GAME 30
RMU (15-14, 10-6 NEC) @ Sacred Heart (13-16 / 9-7 NEC)
Thursday, February 28, 2019 • 6:00 p.m.
William H. Pitt Center (2,062) • Fairfield, Conn.

Radio: ESPN 970 AM & 106.3 FM
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Duzyk (color)
Video: SacredHeartPioneers.com • NECFrontRow.com
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Robert Morris University men's basketball team wraps up its 2018-19 regular-season slate with a two-game road trip, beginning Thursday with a 6:00 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn.
 
- RMU currently sits in second place in the Northeast Conference standings with a 10-6 (.600) league mark. The Colonials are tied with Fairleigh Dickinson, and the two programs own a one-game lead over Sacred Heart. Both the Colonials and Knights sit one game behind league leader Saint Francis U, which owns an 11-5 (.688) NEC record.
 
- The Colonials are in search of their third consecutive victory Thursday after closing out the home portion of their regular-season schedule with a 67-62 win over St. Francis Brooklyn (2/23/19) at the North Athletic Complex. RMU fell behind, 33-22, in the first half before climbing back to earn the win. Senior guard Josh Williams hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions for Robert Morris to turn a 49-48 deficit into a 57-52 lead with 4:10 remaining.
 
- Senior guard Josh Williams paced the Colonials in their win over the Terriers, scoring 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half while also registering a pair of steals. He shot 7-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, and 3-for-4 at the free-throw line.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell contributed 12 points, tied for game-high honors in rebounds with six and dished out three assists in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn (2/23/19). Over the last eight games, McConnell is providing RMU with averages of 10.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.
 
- Senior guard Matty McConnell leads the Northeast Conference in steals with an average of 1.79 per contest thanks to 52 thefts in 29 games. RMU's active leading scorer (1,067 points) and rebounder (495), McConnell needs five caroms to become the 14th player in program history to eclipse career totals of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
 
- Senior guard Josh Williams leads the NEC in three-point field goals made per game (3.07) and ranks third in the RMU single-season record book for triples (89), trailing only Scott Shepherd, who finished with 93 three-pointers in 1988-89, and Karvel Anderson, who dropped 119 triples in 2013-14.
 
- The Colonials snapped a three-game losing streak with a 62-49 win over LIU Brooklyn (2/21/19) to open a two-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex. RMU fell behind by double digits in the first half, 17-7, but used a 24-4 run in the second half to turn a 31-24 deficit into a 48-35 lead with 9:10 to play. Senior guard Matty McConnell led the way against the Blackbirds with 12 points and added five rebounds, three assists and a steal, while freshman guard Dante Treacy tied a career-high with 10 points.
 
SACRED HEART LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Game Notes (ISSUU)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats

St. Francis Brooklyn Tidbits - Robert Morris swept the 2018-19 season series from the Terriers and improved to 48-30 (.615) in the all-time series against St. Francis Brooklyn ... The two games between RMU and SFC were decided by a total of eight points ... The Colonials held a 36-30 edge in rebounding, improving to 10-4 (.714) in 2018-19 when outrebounding their opponent ... RMU held St. Francis Brooklyn to 30.8 percent (8-for-26) shooting in the second half, including 26.7 percent (4-for-15) from beyond the arc ... Junior forward Yannis Mendy tied for game-high honors in rebounds with six ... Senior forward Malik Petteway earned his first start of the 2018-19 season.
 
Finish Strong - Senior guard Matty McConnell notched his 50th career double-figure scoring game thanks to 12 points in a 67-62 win over St. Francis Brooklyn (2/23/19) and has now scored in double figures in three consecutive games. During that stretch, McConnell has shot 42.9 percent (12-for-28) from the field and 81.8 percent (9-for-11) at the free-throw line in averaging 12.3 points per game. McConnell is just two points shy of moving into 20th all-time at Robert Morris for points, as former guard Rodney Pryor (2014-16) scored 1,068 points in two seasons with the Colonials. McConnell has never scored in double figures in four straight games during his career. Over the last two seasons, RMU is 24-10 (.706) when McConnell scores at least 10 points in a game.
 
Open Range - Senior guard Josh Williams eclipsed 900 career points thanks to a game-high 22 points in a 67-62 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn (2/23/19). Williams enters Thursday's game @ Sacred Heart with 905 career points. He scored 489 in two seasons with Akron (2015-17) before transferring to RMU and leads the Colonials this year with 416 points. Williams is just one three-pointer shy of becoming just the third student-athlete in program history to connect for at least 90 triples in a season.
 
Comeback Kids - Robert Morris has made a habit of climbing out of double-digit deficits under Andrew Toole, and in a 67-62 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn (2/23/19) at the North Athletic Complex the Colonials turned the trick again. RMU fell behind in the first half, 33-22, before charging back to earn the win. The Colonials have erased 35 double-digit deficits in nine seasons under Toole. On 26 of those occasions Robert Morris has earned a victory.
 
Rally Revival - In six of RMU's seven games during the month of February the Colonials have fell behind by double digits, coming back to erase those deficits on five occasions. In a 72-69 setback @ Saint Francis U (2/16/19), the Colonials erased not one, but two, 13-point deficits. RMU fell behind, 18-5, in the first half before charging back to take a 23-22 lead with 5:34 left before the break. Robert Morris fell behind at halftime, 38-28, and were down, 49-36, with 13:22 to play before rallying to tie the game, 62-62, with 5:04 remaining. In 2018-19, RMU has erased a total of nine double-digit deficits in a game but failed to close out the game with a win until erasing a 10-point deficit in a 62-49 victory over LIU Brooklyn (2/21/19). Twice this season the Colonials have come back from two double-digit deficits in the same game, as RMU also erased double-digit deficits in each half of a 74-71 loss to Siena (12/8/18).
 
Climbing The Charts - Senior guard Matty McConnell became just the ninth player in program history to appear in at least 120 games when he finished with three points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals @ Mount St. Mary's (2/14/19). McConnell currently ranks ninth all-time in games played (123) and is tied for third in starts (114) with former guard Andre Boyd (1987-91).
 
Defense Wins Championships - The numbers bear out that following in the footsteps of defending is victories. Thanks to a 67-62 win over St. Francis Brooklyn (2/23/19) at the North Athletic Complex, Robert Morris improved to 181-50 (.784) 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 130-43 (.751) when turning the trick. Overall the last 12 years, Robert Morris has held its opponent to under 70 points 56.9 percent (231-of-406) of the time.
 
Close and Late - A common theme in the nine 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 58-36 (.617) in games decided by five points or less, including a mark of 8-6 (.571) in games decided by just a single point.

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