GAME 15
Purdue Fort Wayne (6-7 / 2-3 #HLMBB) vs. RMU (2-12 / 0-5 #HLMBB)
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022 • 1:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center (4,000) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: RMUMBasketball
 
Opening Tip
 
- The RMU men's basketball team concludes the first leg of a five-game homestand Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. tip against Purdue Fort Wayne at the UPMC Events Center.
 
- The Colonials will also host Wright State (1/13/22) and Northern Kentucky (1/15/22) as part of their homestand. RMU played just three of its first 12 games at home but entered a stretch of 11 of 16 contests at the UPMC Events Center against Youngstown State (1/5/22).
 
- In their last contest, the Colonials dropped a 78-77 decision to Cleveland State (1/7/22). Each of RMU's nine conference games at the UPMC Events Center as a member of the Horizon League have been decided by six points or less, including four that have gone to overtime. RMU is 2-7 (.222) in those contests.
 
- Senior forward Kahliel Spear paced the Colonials against the Vikings with a career-high 24 points while adding six rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocks. He shot 10-for-13 from the field against Cleveland State and 4-for-6 at the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Enoch Cheeks added 12 points against the Vikings, while junior forward Jaron Williams scored 11 off the bench.
 
- In the opener of its five-game homestand, the Penguins used a 9-0 spurt to turn a 49-47 deficit into a 56-49 lead en route to a 64-60 win over RMU. Sophomore guard Enoch Cheeks notched his second career double-double against Youngstown State (1/5/22) with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
- Senior forward Kahliel Spear added 11 points, three caroms and three blocks against the Penguins, while sophomore guard Kam Farris scored 10 points, knocking down two of his four attempts from beyond the arc.
 
- In five games at the UPMC Events Center so far this season, senior forward Kahliel Spear has been RMU's top producer, averaging 17.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. He has shot an absolute white hot 72.9 percent (35-for-48) from the floor at home this year and in 13 career games at the UPMC Events Center owns a shooting percentage of 62.4 percent (58-for-93).
 
- In their final game of 2021, the Colonials returned to Horizon League play and dropped a 79-61 decision @ Oakland (12/30/21). Sophomore guard Kam Farris paced RMU with 14 points and also added four assists. Also scoring in double figures were forwards Jaron Williams (12) and Kahliel Spear (10).
 
- RMU concluded the non-conference portion of its 2021-22 slate with a 75-67 victory @ Saint Francis U (12/22/21). Junior forward Matt Mayers recorded his first double-double as a member of the Colonials in the win over the Red Flash with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard Enoch Cheeks contributed 13 points and eight rebounds.

PURDUE FORT WAYNE LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
- Tickets
 
The All-Time Series (Purdue Fort Wayne) – Sunday's game between Purdue Fort Wayne and RMU is just the third in an all-time series that began last season. The Colonials and Mastodons split a pair of games last year in Fort Wayne, Ind., at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center. In its debut as a member of the Horizon League, the Colonials earned a 102-88 triumph over Purdue Fort Wayne (12/26/20). All five starters scored in double figures, including 17 points each from guards Kam Farris and Jon Williams (2017-21) and 13 points from forward Kahliel Spear. Farris produced a perfect shooting night in the first-ever meeting between the two programs last year. Making his first collegiate start in RMU's debut in the Horizon League, Farris knocked down each of his six attempts from the floor, including a 5-for-5 performance from beyond the arc, in registering his first collegiate double-figure scoring game.
 
Cleveland State Notes – The Vikings have won five of the last six meetings between the two programs and own a 9-7 (.563) advantage in the all-time series ... The contest featured nine ties and six lead changes ... The Colonials held advantages in points in the paint (42-32) and bench points (29-24) ... The Vikings outscored RMU, 26-8, in points off turnovers ... RMU held a 31-24 advantage in rebounding, including an 11-8 cushion on the offensive glass ... Each of RMU's 37 points in the first half against the Vikings came from the forward position, which shot 77.2 percent (17-for-22) from the field ... The first field goal from the guard position for RMU came with 4:05 to play on a driving layup from sophomore guard Kam Farris.
 
Bobby Mo Cheeks – Sophomore guard Enoch Cheeks is developing into a complete performer for the Colonials. Cheeks, who is averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds during RMU's current homestand, has played the most minutes (163) for the Colonials over the last five games. During that span he is providing averages of 10.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from the floor and 85.7 percent (12-for-14) at the free-throw line. That stretch also includes his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Youngstown State (1/5/22). 
 
Block Party – RMU is in the midst of its best stretch of the 2021-22 campaign protecting the rim. Over the last five games, the Colonials own 26 blocks, an average of 5.2 per contest. To put that in perspective, RMU posted 23 blocks over its first nine games of the season. In the last five games, junior forward Matt Mayers owns eight rejections, while senior forward Kahliel Spear has blocked six shots. In 32 career games at RMU over the last two seasons, Spear has notched 40 rejections (1.25 per contest), and in 78 career tilts at the NCAA Division I level has recorded 70 blocks.
 
Dunk You Very Much – Senior forward Kahliel Spear is as active as any member of the Colonials in recent years at the rim, and you just have to look at the numbers. In addition to ranking fifth in the Horizon League entering Sunday's game against Purdue Fort Wayne with an average of 1.21 blocks per game, Spear is RMU's leader on the other end of the court in dunks. In 14 games, Spear has provided 19 jams, already surpassing his season total in 18 games last season. Spear has played 32 games at RMU and in that span owns 32 dunks.
 
Did You Know? Senior forward Kahliel Spear and sophomore guard Enoch Cheeks as the only two Colonials to have started each of RMU's 14 games of the 2021-22 season. Junior forward Matt Mayers has also played in all 14 games for RMU this year. Spear enters Sunday's game as RMU's active leader for consecutive games (32) and starts (19) dating back to last season.
 
Downtown – Kam Farris has been a consistent threat for RMU from beyond the arc in his two seasons with the Colonials. He enters Sunday's game against Purdue Fort Wayne with 61 career three-pointers in 27 games at RMU, an average of 2.26 per contest, while converting at a 46.6 percent (61-for-131) clip from deep. A total of 70.1 percent (61-of-87) of the career field goals for Farris have been from beyond the arc, and he is the second fastest to reach 50 triples, accomplishing the feat in 21 contests.

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