Moon Township, Pa. – Fifth-year forward
Kahliel Spear of the RMU men's basketball team was named the Horizon League Player of the Week Monday. It marks the first weekly honor for Spear during his career with the Colonials.
In a pair of home victories last week at the UPMC Events Center that helped RMU extend its winning streak to three, Spear averaged 27.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 70 percent (21-for-30) from the field, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line.
In an
85-77 win over Detroit Mercy (1/27/23), Spear helped the Colonials pick up their first win in the all-time series against the Titans by leading five players in double figures with 25 points while also notching four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocks. He scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half in the win over Detroit Mercy, including a layup and hook shot on consecutive possessions that gave RMU the lead for good, 59-55, with 9:12 remaining.
Two days later Spear put forth a virtuoso performance in a
68-63 triumph over Oakland (1/29/23), notching a double-double by scoring a career-high 30 points while also grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. He converted 11 of his 16 shots from the field, including a 3-for-4 performance from beyond the arc, and finished 5-for-5 at the free-throw line in the victory.
RMU owned a 29-27 lead at halftime, and seven seconds into the second half Spear took a pass from junior guard
Enoch Cheeks and provided a dunk to open the scoring after the break. The flush helped Spear eclipse 1,000 career points as a member of the Colonials and in the process become the 15th student-athlete in program history to eclipse career totals of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
Spear also connected for three-pointers on consecutive possessions midway through the second half that helped RMU open up its first double-digit advantage over the Golden Grizzlies, 51-41, en route to the win. Spear became the first RMU student-athlete to score at least 30 points in a home game since the first round of the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), when former guard Josh Williams (2018-20) dropped
36 in a 98-89 overtime win over Cornell (3/19/19) at the North Athletic Complex.
The 25th student-athlete in program history to score at least 30 points in a game for the Colonials, Spear is just the third player in program history on record to notch a double-double while reaching the 30-point threshold. The last to accomplish the feat, ironically, also came against Oakland, when former guard Rodney Pryor (2014-16) finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds
against the Golden Grizzlies at the Charles L. Sewall Center (12/5/15).
Spear, who set a UPMC Events Center standard for points by an RMU student-athlete in the win over Oakland, also joins former forward A.J. Jackson (2003-08) to record a double-double while scoring at least 30 points. Jackson posted 39 points and 11 rebounds in an 89-77 win over Quinnipiac (2/12/06) at the Chuck as well as recording 30 points and 15 boards in a 73-69 triumph @ Marshall (11/17/06).
In 73 career games at RMU, Spear owns 1,015 points and 520 rebounds, averages of 13.9 and 7.1, respectively. He also ranks fourth all-time in career blocks (85) and is a career 54 percent (400-for-741) shooter from the field with the Colonials. RMU's active leader in consecutive games (73) and starts (60), Spear is producing averages of 16.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in 23 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
Led by RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole, the Colonials continue a four-game homestand at the UPMC Events Center Thursday, Feb. 2, with a
7:00 p.m. tip against Northern Kentucky. The Colonials, who are 7-2 (.778) at home this season, also host
Wright State Saturday, Feb. 4, also at 7:00 p.m.
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