GAMES 17/18
RMU (4-12 / 3-10 HL) @ Detroit Mercy (9-9 / 8-6 HL)
Friday, Feb. 19, 2021 • 6:00 p.m. & Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021 • 5:00 p.m.
Calihan Hall (7,917) • Detroit, Michigan

Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp)
TV: ESPN3
Talent: Jeremy Otto (pxp) & Earl Cureton (color)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: @RMUMBasketball
 
Quick Hits
 
- The RMU men's basketball team concludes its 2020-21 regular season with a two-game road set in Detroit, Mich., against Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall. The Colonials and Titans tip at 6:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, and 5:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20.
 
- RMU concluded the home portion of its 2020-21 schedule by splitting a two-game series with Oakland at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials snapped an eight-game slide in the opener with an 88-82 win over the Golden Grizzlies in double overtime. In the finale, Oakland posted an 86-81 win over RMU.
 
- Four Colonials averaged in double figures scoring in the two-game set against the Golden Grizzlies, led by senior guard Jon Williams, who supplied averages of 16.0 points and 6.0 assists while converting 52.9 percent (9-for-17) of his attempts from beyond the arc.
 
- In an 88-82 double overtime win for RMU in the opener against Oakland (2/12/21), its third consecutive overtime contest, junior forward Kahliel Spear registered his first double-double for the Colonials with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.
 
- Spear was one of a season-high six Colonials to reach double figures in scoring in their double overtime win over Oakland, with freshman guard Enoch Cheeks scoring a career-high 15 points off the bench, senior forward Charles Bain matching a season-high with 12 points and guards Jon Williams, Dante Treacy and Trayden Williams each contributing 10 points.
 
- In the finale of the two-game set with Oakland (2/13/21), senior guard Jon Williams scored a career-high 22 points on the strength of a 7-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. In the two-game set against the Golden Grizzlies, Williams handed out 12 assists while suffering just one turnover.
 
- Junior guard Dante Treacy scored a season-high 16 points in the finale against Oakland and also added three rebounds and team-high totals in both assists (7) and steals (4). Senior forward Charles Bain matched a season high in scoring with 12 points, marking the first time on the 2020-21 season he scored in double figures in consecutive games.
 
- Nine of RMU's 13 games in its first season as a member of the Horizon League have been decided by six points or less, including five that have gone to overtime. The Colonials are 2-7 (.222) in those contests. 
 
- Senior guard Jon Williams enters the final weekend of the regular season for RMU tops in NCAA Division I in assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.20. In 15 games in 2020-21, Williams has handed out 78 dimes against 15 turnovers. In 11 of his 15 games this season, Williams has finished with either one turnover or no miscues.
 
DETROIT MERCY LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
- Video (2/19/21)
- Video (2/20/21)
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App

Oakland Tidbits - RMU picked up its first win all-time against the Golden Grizzlies thanks to its double overtime triumph in the series opener ... Oakland leads the all-time series, 5-1 (.833) ... In the two games, the Colonials shot 50 percent (60-for-120) from the field, including 51.1 percent (23-for-45) from beyond the arc ... At the free-throw line in the two-game set, RMU was 26-for-45 (57.7%) ... The RMU bench scored 54 points in the two-game series compared to 13 points from Oakland reserves ... The Colonials recorded 10 steals in an 88-82 double overtime win over the Golden Grizzlies, the second time on the 2020-21 season RMU finished with double-digit steals ... The Colonials recorded a season-high 15 thefts @ Marshall (12/20/20) ... Junior guard Dante Treacy finished with six steals in the pair of games.
 
The Anatomy Of Overtime - RMU has been to overtime 19 times under RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole in his 11 years leading the Colonials. Under Toole, RMU owns a mark of 10-9 (.526) when heading to the extra frame, including a mark of 7-3 (.700) at home. The Colonials are 1-4 (.200) in overtime in 2020-21, and all-time in program history RMU has posted a record of 32-31 (.508) when playing free basketball. When playing a second round of overtime, the Colonials have recorded a mark of 4-5 (.444) in 45 years as an NCAA Division I program, including 1-1 (.500) under Toole. A look at RMU's double overtime contests ...
 

