GAME 17
LIU Brooklyn (6-10 / 1-2 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (9-7 / 3-0 NEC)
Saturday, January 6, 2018 • 4:00 p.m.
PPG Paints Arena (19,000) • Pittsburgh, Pa.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Video: RMUColonials.com • NECFrontRow.com
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team continues a three-game homestand Saturday by welcoming LIU Brooklyn to PPG Paints Arena for a 4:00 p.m. tip. The Colonials are 3-0 in the Northeast Conference for the third time in eight years under head coach Andrew Toole as well as the first time since 2013-14. 
 
- 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. Saturday's game against the Blackbirds is the third of eight contests at PPG Paints Arena.
 
- Robert Morris opened its three-game homestand with an 80-79 overtime victory over St. Francis Brooklyn (1/4/18) at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Junior guard Matty McConnell converted a layup with 10.8 seconds to go and completed the and-one with a free throw courtesy of a foul by Glenn Sanabria of the Terriers to help lift the Colonials to their third consecutive victory.
 
- St. Francis Brooklyn had one last chance to win, but a three-pointer by Rasheem Dunn was strong, and freshman forward Koby Thomas came down with the rebound to seal the triumph. Thomas recorded his first career double-double in the victory with 16 points and a career-high 12 caroms.
 
- Sophomore guard Dachon Burke led Robert Morris in its win over the Terriers with 17 points and also tallied eight rebounds, two assists, a block and four steals. Junior guard Matty McConnell contributed 13 points, six boards and four thefts, while freshman forward Charles Bain scored all 11 of his points in the first half off the bench.
 
- Robert Morris tied a season high with 40 points in the paint against St. Francis Brooklyn, and the contest also featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes. Neither team led in the contest by more than six points.
 
- RMU closed out a two-game road trip to open its league slate with a 71-57 victory @ Central Connecticut State (12/31/17). Freshman forward Charles Bain came off the bench to lead Robert Morris in the win with a career-high 18 points in 20 minutes. He shot 7-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. Bain also tallied four rebounds.
 
- Also reaching double figures for RMU in the win @ Central Connecticut State was sophomore guard Dachon Burke, who finished with 16 points and also tallied three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
- The Colonials christened their Northeast Conference schedule with a 68-54 victory @ Bryant (12/29/17). Junior guard Matty McConnell led four players in double figures scoring for RMU with a game-high 18 points while also grabbing six rebounds and posting a pair of blocks.

LINKS:
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
St. Francis Brooklyn Tidbits - Robert Morris earned its third consecutive win over St. Francis Brooklyn and improved to 46-29 (.613) in the all-time series against the Terriers ... In the first half, 29 of RMU's 33 points came from true freshman, led by Charles Bain (11) ... The Colonials tied a season high in rebounds (49) and posted a +12 margin on the glass ... Freshman forward Koby Thomas registered his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds ... RMU finished with 10 steals, the fifth time in 2017-18 the Colonials have registered at least 10 thefts ... Robert Morris is 3-2 (.600) this season when recording at least 10 steals in a game.
 
In The Clutch - You certainly could say that Robert Morris has a flair for the dramatic. In an 80-79 overtime win over St. Francis Brooklyn (1/4/18), junior guard Matty McConnell became the latest member of the Colonials to hit a buzzer beater for RMU. McConnell converted a layup and then completed the and-one with a free throw to lift the Colonials to the win over the Terriers. A look at the last 10 Colonials to hit a game-winning shot in the final 15 seconds to give RMU a victory:
 

Player	Opponent (Date)	Time (sec)	Score
Matty McConnell	vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (1/4/18)	10.8 (OT)	W, 80-79
Kavon Stewart	@ LIU Brooklyn (3/1/17)	3.0	W, 69-58
Isaiah Still	vs. Duquesne (12/6/16)	15.3	W, 64-60
Aaron Tate	vs. Central Connecticut (2/14/15)	0.0	W, 53-52
Lucky Jones	vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (2/22/14)	3.1 (OT)	W, 71-70
Mike McFadden	vs. Kentucky (3/19/13) %	8.7	W, 59-57
Velton Jones	@ LIU Brooklyn (2/2/13)	9.8	W, 60-57
Karvel Anderson	@ Campbell (12/4/12)	4.5 #	W, 61-58
Velton Jones	@ Sacred Heart (2/23/12)	0.1 #	W, 55-53
Coron Williams	@ Youngstown State (12/22/11)	0.3 #	W, 59-56

* NEC Tournament; % NIT; # Three-pointer
  
The Anatomy Of Overtime - Robert Morris has been to overtime 11 times under head coach Andrew Toole in his eight years leading the Colonials. Under Toole, Robert Morris is 7-4 (.636) in overtime, including 3-4 (.429) on the road. All-time in program history RMU has posted a record of 29-26 (.527) in overtime contests.
 
Close and Late - A common theme in the eight years that head coach Andrew Toole has been at the helm at Robert Morris has been playing close games late. During Toole's tenure, the Colonials have posted a record of 54-32 (.628) in games decided by five points or less, including a mark of 8-6 (.571) in games decided by a single point.
 
Did You Know? In eight seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, Robert Morris has compiled a record of 84-34 (.712) when scoring at least 70 points in a game. Included in that record is a mark of 30-4 (.882) when eclipsing the 80-point plateau.
 
Surging Second Half - Junior guard Matty McConnell and sophomore guard Dachon Burke had combined for two points at halftime of an eventual 80-79 overtime win over St. Francis Brooklyn (1/4/18), with McConnell providing the lone bucket with a layup at the 12:14 mark of the first half. In the second half and overtime, however, the duo combined for 28 points, including a game-high tying 17 from Burke. Burke shot 6-for-11 from the field after intermission and was also hit both of his shots in overtime, the first of which gave RMU the lead and the second of which tied the game. Burke and McConnell also each finished with four steals in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn. 
 
Only The Young - As Robert Morris continues its Northeast Conference slate, rookies have played a key part for the Colonials in 2017-18. Freshman have supplied 51.7 percent (583-of-1,124) of RMU's scoring output. Overall, newcomers have scored 63.9 percent (719-of-1,124) of the points for Robert Morris in 2017-18.
 
Dunk You Very Much - Freshman forward Koby Thomas is proving to be extremely capable around the rim, as he has posted 20 dunks in 16 games 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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