GAME 18
RMU (8-9 / 3-3 #HLMBB) @ Oakland (6-11 / 4-2 #HLMBB)
Thursday, January 12, 2023 • 7:00 p.m.
Athletics Center O'Rena (4,000) • Rochester, Mich.

TV: ESPN+ w/ Neal Ruhl (pxp)
Radio: Athletics Gameday App w/ Chris Shovlin (pxp)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: RMUMBasketball
 
Opening Tip
 
- The RMU men's basketball team opens a four-game road trip Thursday, traveling to Rochester, Mich., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Oakland at the Athletics Center O'Rena. The Colonials will also travel to Detroit Mercy (1/14), Milwaukee (1/19) and Green Bay (1/21) during their road swing.
 
- RMU improved to 5-2 (.714) at home during the 2022-23 season with a 77-70 victory over IUPUI (1/9/23) at the UPMC Events Center. Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear led four Colonials in double figures with 22 points while also grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year and 15th of his career at RMU.
 
- Junior guards Enoche Cheeks and Josh Corbin each scored 16 points for RMU in its win over the Jaguars, while senior guard Michael Green III registered his first double-double with the Colonials and second at the NCAA Division I level thanks to 12 points and a career-high 11 assists.
 
- Combined, the trio of Enoch Cheeks (15.6 ppg), Kahliel Spear (13.6) and Josh Corbin (12.1) are averaging 41.3 points in road games for the Colonials during the 2022-23 season. Spear also provides the Colonials with an average of 7.7 rebounds per contest in road tilts while converting 47.7 percent (41-for-86) of his shots from the floor.
 
- In their first game of 2023, the Colonials dropped a 78-56 decision to Youngstown State (1/5/23) at the Beeghly Center. Junior guard Enoch Cheeks paced RMU against the Penguins with 16 points and also tallied three rebounds, an assist and a block. Freshman forward Stephaun Walker added 11 points and three rebounds.
 
- RMU concluded a three-game homestand and the 2022 calendar year at the UPMC Events Center with a 63-54 loss to Cleveland State (12/31/22). RMU had a three-game winning streak snapped with the setback.
 
- Junior guard Enoch Cheeks led the Colonials against the Vikings with a game-high 19 points and three rebounds. Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks as RMU shot 42 percent (21-for-50) from the field, including 3-for-16 (18.8%) from deep.
 
- In their #HLMBB home opener, the Colonials earned a 75-70 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne (12/29/22). Junior guard Enoch Cheeks set career highs in points (24) and assists (6) and also added five rebounds and four steals to lead the way.
 
- Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear contributed 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in the win over the Mastodons. His free throw at the 4:11 mark of the first half gave him exactly 1,000 points during his NCAA Division I career, which began at Bucknell. Spear owns 1,057 career points, including 885 in three seasons with the Colonials.

OAKLAND LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (Oakland) – RMU and Oakland meet for the ninth time on the hardwood and the fifth time as conference opponents Thursday. The Golden Grizzlies own a 7-1 (.875) advantage in the all-time series. The Golden Grizzlies have won three consecutive games over the Colonials after a sweep of the 2021-22 season series. Oakland earned a 79-61 win in Rochester, Mich., at the Athletics Center O'Rena (12/30/21) before a 71-68 triumph at the UPMC Events Center (2/11/22). In the last meeting between the two programs, forwards Kahliel Spear and Matt Mayers combined for 25 points and 17 rebounds, with Spear recording a double-double courtesy of 14 points and 11 boards. RMU's only win in the all-time series came in the opening tilt of a two-game set at the UPMC Events Center during the 2020-21 campaign. The Colonials earned a double overtime victory, 88-82, Feb. 12, 2021, as Spear notched his first RMU double-double thanks to 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
 
IUPUI Notes – RMU grabbed a 2-1 (.667) edge in an all-time series with the Jaguars that began last season ... The Colonials established season highs in free throws (24) and free throw attempts (31) ... Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear finished 9-for-13 at the charity stripe, while senior guard Michael Green III was true on each of his six attempts ... IUPUI established a season high by an opponent for attempts at the chalk (24), converting 17 (70.8%) ... The Colonials also set a season high in fast break opportunities, scoring 21 points.
 
Stranger Things – Senior guard Michael Green III put together one of his best games in an RMU uniform in a 77-70 victory over IUPUI (1/9/23), notching his first double-double with the Colonials thanks to 12 points and a career-high 11 assists. Green III is the fifth student-athlete to hand out 11 dimes in a game in 13 seasons under RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole and also helped the Colonials improve to 11-0 during that span when a player dishes out at least 10 assists in a contest. A look at the 11-assist performances under Toole ...
 

Name	Opponent (Date)	Assists	Result
Velton Jones	@ Fairleigh Dickinson (1/10/13)	11	W, 88-54
Kavon Stewart	vs. Duquesne (12/13/14)	11	W, 75-59
Matty McConnell	vs. Drexel (12/10/17)	11	W, 74-60
Dante Treacy	vs. Geneva (11/27/19)	11	W, 102-62
Michael Green III	vs. IUPUI (1/9/23)	11	W, 77-70

 
Mo Green – Senior guard Michael Green III enters Thursday's game @ Oakland ranked second in #HLMBB in assists (5.20 per game) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.23). Since RMU returned to Horizon League action after the Christmas holiday, Green III has posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.00 in his last four games and overall in six games against league foes owns a 2.83 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Imagine That – 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 67 career contests at RMU, Spear owns both 79 dunks and 79 blocks, an average of 1.18 per game. Spear matched a career high with four rejections in a 68-59 win @ Mount St. Mary's (12/18/22) and has compiled 109 career blocks in five seasons at the NCAA Division I level. Spear has cracked the top 10 for career blocks at RMU with 79, as he is tied for fifth with former guard Jeremy Chappell (2005-09).
 
On My Way – While the exploits of Kahliel Spear are well documented at the rim on both ends of the court, Spear is also on his way to scoring 1,000 points in an RMU uniform. Spear, who is RMU's active leader for consecutive games played (67) and starts (54), has scored 885 points in 67 career contests for the Colonials since transferring from Bucknell, an average of 13.2 points per game. Spear needs to average 8.2 points over the final 14 games of the 2022-23 regular season to eclipse 1,000 career points at RMU. Meanwhile, Spear is also 31 rebounds shy of 500 career boards with the Colonials in his quest to become just the 14th student-athlete in program history to eclipse both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | RMU Athletics Gameday App

Tweet #BobbyMo