Date	Opponent	Result	High Scorer (Points)
1/7/84	@ Saint Francis U	W, 87-84	Tom Underman (24)
2/8/84	Saint Francis U	W, 87-86	Chipper Harris (31)
12/3/88	vs. Coppin State	L, 93-106	Vaughn Luton (24)
2/23/89	@ LIU Brooklyn	L, 68-82	Tyrone Steals (16)
2/3/94	@ Fairleigh Dickinson	L, 82-88	Myron Walker (32)
1/8/00	LIU Brooklyn	W, 81-76	Gene Nabors (21)
2/17/07	St. Francis Brooklyn	L, 97-102	Tony Lee (31)
2/2/19	@ Fairleigh Dickinson	L, 94-97	Josh Williams (34)
2/12/21	Oakland	W, 88-82	Kahliel Spear (16)

 
More Overtime Nuggets - RMU's 88-82 double overtime win over Oakland marked the first time in program history the Colonials have played three consecutive overtime games ... RMU's win over the Golden Grizzlies marked its fifth overtime contest of 2020-21, tying a school record for most OT games in a season ... RMU played in five overtime contests in both 1988-89 and 1999-00 ... The 1988-89 Colonials posted a record of 2-3 (.400) in overtime but earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the 1999-00 Colonials posted a record of 4-1 (.800) and appeared in the 2000 NEC Tournament title game.
 
Double Up - Junior forward Kahliel Spear, a transfer from Bucknell who was deemed eligible by the NCAA in December, was inserted back into the starting lineup for RMU's two-game set against Oakland. He responded in the season opener against the Golden Grizzlies by recording his first double-double in an RMU uniform with team-high totals in both points (16) and rebounds (15). In seven games as a starter for the Colonials, Spear is producing averages of 10.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 59.3 percent (32-for-54) from the field.
 
Downtown - Senior guard Jon Williams scored a career-high 22 points in the finale of RMU's two-game set with Oakland at the UPMC Events Center on the strength of a 7-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. It marked the second career 20-point effort for Williams, who scored 20 points in a 98-89 overtime win over Cornell (3/19/19) in the first round of the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Thanks to seven triples against the Golden Grizzlies, Williams became the 11th student-athlete in program history to convert at least 200 field goals from beyond the arc. He enters this weekend's two-game set @ Detroit Mercy tied for 10th with former guard Karvel Anderson (2012-14) with 201.
 
New Kid On The Block - Junior forward Kahliel Spear has filled the role of rim protector in his first season at RMU. Spear matched a season high with three rejections in an 88-82 double overtime win over Oakland (2/12/21) and on the 2020-21 campaign leads RMU with 21 blocks. He ranks second in the Horizon League in blocks per game (1.40) and in 11 games against league foes has recorded 18 rejections (1.38 per contest). In 61 career games at the NCAA Division I level, Spear owns 55 blocks.
 
Brotherly Love - Senior guard Jon Williams played two seasons with his older brother, Josh, at RMU, from 2018-20, which was capped with a 2020 NEC Tournament championship game victory and NCAA Tournament berth. In two seasons with the Colonials, Josh Williams knocked down 209 three-pointers. Jon Williams eclipsed 200 career triples last weekend against Oakland at the UPMC Events Center and owns 201 in his four seasons at RMU. Combined, the brothers have hit 410 three-pointers in 117 games over the last four years with the Colonials.
 
Paint By Numbers - RMU has been solid attacking the rim in 2020-21, as the Colonials enter a two-game set @ Detroit Mercy having scored at least 30 points in the paint in six consecutive games. During that stretch, RMU is averaging 35.2 points in the paint per game, including a season-high 48 against Youngstown State (2/5/21). Overall on the 2020-21 campaign, the Colonials are averaging 32.8 points in high percentage areas.

The Twirl - Arguably the best basketball player in school history, in his one season at the NCAA Division I level in an RMU uniform Earl "The Twirl" Cureton (1975-77) averaged 17.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in 1976-77. Cureton still owns RMU single-season records for rebounds (274) and rebounding average and is the only player in the program's Division I history to average a double-double. He transferred to the University of Detroit Mercy, RMU's opponent this weekend, to continue his career and was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the third round of the 1979 NBA Draft. He went on to play 12 seasons in the NBA, earning a pair of championship rings, one with the 76ers in 1983 and the other with the Houston Rockets in 1994.

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