GAME 31
RMU (15-15 / 10-9 #HLMBB) @ IUPUI (4-25 / 1-17 #HLMBB)
Thursday, February 23, 2023 • 7:30 p.m.
Indiana Farmers Coliseum (6,800) • Indianapolis, Indiana

TV: ESPN+ w/ Greg Rakestraw (color) & Bob Lovell (color)
Radio: RMU Athletics Gameday App w/ Chris Shovlin (pxp)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: RMUMBasketball
 
Opening Tip
 
- The RMU men's basketball team heads to Indianapolis, Ind., for its final game of the 2022-23 regular season Thursday, visiting Indiana Farmers Coliseum for a 7:30 p.m. tip against IUPUI.
 
- The Colonials stretched their winning streak to a season-high four games and capped a perfect 3-0 homestand with an 83-64 victory over Youngstown State (2/21/23) at the UPMC Events Center. Junior guard Josh Corbin scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including 13 during a deciding 19-0 run, to bolster RMU in the win.
 
- Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear and junior guard Enoch Cheeks each scored 15 points in the win over the Penguins while combining for six blocks, including four by Spear, who tied a career high. Senior guard Michael Green III chipped in 11 points and three assists in the triumph.
 
- In the second half in the win over Youngstown State, RMU converted a white hot 71.4 percent (20-for-28) of its shots from the field and overall shot 63 percent (34-for-54). It marks the highest field goal percentage against an NCAA Division I opponent since the Colonials shot 63.3 percent (31-for-49) against Toledo (12/7/13) at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
 
- During its three-game homestand, five Colonials averaged between 10.0 and 14.7 points, led by junior guard Enoch Cheeks, who averaged 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. RMU knocked down 50.6 percent (85-for-168) of its shots from the field during that stretch.
 
- The Colonials stretched their winning streak to three with an 80-60 victory over Milwaukee (2/18/23) in the second tilt of their three-game homestand. Junior guard Josh Corbin came off the bench to tie for game-high honors in scoring with 16 points. Sophomore guard Jackson Last also finished with 16 points, a new career high, and also added six rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.
 
- Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear recorded his 20th career double-double at RMU in the win over the Panthers thanks to 14 boards and 11 rebounds, senior guard Michael Green III chipped in 14 points and five rebounds and junior guard Enoch Cheeks finished with 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
 
- In its win over Milwaukee, RMU set a season high in rebounds (45) and rebounding margin (+22) while tying season highs in blocks (8) and steals (11). During their three-game homestand, the Colonials posted 23 blocks, an average of 7.7 per game, with fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear leading the way with 10.
 
- RMU has clinched a home game in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Tournament and is still in play for a bye in the first round. The first round is set for campus sites Tuesday, Feb. 28.

IUPUI LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App

The All-Time Series (IUPUI) – RMU and IUPUI meet for the fourth Thursday, with the Colonials owning a 2-1 (.667) advantage in the all-time series. In the opening game of the 2022-23 season series, junior guard Enoch Cheeks hit a three-pointer from the right wing to ignite an 8-1 spurt that gave the Colonials a 71-64 advantage en route to a 77-70 victory at the UPMC Events Center. Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear recorded a double-double in the victory with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 6-for-10 from the field and was 9-for-13 at the free-throw line. Junior guard Michael Green III, meanwhile, also recorded a double-double with 12 points while handing out a career-high 11 assists.
 
Youngstown State Notes – RMU grabbed a 14-13 (.519) edge in the all-time series in earning a season series split ... The victory marked the first for the Colonials against YSU at the UPMC Events Center, snapping a three-game slide in home games ... RMU established a season high in points in the paint (48) and also owned a 21-14 advantage in points off turnovers ... Youngstown State shot 50 percent (13-for-26) from the field in the first half in grabbing a 36-32 halftime cushion ... The win marked just the third for the Colonials during the 2022-23 season when trailing at half ... However, each of RMU's three wins when trailing at the break have come in the last month.
 
JCPenney – Junior guard Josh Corbin was en fuego for RMU during a 19-0 in the second half that helped the Colonials turn a five-point deficit into a 14-point lead en route to an 83-67 victory over Youngstown State (2/21/23). Corbin scored 13 points during the salvo and scored all of his game-high 19 points in the second half on the strength of a 5-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. The Colonials own a record of 6-1 (.857) during the 2022-23 season when Corbin connects for at least five three-pointers as well as a 10-6 (.625) mark when he scores in double figures. The performance against the Penguins helped Corbin push his season total in triples to 88, which ranks fifth in the RMU single-season record book.
 
Even Flow – RMU has received a balanced attack offensively during its four-game winning streak, with four Colonials averaging in double figures scoring. Junior guard Michael Green III is leading the way during that span, averaging 15.5 points and 3.3 assists per game while knocking down 60.5 percent (23-for-38) of his attempts from the field, including 50 percent (7-for-14) from beyond the arc, and 90 percent (9-for-10) at the free-throw line. RMU is 7-3 (.700) this season when Green III scores in double figures, and he also leads the Colonials in charges taken with 12, including three in an 83-64 win over Youngstown State (2/21/23) at the UPMC Events Center.
 
Block Party – RMU is in the midst of its best stretch of the 2022-23 campaign protecting the rim entering its regular-season finale Thursday @ IUPUI. Over the last five games the Colonials have rejected 34 shots (6.8 per game) and own 120 on the year. The school record of 127 was set during the 2015-16 campaign. RMU sits second in the Horizon League with an average of 4.00 blocks per game, while fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear, with 39 blocks (1.30 per game), and junior guard Enoch Cheeks, with 36 rejections (1.29 per game), rank second and third, respectively, individually. Spear enters Thursday's game with 97 career rejections, extending his RMU career record. In 126 career games at the NCAA Division I level, Spear has blocked 127 shots.
 
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 221-67 (.767) when holding opponents under 70 points since the beginning of the 2007-08 season. Thanks to an 83-64 win over Youngstown State (2/21/23), the Colonials improved to 170-60 (.739) 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 54.6 percent (288-of-527) of the time.
 
Did You Know? In 13 seasons under RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials have recorded a mark of 53-9 (.854) when scoring 80 or more points in a game, including a perfect 6-0 mark during the 2022-23 season. In eclipsing the 80-point plateau in home wins over Milwaukee (2/18/23) and Youngstown State (2/21/23), it marks the first time the Colonials have scored 80+ points in consecutive games in conference play since RMU's first year in the Horizon League in 2020-21 with a split against Oakland at the UPMC Events Center.

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