GAME 3
Mount Aloysius (1-0) vs. Robert Morris (0-2)
Wednesday, November 14, 2018 • 7:30 p.m.
North Athletic Complex (1,000) • Moon Township, Pa.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Radio Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Video: RMUColonials.com • NECFrontRow.com 
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team opens the home portion of its 2018-19 schedule Wednesday when it welcomes Mount Aloysius to the student recreation & fitness center at the North Athletic Complex for a 7:30 p.m. tip. It marks the start of a two-game homestand.
 
- The North Athletic Complex becomes the fourth different home venue for the Colonials in the last three years as construction of the UPMC Events Center is slated to be completed in 2019. RMU has played home games at the Charles L. Sewall Center, PPG Paints Arena, the A.J. Palumbo Center and the North Athletic Complex.
 
- Robert Morris has compiled a record of 35-7 (.833) all-time in home openers, including a mark of 5-3 (.625) under ninth-year head coach Andrew Toole. 
 
- The Colonials wrapped up a two-game road trip to open their 2018-19 campaign with a 74-60 setback @ Missouri State (11/9/18) as part of the 2018 National College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
 
- Sophomore forward Charles Bain led the Colonials with a career-high 25 points and added five rebounds and a pair of blocks. He shot 8-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-8 from deep, and 6-for-8 at the free-throw line.
 
- Sophomore guard Jon Williams contributed 11 points, tied a career high with five rebounds and dished out four assists against the Bears. Through the first two games of the year, Williams has posted eight assists against just one turnover.
 
- Robert Morris opened its 43rd NCAA Division I season and 2018-19 campaign with an 83-62 loss @ USC (11/6/18). RMU led, 53-49, with 12:17 to play but were outscored, 34-9, over the final 12 minutes of the contest.
 
- In his RMU debut, senior guard Josh Williams led the Colonials with 20 points while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists. He shot 7-for-17 from the floor, including 4-for-12 from the arc.
 
- Sophomore forward Koby Thomas registered his fourth career double-double off the bench against the Trojans, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Of his 10 caroms, three came on the offensive glass.
 
- The Colonials entered the 2018-19 campaign returning 62 percent (1,409-of-2,272) of their scoring, 61.4 percent (724-of-1,179) of their rebounding and 64.9 percent (248-of-382) of their assists.
 
- Robert Morris was picked fifth in the 2018 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll. Robert Morris has never been the preseason favorite in the poll despite owning a league-high eight NEC Tournament titles, the last of which came in 2015.
 
- RMU is one of 23 mid-major programs to average 20 victories since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign. Over the last 11 years, the Colonials posted an overall record of 223-153 (.592), an average of 20.3 wins a year and tied with Oakland.

MOUNT ALOYSIUS LINKS:
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
Missouri State Tidbits - The meeting between the Colonials and Bears marked the first in the all-time series ... Robert Morris owned a 36-35 edge on the glass, including a 12-4 advantage in offensive caroms ... RMU shot just 31.1 percent (19-for-61) from the field, including 26.5 percent (9-for-34) from beyond the arc ... RMU's 34 attempts from beyond the arc are the second highest total taken under ninth-year head coach Andrew Toole ... The Colonials took 37 attempts from deep, connecting for 13, in a 77-75 win @ Bryant (2/28/13) that sealed the 2013 Northeast Conference regular-season championship ... Senior guards Matty McConnell and Josh Williams each finished with three steals ... The Bears held a 34-14 advantage in points in the paint and also owned a 27-19 edge in points off turnovers.
 
Two Pair - In RMU's 2018-19 season opener @ USC (11/6/18), senior guard Josh Williams scored 20 points in his debut in a Robert Morris uniform. Three days later, sophomore forward Charles Bain scored a career-high 25 points @ Missouri State (11/9/18). It marks the first time two different Colonials eclipsed the 20-point plateau in back-to-back games to open the year since the first two games of the 2004-05 campaign. In a season-opening 68-49 win over Morgan State (11/15/04) at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, former guard Maurice Carter (2001-05) led RMU with 22 points. The next night, former forward Mark Anderson (2003-05) paced the Colonials with 20 points @ Ohio State (11/16/04).
 
Three's Company - Robert Morris has a variety of student-athletes on its roster that is comfortable spotting up from behind the arc. That was evident in the first two games of the 2018-19 season, as 48.9 percent (64-of-131) of RMU's attempts from the field were from deep. It's a trend to keep an eye on, as the highest amount of shots taken from beyond the three-point line during head coach Andrew Toole's tenure as head coach was in 2012-13, when 41.2 percent (788-of-1,912) of the shots by the Colonials came from deep. 
 
Sibling Helpers - Sophomore guard Jon Williams didn't commit his first turnover of the season until the 10:27 mark of the second half @ Missouri State (11/9/18) and enters Wednesday's home opener against Mount Aloysius leading the Northeast Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 8.00. In two games, Williams owns eight assists against just one miscue. His older brother, Josh Williams, ranks seventh in the same category at 2.00. Combined, the duo have dished out 14 assists against just four turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.50.     
 
The Senior - Matty McConnell is RMU's active leading scorer with 790 points, and the Pittsburgh, Pa., product will look to become the 25th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points in his final season of eligibility in 2018-19. Based on 29 games left on the regular-season schedule, McConnell needs to average 7.2 points per game to become the first 1,000-point scorer at Robert Morris since 2016.
 
The Leader - RMU head coach Andrew Toole picked up career victory No. 150 thanks to a 60-56 win @ Mount St. Mary's (2/28/18) in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Northeast Conference Tournament. Toole is in his ninth season at the helm leading the Colonials in 2018-19 and has posted an overall record of 150-125 (.545), including a mark of 91-51 (.641) against league foes. Toole is just eight victories shy of becoming the all-time leader for coaching wins at Robert Morris. Former head coach Jarrett Durham posted an overall record of 157-183 (.462) from 1984 to 1996.

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