GAME 32
2023 Barbasol Horizon League Tournament First Round
#11 IUPUI (5-25) vs. #6 RMU (15-16)
Tuesday, Feb. 28 • 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 hosts its first Horizon League Tournament game in program history Tuesday, welcoming No. 11 seed IUPUI to the UPMC Events Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip. The Colonials enter the tourney as the sixth seed.
 
- In its final game of the 2022-23 regular season, RMU dropped an 81-75 decision @ IUPUI (2/23/23) to have a four-game winning streak snapped. Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear recorded his 12th double-double of the year with game high totals in points (27) and rebounds (12).
 
- Off the bench against the Jaguars, senior guard Michael Green III scored 15 points, while junior guard Enoch Cheeks finished with 15 points and tied a career high with five steals.
 
- In a vote of #HLMBB head coaches, fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear was named to both the 2023 All-Horizon League Second Team and 2023 All-Horizon League Defensive Team, while junior guard Enoch Cheeks earned a spot on the 2023 All-Horizon League Third Team.
 
- Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear, who was also named to the 2023 Horizon League All-Academic Team for owning a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.91, owns the RMU career record for blocks (99). In eight games during the month of February, Spear is averaging 14.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest and has posted four double-doubles.
 
- RMU owns a record of 10-4 (.714) in games at the UPMC Events Center during the 2022-23 campaign, averaging 74.6 points in those contests while posting a scoring defense of 65.0 ppg. Junior guard Enoch Cheeks has averaged 17.3 points at home this year while shooting 51.4 percent (89-for-173) from the field.
 
- The Colonials concluded the home portion of their regular season by stretching their winning streak to a season-high four games and capping 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.

IUPUI LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
- Tickets
 
The All-Time Series (IUPUI) – RMU and IUPUI meet for the fifth time Tuesday, with the all-time series tied, 2-2 (.500). The two teams split the 2022-23 season series, with each winning on its home court. The Colonials earned a 77-70 victory at the UPMC Events Center (1/9/23) before the Jaguars earned an 81-75 triumph at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum (2/23/23). In the two games, fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear averaged 24.5 points and 11.0 rebounds.
 
Did You Know? Thursday's game in the first round of the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Tournament marks the fourth time under 13th-year RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole the first opponent in a conference tournament is the same as the finale of the regular season. The Colonials faced off with Wagner twice as members of the Northeast Conference (NEC) in the quarterfinals of the NEC Tournament after taking on the Seahawks in their final game of the regular season. In its first year as a member of the Horizon League, RMU played Detroit Mercy in its final game of the regular season before again facing them in the first round of the #HLMBB Tournament.
 
IUPUI Notes – The Colonials and Jaguars split the 2022-23 season series, with each team winning on its home court ... The all-time series is knotted, 2-2 (.500) ... IUPUI set season highs by an opponent at the free-throw line in both makes (22) and attempts (22), with DJ Jackson going 10-for-10 for the Jaguars ... In the two-game series, fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear finished 18-for-24 (.750) at the stripe against IUPUI ... RMU finished 0-for-9 from beyond the arc in the second half against the Jaguars and 4-for-20 overall (20%) ... The contest featured six ties and 10 lead changes.
 
Bring It Home – Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear enters the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Tournament having reached double figures in scoring in 15 consecutive games dating back to the beginning of January. During that stretch Spear has averaged 18.1 points and 9.0 rebounds while converting 53.7 percent (101-for-188) of his shots from the field and recording seven double-doubles. The streak began in a 77-70 win over IUPUI (1/9/23) at the UPMC Events Center as Spear finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Block Party – RMU is in the midst of its best stretch of the 2022-23 campaign protecting the rim entering the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Tournament. Over the last six games the Colonials have rejected 38 shots (6.3 per game) and own 124 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 41 blocks (1.32 per game), and junior guard Enoch Cheeks, with 36 rejections (1.24 per game), rank second and third, respectively, individually. Spear enters Thursday's game with 99 career rejections, extending his RMU career record. In 127 career games at the NCAA Division I level, Spear has blocked 129 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 54.5 percent (288-of-528) of the time.
 
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.
 
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