GAME 22
Sacred Heart (7-14 / 2-6 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (12-9 / 6-2 NEC)
Friday, January 26, 2018 • 7:00 p.m.
PPG Paints Arena (19,000) • Pittsburgh, Pa.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Video: RMUColonials.com • NECFrontRow.com
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team reaches the midway point of its 2017-18 Northeast Conference slate Friday by opening a four-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart.
 
- RMU is playing eight home games at PPG Paints Arena and four at the A.J. Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University in 2017-18 while construction of the UPMC Events Center takes place on RMU's Moon Township campus. Friday's game against the Pioneers is the fifth of eight contests at PPG Paints Arena.
 
- The Colonials concluded a three-game road trip with a 62-49 setback @ Wagner (1/20/18). Robert Morris was led by freshman forward Koby Thomas, who notched his third career double-double with 16 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds. He shot 5-for-10 from the field while going 6-for-7 at the free-throw line.
 
- Sophomore guard Dachon Burke contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals against the Seahawks, while off the bench freshman guard Leondre Washington scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
 
- Robert Morris enters Friday's game against Sacred Heart leading the Northeast Conference in turnover margin (+2.95) and three-point field goal percent defense (.306) while ranking second in the circuit in scoring defense (71.1 ppg), steals (8.00 per game) and offensive rebounds (12.81 per contest).
 
- In Northeast Conference games, the Colonials lead the league in three-point field goal percent defense (.290), steals (8.00 per game) and offensive rebounds (13.38 per contest) while ranking second in the conference in scoring defense (69.4 ppg) and scoring margin (+4.5).
 
- In four games at PPG Paints Arena in 2017-18, Robert Morris is averaging 80.0 points per contest while owning a scoring margin of +4.3. Sophomore guard Dachon Burke is averaging 20.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in home games at PPG Paints Arena, while freshman forward Koby Thomas supplies averages of 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.
 
- The Colonials won their second straight road contest with a 74-60 victory @ Sacred Heart (1/18/18). RMU jumped out to a 14-0 lead and owned a 42-15 advantage in the first half en route to the victory over the Pioneers. Robert Morris grabbed its biggest lead of the season by posting a 20-1 run that spanned five minutes in the first half. Six different Colonials scored during the surge.
 
- Sophomore guard Dachon Burke paced RMU against Sacred Heart with a game-high 19 points and also added four rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Matty McConnell contributed 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, while freshman forward Koby Thomas added 10 points and six rebounds.

LINKS:
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
Wagner Tidbits - Robert Morris has dropped four consecutive games at the Spiro Sports Center on Staten Island, N.Y., but overall owns a 42-30 (.583) edge in the all-time series ... The Colonials had their worst offensive game of the season, establishing season lows in points (49), field goals (18), field goal percentage (.273), three-point field goals (2) and three-point field goal percentage (.200) ... RMU also posted its fewest fouls of the year against the Seahawks, finishing with 15 ... Robert Morris finished with 66 field goal attempts, tying a season high against a Northeast Conference opponent and just one off its season high (67) @ Siena (12/2/17).
 
Surf Board - The Colonials are in the midst of their best stretch of the season on the glass, as RMU opens a four-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena against Sacred Heart Friday with a +4.2 rebounding margin during the month of January. More impressive has been the work on the offensive glass for Robert Morris, as the Colonials own a +5.0 margin in offensive caroms. Against Northeast Conference opposition, RMU leads the league in offensive rebounds with an average of 13.38 per game and overall this season rank second in the league at 12.81 per contest.
 
Glass Active - No member of the Colonials has been more active in the rebounding department in recent weeks that freshman forward Koby Thomas. The leader in the Northeast Conference among rookies in both scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg), Thomas has recorded three double-doubles in his last six games. Included in that stretch for Thomas is 16 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds @ Wagner (1/20/18). During the month of January, Thomas is providing RMU with averages of 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest, including an average of 3.33 offensive caroms per contest. 
 
Army Reserve - Robert Morris sits in a tie for first place in the Northeast Conference standings as it opens a four-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena due in large part to a balanced and young roster. So far this season, the Colonials are receiving an average of 21.2 points per game from their bench. Dig a little deeper, and 77.1 percent (341-of-442) of RMU's production from its bench has come from rookies, including three true freshman and a redshirt freshman. Since graduate transfer Ronnie Gombe was inserted into the starting lineup in the non-conference finale against Canisius (12/22/17), a total of 96.6 percent (170-of-176) of the bench production in the last nine games for the Colonials has been from a freshman.
 
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 five times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) under Toole and seven times in the last 10 years. Through 21 games of the 2017-18 campaign, RMU has compiled 168 steals, an average of 8.00 per game that ranks second in the NEC. Guard Dachon Burke leads the NEC individually with an average of 2.15 per game. Junior guard Matty McConnell, RMU's active leader with 148 career thefts, ranks fourth in the circuit in steals with an average of 1.76 per contest.

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