a solid swing through Brooklyn, N.Y., for Still, who averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in a pair of games. Still joined redshirt senior forward Aaron Tate, sophomore guard Matty McConnell and freshman guard Dachon Burke in recording their first double-double this season. Burke finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 67-63 win @ LIU Brooklyn (2/2/17).
 
Close Out - Robert Morris enters Thursday's game against Mount St. Mary's 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 28 percent (116-for-414) from beyond the arc, which is tops in the Northeast Conference and ranks third in the country behind South Carolina (26.6 percent) and Morgan State (27.8 percent). League foes have shot just 25.6 percent (53-for-207) from deep against the Colonials this season. Overall, RMU has held 17 of its 25 opponents to under 30 percent shooting from deep.  
 
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 25 games, the Robert Morris underclassmen have supplied the Colonials with 53.8 percent (2,705-of-5,025) of the minutes played and 58.2 percent (913-of-1,567) of their scoring.
 
Did You Know? In seven seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, Robert Morris has compiled a record of 75-30 (.714) 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 4-4 (.500) this season when eclipsing 70 points, including 3-2 (.600) in Northeast Conference games.

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