GAME 12
RMU (4-7) @ Mount St. Mary's (5-6)
Sunday, December 18, 2022 • 2:00 p.m.
Knott Arena (3,500) • Emmitsburg, Md.

TV: ESPN+
Talent: Adam Pohl (pxp)
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: RMUMBasketball
 
Opening Tip
 
- The RMU men's basketball team closes out the road portion of its 2022-23 non-conference schedule Sunday by visiting Emmitsburg, Md., for a 2:00 p.m. tip against Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena.
 
- The Colonials are coming off a 69-60 setback to Marshall (12/10/22) at the UPMC Events Center. Junior guard Enoch Cheeks tied for team-high honors against the Thundering Herd with 17 points while also adding four rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Stephaun Walker posted his first career double-double against Marshall, establishing career highs in points (17) and rebounds (11).
 
- Off the bench, senior guard Michael Green III finished with 11 points and three assists. His three-pointer in the first half helped him eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. In four seasons at the NCAA Division I level, Green III has scored 1,010 career points in 91 games, an average of 11.1 points per contest. 
 
- Prior to hosting Marshall, the Colonials concluded a seven-game road trip that accumulated over 3,300 miles (3,337) with a 71-66 win @ Central Michigan (12/7/22). Junior guard Josh Corbin paced the Colonials with 20 points, converting seven of his 13 shots from the floor, including a 6-for-11 performance from beyond the arc. Junior guard Enoch Cheeks chipped in 17 points, four assists and two blocks.
 
- Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear recorded his fourth double-double of the year in the victory over the Chippewas, scoring 18 points while tying a career high with 15 rebounds. He also recorded a game-high seven assists, setting a new personal best in dimes.
 
- During RMU's seven-game road trip, fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear led the Colonials in scoring and rebounding, producing averages of 17.9 points and 9.7 boards per contest while also converting 51.5 percent (50-for-97) of his attempts from the field.
 
- The Colonials concluded opening weekend of Horizon League by falling @ Northern Kentucky (12/3/22), 60-56, at Truist Arena. Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear and junior guard Enoch Cheeks each scored 13 points to pace RMU, with Spear adding six rebounds, a career-high five steals and two blocks.
 
- The Colonials snapped a four-game slide in their 2022-23 Horizon League opener, surging to an 80-59 victory @ Wright State (12/1/22). Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear tied a career high with 27 points to pace RMU while also notching five rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
 
- RMU returns home to the UPMC Events Center after taking on the Mount Sunday, opening a three-game homestand with its final non-conference game of the year. The Colonials host in-state rival Saint Francis U Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 7:00 p.m.

MOUNT ST. MARY'S LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (Mount St. Mary's) – Arguably the best rivalry when the two programs were members of the Northeast Conference (NEC), RMU and Mount St. Mary's tip for the 73rd time Sunday. The all-time series is tied, 36-36 (.500). In the last meeting between the two programs, the Mount earned a 74-70 victory over the Colonials in overtime at the UPMC Events Center (11/19/21). Forward Kahliel Spear paced the Colonials in the contest with 14 points and 11 rebounds while also recording an assist and a block. In the last meeting at Knott Arena (2/13/20), RMU earned a 77-60 victory as former forward AJ Bramah (2019-21) scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists.
 
Marshall Notes – The Thundering Herd won its third consecutive game over the Colonials and improved to 6-2 (.750) in the all-time series against RMU ... Marshall used a 10-0 spurt to open up a 13-4 advantage and also used an 8-0 burst to grab a lead of 23-9 ... RMU owned a 40-36 advantage in points in the paint and also led in points off turnovers, 17-15 ... The two teams tied in second-chance points, 11-11, while Marshall outscored the Colonials, 22-8, in points on the fast break ... Taevion Kinsey scored a game-high 26 points for Marshall and also posted five assists ... RMU shot just 20 percent (6-for-30) in the first half and 36.9 percent (24-for-65) overall.
 
On My Way – Kahliel Spear has enjoyed playing away from the UPMC Events Center during the 2022-23 campaign, as he enters Sunday's game @ Mount St. Mary's having posted averages of 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in road games while converting 50.8 percent (32-for-63) of his attempts from the field. Spear has also averaged 16.5 points during the month of December, which he kicked off by tying a career high with 27 points in an 80-59 triumph @ Wright State (12/1/22). Spear has scored 974 career points at the NCAA Division I level after transferring from Bucknell, including 802 in three seasons with the Colonials. Barring injury, Spear will eclipse 1,000 career points in the coming weeks and needs to average 9.9 points over RMU's final 20 tilts to accomplish the feat as a member of the Colonials. 
 
Consistency Is Key – Each student-athlete has its own line of development, and usually the final piece to fall into place is consistency. For junior guard Enoch Cheeks, he has blossomed into a key contributor and budding star for RMU in his third season due in large part to his ability to be consistent. Despite missing a pair of games this year due to injury, Cheeks has reached double figures in scoring in each of his nine games this year as well as 11 consecutive games dating back to last season. During that span Cheeks has stuffed the stat sheet, producing averages of 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 steals per contest while shooting 48.5 percent (65-for-134) from the field. Cheeks enters Sunday's game @ Mount St. Mary's ranked in the top 11 in the Horizon League in a total of seven categories, including sixth in scoring (15.9 ppg), second in blocks (1.67 per contest), fourth in steals (1.78) and 11th in both assists (3.11) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.17).
 
Digging In – Despite a roster in 2022-23 that featured four returning starters from a year ago, a total of 11 Colonials are in their first year with the program this season. An area the newcomers have blended in nicely? On the defensive end. RMU ranks third in the Horizon League in scoring defense, allowing an average of 65.5 points per game, trailing only Purdue Fort Wayne (63.4) and Cleveland State (65.3). The school record for scoring defense came during RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole's second season, when the Colonials allowed an average of 63.5 points per game in 2011-12. Toole's first team in 2010-11 allowed an average of 65.5 points per contest, which ranks fourth in the RMU single-season record book.
 
At The Rim – Fifth-year 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 61 career contests at RMU, Spear owns 74 dunks (1.21 per game), including 10 so far during the 2022-23 campaign. On the defensive end, Spear has rejected 69 shots in his RMU career, an average of 1.13 per contest, and has compiled 99 career blocks in five seasons at the NCAA Division I level. Spear has cracked the top 10 career career blocks at RMU with his 69, just one behind former forward Dallas Green, who ranks ninth with 70 rejections from 2006 to 2010.

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