GAME 11
Robert Morris (4-6) @ Rider (3-3)
Saturday, December 15, 2018 • 3:00 p.m.
Alumni Gymnasium (1,650) • Lawrenceville, N.J.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
TV: ESPN3
Talent: Daryl Fein (pxp) & Steve Rudenstein (color) 
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team takes to the road after a week off due to finals when it visits Lawrenceville, N.J., for a 3:00 p.m. tip against Rider at Alumni Gymnasium.
 
- The Colonials suffered their first home loss of the 2018-19 campaign and in the process dropped their third consecutive game overall with a 74-71 setback to Siena (12/8/18) at the North Athletic Complex. Kevin Degnan's three-pointer with 2.1 seconds to play helped lift the Saints to the victory.
 
- Senior guard Josh Williams led RMU with 19 points against Siena and also added three rebounds and two assists. He shot 6-for-13 from the field, including 3-for-5 from deep, and went 4-for-7 at the free-throw line.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell scored a season-high 16 points against the Saints and also registered two steals. RMU's active leading scorer with 873 career points, McConnell is also just two steals shy of becoming the eighth player in school history with 200 career thefts.  
 
- Over its last two games, a road game @ Canisius and a home game against Siena, Robert Morris has erased a total of three double-digit deficits. The Colonials erased an 11-point deficit in the first half against both the Golden Griffins and Saints, while Siena grabbed an 18-point lead in the second half over the RMU, only to watch Robert Morris use a run to take the lead.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell enters Saturday's game @ Rider leading the Northeast Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.44) while being tied for first in the circuit in steals with Julian Batts of LIU Brooklyn with an average of 2.30 per game. Senior guard Josh Williams leads the NEC and ranks fourth in NCAA Division I with an average of 4.20 three-pointers per game.
 
- Over the last five games, guards Matty McConnell and Jon Williams have combined for 35 assists against 15 turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.33. Williams owns 22 assists during that span, while McConnell has recorded 13 dimes.
 
- The Colonials concluded a two-game road swing in Buffalo, N.Y., with a 68-62 loss @ Canisius (12/5/18). RMU shot just 33.3 percent from the field, tying a season low for field goals with 17. In a game that featured four ties and 11 lead changes, the Golden Griffins grabbed the lead for good with 9:43 to play on a Jordan Henderson jumper.
 
- Senior guard Josh Williams paced Robert Morris by scoring a game-high 17 points @ Canisius (12/5/18). Sophomore forward Charles Bain contributed 12 points against the Golden Griffins, while junior forward Yannis Mendy tied a career high with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and a 1-for-2 performance at the free-throw line.

RIDER LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
Siena Tidbits - The Saint swept the home-and-home series from the Colonials and now owns a 4-2 (.667) edge in the all-time series ... The two contests in the home-and-home series were decided by a total of five points ... RMU shot a season-high 56.3 percent (27-for-48) from the field and also outrebounded Siena, 28-26 ... Junior guard Sayveon McEwen saw the most significant action of his RMU career and took advantage, scoring all eight of his points in the second half on 4-for-5 shooting from the field ... Sophomore forward Koby Thomas grabbed a game-high nine rebounds ... Junior forward Malik Petteway finished with nine points and four rebounds ... RMU's bench outscored the Siena reserves, 25-2 ... The contest featured four ties and six lead changes.
 
A Sense Of Calm - Head coach Andrew Toole appointed the same five student-athletes as starters in each of RMU's first 10 games of the season, as Matty McConnell, Jon Williams and Josh Williams have been penciled in at guard, while Charles Bain and Yannis Mendy have started at forward. It's the longest stretch to start a season under Toole with the same starting lineup since 2011-12, when the same starting five also got the nod in RMU's first 10 contests of the season. Should RMU's starting five remain the same Saturday @ Rider, it will be the longest stretch of games in Toole's nine seasons in which he used the same starting lineup.
 
Comeback Kids - Robert Morris has made a habit of climbing out of double-digit deficits under Andrew Toole, and in a 74-71 setback to Siena (12/8/18) that marked the first home loss for the Colonials in 2018-19, RMU erased not one, but two double-digit deficits. The Saints owned a 20-9 advantage with 12:29 to play in the first half, only to watch Robert Morris use a 16-4 run to grab a 25-24 lead. The Colonials eventually were down at halftime, 38-32, and saw their deficit balloon to 18 points, 55-37, with 16:25 to play. However, RMU held Siena scoreless for over seven minutes, using a 16-0 run to grab a 69-65 lead with 2:40 remaining. It wasn't meant to be, as the Saints closed the game on a 9-2 run to grab the victory. Robert Morris has erased 29 double-digit deficits in nine seasons under Toole. On 24 of those occasions Robert Morris has earned a victory.
 
Attack The Rim - Robert Morris enters Saturday's game @ Rider with 41.9 percent (283-of-567) of its shots from the floor coming from beyond the arc, but in recent weeks the Colonials have done a better job of attacking the rim. RMU scored a season-high 38 points in the paint @ Drexel (12/1/18) and also outscored Siena (12/8/18), 34-24, in points in the paint. In the month of December, just 31.2 percent (51-of-163) of the shots for Robert Morris have been from deep, and during that stretch the Colonials are averaging 30.7 points per game in the paint.
 
2-for-3 - Thanks to a 3-for-5 performance from beyond the arc against Siena (12/8/18), senior guard Josh Williams pushed his streak of consecutive games with at least two three-pointers to eight. He is one of just three student-athletes in program history to hit at least two three-pointers in eight straight games, joining former guards Scott Shepherd (1988-91) and Karvel Anderson (2012-13). Shepherd had a streak eight consecutive games during the 1989-90 campaign, while Anderson holds the record of nine straight games during his first season in an RMU uniform in 2012-13. Williams ranks fourth in NCAA Division I with an average of 4.20 three-pointers made per game.
 
Consistency - Looking to bring a complete game to the table in his final season of eligibility in 2018-19, senior guard Matty McConnell, who finished with a season-high 16 points against Siena (12/8/18), has been a consistent presence for the Colonials in recent weeks. McConnell enters Saturday's game @ Rider having averaged 11.0 points over his last six games while shooting 44 percent (22-for-50) from the field, including 40 percent (10-for-25) from beyond the arc. During that same stretch, McConnell is also averaging 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals per contest while owning an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.83.
 
Grand Theft Auto - Senior guard Matty McConnell is just two steals shy of becoming the eighth player in school history to eclipse 200 career thefts. He would be the fifth student-athlete to accomplish the feat that has been coached by Andrew Toole, a list that also includes Tony Lee (2004-08), Jeremy Chappell (2005-09), Velton Jones (2008-13) and Kavon Stewart (2013-17).
 
Streaking - Senior guard Josh Williams currently owns the longest active streak for consecutive double-figure scoring games for Robert Morris at four. During that stretch, Williams is averaging 15.8 points per game.

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