GAME 4
Mississippi Valley State (0-4) vs. RMU (1-2)
2018 National College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
Saturday, November 17, 2018 • 7:00 p.m.
North Athletic Complex (1,000) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
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 concludes a two-game homestand by returning to play in the 2018 National College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, welcoming Mississippi Valley State to the student recreation & fitness center at the North Athletic Complex for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
 
- The Colonials opened their 2018-19 home slate with their first home game at the North Athletic Complex with a 104-57 victory over Mount Aloysius (11/14/18). Senior guard Josh Williams, in his first home game in an RMU uniform, established single-game records for points (49), three-point field goals (15) and three-point field goal attempts (25). He also tied the Robert Morris single-game record for field goals (16) and field goal attempts (26).
 
- Senior guard Josh Williams also tied an NCAA single-game record with 15 three-pointers in the win over the Mounties. The record was originally established Dec. 14, 1996, when Keith Veney of Marshall also went 15-for-25 from beyond the arc en route to a 51-point performance in a 115-93 win over Morehead State. The record was also tied the next night after Williams turned the trick, when Jordan Lyons of Furman finished 15-for-34 from deep in a 107-67 victory over North Greenville (11/15/18). Lyons finished with 54 points.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell contributed 12 points, a game-high seven assists and three steals in the win over Mount Aloysius (11/14/18) as Robert Morris shot 50.8 percent (31-for-61) from the field.

- Thanks to the performance by Josh Williams in the win over the Mounties, RMU set new single-game team records for three-pointers (22) and three-point field goal attempts (43). The Colonials shot 51.2 percent (21-for-43) from beyond the arc.
 
- 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.
 
- Sophomore guard Jon Williams contributed 11 points, tied a career high with five rebounds and dished out four assists against the Bears.
 
- 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. Sophomore forward Koby Thomas registered his fourth career double-double off the bench against the Trojans, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE LINKS:
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
Mount Aloysius Tidbits - The meeting between the Colonials and Mounties was the first in the all-time series ... The Mounties shot just 37.5 percent (18-for-48) from the field but were 18-for-19 (94.7%) at the free-throw line ... Julian Stover scored a team-high 26 points for Mount Aloysius and he was the only member of the Mounties to visit the charity stripe ... The 18 free throws by Stover are the most on record by an opponent in an RMU home game ... The old mark was courtesy of current assistant coach Mike Iuzzolino, who finished 17-for-17 en route to a 32-point performance for Saint Francis U Jan. 9, 1991 at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
 
Historical Home Debut - Robert Morris has played a total of 1,597 across the junior college and NCAA Division I levels since joining the college basketball ranks in 1963. In just three of those contests has a member of the Colonials eclipsed the 40-point plateau. Senior guard Josh Williams became the latest in a 104-57 win over Mount Aloysius (11/14/18) in RMU's 2018-19 home opener. Williams, who was playing his first home for RMU against Mount Aloysius, broke the single-game record of 42 points, which came in a 99-85 setback @ Eastern Michigan (11/26/02) by former guard Maurice Carter (2001-05). It had been 519 games since Carter's feat against the Eagles and the performance by Williams. The record for most points by a Robert Morris student-athlete, however, had stood for over 53 years until Williams shattered the mark in the win over the Mounties.
 

Name	Points	Date	Opponent	Result
Josh Williams	49	11/14/18	Mount Aloysius	W, 104-57
Don Mackey *	43	1/30/65	Walsh	W, 125-111
Maurice Carter	42	11/26/02	Eastern Michigan	L, 85-99

* junior college
 
Consider This ... Thanks to the performance by senior guard Josh Williams in a 104-57 win over Mount Aloysius (11/14/18), the Colonials established a new team single-game record for three-pointers with 22. The old record of 16 in a game had been accomplished five times previously, with the most recent performance in an 89-78 win @ St. John's (3/18/14) in the first round of the 2014 NIT. Since head coach Andrew Toole joined the staff in 2007 as an assistant coach with the Colonials, RMU has accomplished five of its top six performances in school history in regard to three-point field goals.
 

3FG	Opponent	Date	Result
22	Mount Aloysius	11/14/18	W, 104-57
16	Fairleigh Dickinson	1/28/06	L, 83-84
16	Canisius	12/19/07	W, 91-73
16	@ Syracuse #	3/18/08	L, 81-87
16	Monmouth *	3/1/12	W, 87-68
16	@ St. John's #	3/18/14	W, 89-78

# NIT; * NEC Tournament
 
Three's Company - Robert Morris has a variety of student-athletes on its roster that is comfortable spotting up from behind the arc. That has been evident in first three games of the 2018-19 season, as 55.7 percent (107-of-192) 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.
 
Dropping 100 - For the first time in nine seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, Robert Morris eclipsed the 100-point plateau in a 104-57 win over Mount Aloysius (11/14/18). It marked RMU's first 100-point performance since a 107-76 win over Alcorn State (11/21/09) in Albany, N.Y., as part of the 2K Sports Classic. It also marked the 16th time in RMU's NCAA Division I history the Colonials have scored at least 100 points. In those games Robert Morris owns a record of 14-2 (.875).
 
Defensively Speaking - Robert Morris has won nine consecutive games when holding opponents to less than 60 points dating back to the 2016-17 season after posting a 104-57 victory over Mount Aloysius (11/14/18) in the 2018-19 home opener for the Colonials. In nine years under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 56-7 (.889) when turning the trick. The last loss for RMU when yielding under 60 points was a 48-47 setback @ Mount St. Mary's (1/26/17).

Follow The Colonials: Twitter | Instagram

Tweet #GRIT