GAME 22
Detroit Mercy (8-13 / 4-6 #HLMBB) vs. RMU (9-12 / 4-6 #HLMBB)
Friday, January 27, 2023 • 7:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center (4,000) • Moon Township, Pa.

TV: ESPN+ • Radio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: RMUMBasketball
 
Opening Tip
 
- The RMU men's basketball team opens a four-game homestand at the UPMC Events Center Friday by hosting Detroit Mercy in a 7:00 p.m. tip. It begins a stretch in which seven of the next nine games for the Colonials come at home.
 
- In wrapping up a four-game road swing, RMU snapped a three-game slide with a 72-38 victory @ Green Bay (1/21/23). The 38 points are the fewest the Colonials have allowed in a road game in program history and the third time under Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole RMU has held an opponent under 40 points.
 
- Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear paced the Colonials in their win over the Phoenix with 19 points while also grabbing six rebounds. He became the 19th member of the RMU 500-Rebound Club with his first rebound of the game. In 71 career games with the Colonials, Spear owns totals of 960 points and 505 boards.
 
- Junior guard Enoch Cheeks contributed 13 points, four rebounds, a career-high eight assists, four steals and a block in the win @ Green Bay (1/21/23) as RMU converted an even 50 percent (25-for-50) of its shots from the field and 89.5 percent (17-for-19) at the free-throw line in the victory.
 
- During its four-game road swing, fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear produced averages of 18.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while knocking down 53.6 percent (30-for-56) of his shots from the field and going 11-for-12 (91.7%) at the free-throw line. Overall entering action this week Spear ranks fifth in the Horizon League in field goal percentage (.500) and rebounding (7.3 per game) and 10th in scoring (14.9 ppg).
 
- In six games during the month of January, senior guard Michael Green III is averaging 8.7 points and 4.3 assists per game while owning an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.71. He is shooting 41.5 percent (17-for-41) from the field and is a perfect 12-for-12 at the free-throw line during that stretch.
 
- In the opener of its two-game swing through Wisconsin, Milwaukee closed the game on a 13-3 run to grab a 77-69 victory at UWM Panther Arena (1/19/23). Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear paced the Colonials by recording his seventh double-double of the 2022-23 season and 17th of his career at RMU with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
 
- Sophomore guard Jackson Last established career highs in points (14) and rebounds (8) @ Milwaukee (1/19/23), shooting 5-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Josh Corbin and senior guard Michael Green III each contributed 11 points against the Panthers.
 
- RMU closes out the month of January by continuing a four-game homestand Sunday, Jan. 29, with a 1:00 p.m. tip against Oakland at the UPMC Events Center after hosting Detroit Mercy.

DETROIT MERCY LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
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- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
- Tickets
 
The All-Time Series (Detroit Mercy) – RMU and Detroit Mercy will tip for the seventh time Friday, with the Titans having won each of the previous six meetings between the two programs. Just one of the first six games, however, have come at the UPMC Events Center. In the opening game of the 2022-23 season series, the Titans earned an 87-75 victory over the Colonials at Calihan Hall (1/14/23). Antoine Davis, the NCAA's leading scorer at 26.4 points per game, finished with 41 points on the strength of 11 three-pointers in the victory. In five career games against Detroit Mercy, forward Kahliel Spear has averaged 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds, including 15 points and seven rebounds in the opening game of the 2022-23 season series at Calihan Hall.
 
Green Bay Notes – RMU grabbed a 2-1 (.667) edge in an all-time series that began during the 2021-22 season ... The win marked the first for the Colonials on the road at the Resch Center and was also RMU's first this season on a Saturday (1-6) ... The Phoenix set a season high by an opponent in free throw percentage at 87.5 percent (14-for-16) but also season lows in points (38), field goals (11) and field goal percentage (.216) while tying opponent lows in three-pointers (2) and rebounds (23) ... The Colonials have held six opponents to under 40 points in its NCAA Division I history, four of which have come with Andrew Toole as either an assistant or head coach ... RMU posted a commanding 42-23 edge in rebounds, with its margin (+19) its highest mark of the 2022-23 campaign.
 
Close Out – RMU put forth its best defensive performance since joining the Horizon League in a 72-38 victory @ Green Bay (1/21/23), as the scoring defense marks the fewest points the Colonials have allowed in a road game in its NCAA Division I history. The 34-point margin of victory is also its largest in a conference road game, matching a pair of 34-point victories @ Fairleigh Dickinson. RMU defeated the Knights, 74-40, at Stratis Arena January 24, 2009, and also earned an 88-54 triumph under Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole Jan. 10, 2013. A look at the top five defensive performances in program history in regard to points allowed, three of which have come under Toole. The school record came in a 55-30 win over Saint Peter's at the Charles L. Sewall Center in Toole's first game as head coach ...
 

Points	Date	Opponent	Result
30	11/13/10	vs. Saint Peter's	W, 55-30
34	1/17/87	vs. St. Francis Brooklyn	W, 58-34
37	12/10/88	vs. Brooklyn	W, 65-37
38	2/3/11	vs. Bryant	W, 91-38
38	1/21/23	@ Green Bay	W, 72-38

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 71 career contests at RMU, Spear owns 84 dunks, an average of 1.18 per contest, and 82 blocks, an average of 1.15 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 112 career blocks in five seasons at the NCAA Division I level. Spear has cracked the top five for career blocks at RMU with 82, as he ranks fifth.
 
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 (71) and starts (58), has scored 960 points in 71 career contests for the Colonials since transferring from Bucknell, an average of 13.5 points per game. Spear is just 40 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 career points with the Colonials and after joining the RMU 500-Rebound Club @ Green Bay (1/21/23) would become just the 14th student-athlete in program history to eclipse both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. The last to turn the trick was former forward Lucky Jones (2011-2015).
 
Defense Wins Championships – The numbers bear out that following in the footsteps of defending is victories. Over the last 16 years, RMU owns a record of 216-65 (.769) when holding opponents under 70 points since the beginning of the 2007-08 season. Thanks to a 72-38 triumph @ Green Bay that concluded a four-game road trip, the Colonials own a mark of 165-58 (.740) under 13th-year RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole when turning the trick. Overall in the last 16 years, RMU has held its opponent to under 70 points 54.1 percent (280-of-518) of the time.

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