Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's basketball team shot 66.1 percent (37-for-56) from the field in earning its first win of the 2021-22 campaign Wednesday with a 99-51 victory over Lancaster Bible at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials improved to 1-7 (.125) overall on the year.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Each of RMU's five starters scored in double figures against the Chargers, with sophomore guard
Kam Farris leading the way with a career-high 27 points. He converted 10 of his 13 shots from the field, including a 7-for-10 performance from beyond the arc, and also added a pair of assists and a steal. Farris nailed a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions to end the first half, including one at the buzzer, to give the Colonials a 54-24 advantage at the break. In the second half, Farris sandwiched a layup and a floater around a pair of three-pointers from the corner from sophomore guard
Enoch Cheeks, and his three-pointer with 16:35 remaining extended the lead for RMU to 67-28.
QUOTABLE
"It was nice to be able to get a win, first and foremost," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "Our guys came out and did a nice job of having really good activity as well as sharing the basketball. That led to some simple plays and some simple shots. We were mature enough to try and not overcomplicate things. Everybody contributed and made plays, and it was nice to be able to win the game."
DOUBLE-DOUBLE(S)
RMU held a 47-22 advantage on the glass, with junior forward
Matt Mayers grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds, while senior forward
Kahliel Spear notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Spear knocked down each of his five shots in the first half and finished 7-for-8 from the floor overall while also recording two assists, two steals and three blocks. Fifth-year guard
Rasheem Dunn also posted a double-double in the victory for the Colonials, finishing with 10 points and 10 assists. Dunn matched a career best in dimes, as he also handed out 10 assists against Creighton (3/1/20) as well as @ Providence (2/6/21).
MIRROR IMAGE
In grabbing a 54-24 lead at halftime, the Colonials finished 19-for-28 (67.9%) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action, including a 6-for-10 performance from deep. In the second half, RMU attempted the same amount of field goals, finishing with one less made basket (18), but was also 6-for-10 from international waters. RMU set a season high with 12 triples in improving to 56-22 (.718) in 12 seasons under Toole when hitting at least 10 three-pointers in a game, including a 1-1 (.500) mark during the 2021-22 season.
QUOTABLE
"Kam is a fantastic shooter, and when he's open I think everybody on the team has faith that it's going to go in," Toole said. "He's obviously not going to go 7-for-10 every night, and teams are going to try to limit his ability to get some of those shots. Some of things we have to continue to work with him on are his ability to hunt some of those and find some of those, whether it's transition or off penetration. Even in the Green Bay game, we showed him some clips where we thought he passed a couple up that he needs to take. With his ability to shoot it, it opens up driving lanes for other guys and it opens up post opportunities and overall just helps the offense flow."
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Junior forward
Justin Winston contributed 14 points and five rebounds for the Colonials in the win Wednesday, while Cheeks stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. RMU finished with 26 assists on its 37 field goals (70.2%), while the Chargers handed out 14 dimes on their 18 (77.8%) field goals. Of the 65 attempts from the field for Lancaster Bible (4-4), a whopping 38 (58.4%) came from beyond the arc. The Chargers were successful on 10, including six from Jordan Shewbridge, who paced LBC with 22 points.
UP NEXT
RMU welcomes Florida Gulf Coast to the UPMC Events Center Saturday, Dec. 11, for a 7:00 p.m. tip to close out a two-game homestand.
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