Moon Township, Pa. – Fifth-year forward
Kahliel Spear of the RMU men's basketball team was named to the 2022-23 Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team in a vote of league coaches it was announced Wednesday.
The announcement came as part of the unveiling of the #HLMBB 2022-23 Preseason Poll, with the Colonials slotted eighth with 163 points. There is a tie atop the latest preseason poll, with Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky each compiling 394 points. The Mastodons earned 17 first-place votes, while the Norse tallied 15. Rounding out the top five is Wright State (329), Oakland (321) and Youngstown State (291).
Spear, who was named to the 2022 All-Horizon League Third Team, led the Colonials last year in scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.7), with his per game averages ranking 11th and fourth, respectively, in #HLMBB. Spear also paced the league in field goal percentage, knocking down 55.1 percent (188-for-341) of his shots in 32 games, each as a member of the starting lineup.
Entering his final season in 2022-23, Spear owns career totals of 819 points and 452 rebounds across four seasons at the NCAA Division I level. In 50 games in two years with the Colonials after transferring from Bucknell, Spear has averaged 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds while converting 55 percent (258-for-469) of his shots from the floor and rejecting 58 shots.
Led by RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole, who enters his 13th year at the helm of the program in 2022-23, the Colonials return four starters from last season. Including Spear, also returning as starters for RMU are guards
Enoch Cheeks and
Michael Green III and forward
Matt Mayers.
Green III averaged 10.4 points and 3.3 assists in 29 games last season, while Cheeks scored at a 9.2 points per game clip while finishing second to Spear for the Colonials in rebounding with an average of 5.4 caroms per contest. Mayers averaged 6.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while converting 63.3 percent (76-for-120) of his shots from the floor.
MADNESS, presented by Mountain Dew, is
slated for 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at the UPMC Events Center. Doors open to the public at 6:30 p.m., giving fans the opportunity to meet the Colonials for the first time.
RMU will welcome Alliance, the college formerly known as Nyack, to the UPMC Events Center Saturday, Oct. 29, for a 1:00 p.m. exhibition game to open its 2022-23 campaign. The regular season opens Monday, Nov. 7, when the Colonials travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Ohio State at the Schottenstein Center. The home portion of RMU's 2022-23 regular season begins Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7:00 p.m. against Pitt Greensburg at the UPMC Events Center.
Season tickets for the
2022-23 season are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the RMU Ticket Office at (412) 397-4949. Starting at $125, fans can lock in the same seat for the entire season and receive exclusive perks. All games in 2022-23 can also be heard live on the RMU Athletics Gameday App. Make sure to
download the app to follow the action all season long.
2022-23 #HLMBB Preseason Poll
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Purdue Fort Wayne (17) |
394 |
| Northern Kentucky (15) |
394 |
| 3. Wright State (3) |
329 |
| 4. Oakland (2) |
321 |
| 5. Youngstown State (1) |
291 |
| 6. Detroit Mercy (2) |
268 |
| 7. Cleveland State |
188 |
| 8. RMU |
163 |
| 9. Milwaukee |
132 |
| 10. Green Bay |
111 |
| 11. IUPUI |
49 |
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