GAME 20
Sacred Heart (8-11, 4-2 NEC) vs. RMU (10-9, 5-1 NEC)
Thursday, January 24, 2019 • 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, winners of six of seven and in first place in the Northeast Conference, opens a three-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex Thursday by welcoming Sacred Heart for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
 
- RMU concluded a four-game road trip with a 70-59 victory @ Central Connecticut (1/21/19). Senior guard Josh Williams led four Colonials in double figures scoring with 15 points while also dishing out three assists. Sophomore forward Charles Bain scored 12 of his 13 points against the Blue Devils in the second half, including a three-pointer with 1:57 that helped seal the win.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals in RMU's win over the Blue Devils, while off the bench senior forward Malik Petteway registered 11 points, a game-high nine boards, a career-high three assists, two blocks and two steals.
 
- Robert Morris posted a 3-1 (.750) record during its four-game road trip, holding opponents to an average of 63.2 points per game. Senior guard Josh Williams paced the Colonials during their swing, averaging 13.8 points and 2.5 assists while shooting 43.6 percent (17-for-39) from the field, including 45.8 percent (11-for-24) from beyond the arc.
 
- Thursday's game features the highest scoring offense in the Northeast Conference against the stingiest defense. Sacred Heart leads the league in scoring offense (81.1 ppg), while RMU is tops in the circuit in scoring defense (67.2 ppg).
 
- Against Northeast Conference opposition, the Colonials lead the league in scoring defense (62.3 ppg), rebounding defense (30.0 rpg) and steals (9.17 per game). Senior forward Malik Petteway leads the NEC individually in steals against league foes with an average of 2.67 per game thanks to 16 thefts in six contests.
 
- The Colonials opened the New England portion of their four-game road swing with a 79-65 victory @ Bryant (1/19/19). RMU shot 57.8 percent (26-for-45) from the field in the victory as senior guard Josh Williams led four players in double figures with 15 points. Senior forward Malik Petteway came off the bench and supplied 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds while also tying a career high with four steals.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell contributed 13 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win over the Bulldogs, while junior forward Yannis Mendy shot 5-for-6 from the floor for 10 points while grabbing a pair of rebounds and notching two steals.
 
- Head coach Andrew Toole owns the highest winning percentage (.633) in games decided by five points or less (minimum 50 games) during the KenPom era (2002 to present). In nine seasons under Toole, the Colonials have posted a record of 57-33 in games decided by five points or less, including 2-1 in 2018-19.

SACRED HEART LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
 
Central Connecticut Tidbits - Robert Morris improved to 25-17 (.595) all-time against the Blue Devils ... The Colonials have won six consecutive games at Detrick Gymnasium and all-time are 14-6 (.700) at the venue ... CCSU held a 34-30 edge in rebounding, with Jamir Coleman tying for game-high honors in caroms with nine ... The 27 points Coleman finished with are the most by a student-athlete against RMU in 2018-19 ... RMU forced the Blue Devils into turnovers on each of their first five possessions of the game and overall Central Connecticut posted 18 turnovers ... In 15 minutes junior forward Yannis Mendy scored eight points, going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. 
 
On The Road - A few nuggets about Robert Morris and its recently completed 3-1 (.750) road trip ... Senior forward Malik Petteway averaged 12.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game ... The Colonials averaged 68.5 points per contest and shot 44 percent (92-for-209) from the field, including 37 percent (27-for-73) from beyond the arc, and 70 percent (63-for-90) at the free-throw line ... In averaging 8.8 points per game, junior forward Yannis Mendy shot 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the field and finished a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line ... The Robert Morris bench averaged 22.8 points per game and posted a +8.6 margin over its opponents ... Guards Josh Williams and Jon Williams combined for 27 assists against 13 turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.08.
 
Turn It On Again - A key aspect for Robert Morris during its 3-1 (.750) road trip was forcing opponents into turnovers. The Colonials posted a turnover margin of +4.75 and enter Thursday's tilt against Sacred Heart ranked second in the Northeast Conference overall with a turnover margin of +1.79. RMU finished with 37 steals during its four-game swing, an average of 9.3 per contest, tying a season high with 13 thefts @ Bryant (1/19/19) and posting 10 steals @ Central Connecticut (1/21/19). Robert Morris is 5-0 this season when posting at least 10 steals in a game, and against league foes the Colonials pace the circuit with an average of 9.17 thefts per contest.
 
Free Leek - No member of the Colonials has been more active on both ends of the floor in recent weeks than senior forward Malik Petteway. Petteway has reached double figures in scoring in eight consecutive games, the longest active streak for an RMU student-athlete, and during that stretch is averaging 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.4 steals per contest. Petteway has converted 50.6 percent (40-for-79) of his shots from the floor during the last eight games and enters Thursday's game ranked third in the NEC in blocks (1.37 per game), sixth in field goal percentage (.523) and seventh in steals (1.53). Robert Morris is 9-3 (.750) this season when Petteway scores in double figures.
 
Creating & Creating - Sophomore guard Jon Williams has settled in directing the offense for Robert Morris this season, and he's coming off a four-game road trip in which he put up stellar numbers. In the last four games, Williams dished out 17 assists against just six turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.83. Williams has been solid at the point since the beginning of December, averaging 4.1 assists per game over the last 12 contests while posting an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.04.
 
The Senior - Matty McConnell, RMU's active leading scorer with 954 career points, ranks seventh all-time at Robert Morris for career steals (210) and 10th in three-point field goals (176). Thanks to 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals in a 70-59 victory @ Central Connecticut (1/21/19), the Colonials improved to 21-7 (.750) over the last two seasons when McConnell scores in double figure.

Defense Wins Championships - The numbers bear out that following in the footsteps of defending is victories. Thanks to a 70-59 win @ Central Connecticut (1/21/19) that concluded a four-game road trip, Robert Morris improved to 176-50 (.779) when holding their opponent to under 70 points since the beginning of the 2007-08 season. Under ninth-year head coach Andrew Toole, RMU owns a mark of 125-43 (.744) when turning the trick. Overall the last 12 years, Robert Morris has held its opponent to under 70 points 57.1 percent (226-of-396) of the time.
 
Defensively Speaking - Robert Morris has won 15 consecutive games when holding opponents to less than 60 points dating back to the 2016-17 season after a 70-59 win @ Central Connecticut State (1/21/19) that concluded a four-game road trip. In nine years under Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 62-7 (.899) when turning the trick, including a perfect 7-0 mark in 2018-19. The last loss for RMU when yielding under 60 points was a 48-47 setback @ Mount St. Mary's (1/26/17).
 
Did You Know? In nine seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, Robert Morris has compiled a record of 96-37 (.722) when scoring at least 70 points in a game. Included in that record is a mark of 37-5 (.881) when eclipsing the 80-point plateau.

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