Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team closes out the road portion of its 2006-07 non-conference schedule Wednesday night when it travels to Buffalo, N.Y., for a 7:00 p.m. contest @ Canisius. The Colonials are coming off a 79-78 win over Youngstown State (12/16/06) at the Charles L. Sewall Center to run their record in out of league games to 6-1. RMU, already off to its best start in school history when it started 4-0, has a chance with a victory over the Golden Griffs to improve to 7-3 overall for the just the third time in the program's 31-year history. The 1988-89 and 1989-90 clubs each started 7-3 en route to NEC Tournament championships and appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Quick Stat of the Night - A key reason RMU has a chance to start 7-3 for just the third time in school history Wednesday night @ Canisius has been the club's ability to win games against non-conference foes. The Colonials carry a record of 6-1 against non-NEC clubs into their contest against the Golden Griffs, the most non-conference wins under sixth-year head coach Mark Schmidt. The best non-conference record for a Colonial club came in 1989-90, when Robert Morris posted a mark of 8-3 (.727) in out of league tilts. A year prior in 1988-89, RMU finished 7-4 (.636). A pair of victories in RMU's final two non-conference games, including its Dec. 30 tilt against Goucher, would help the club tie the school record for out of league wins and establish a new school record for winning percentage.

Wednesday's Opponent and the All-Time Series - Robert Morris and Canisius will meet for the sixth time Wednesday night, with the Colonials holding a 4-1 edge in the all-time series. The two clubs haven't squared off since RMU posted a 63-61 win at the Sewall Center Dec. 13, 1992. At the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, N.Y., the Colonials own a record of 1-1, with their last contest a 68-65 win Dec. 6, 1989. Three of the first five games between the two clubs have been decided by three points or less.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Robert Morris (6-3)

Canisius (3-6)

Head Coach Mark Schmidt (sixth season; Boston College '85) - The 2006-07 campaign marks Mark Schmidt's sixth year as head coach of the men's basketball program at Robert Morris University. He owns an overall record of 71-82 (.464), including a 49-45 (.521) mark in the Northeast Conference, and was named to his current post May 7, 2001. Schmidt guided the Colonials to their first winning season in six years in 2005-06 with an overall record of 15-14, including 10-8 in conference action. He also led RMU to the NEC Tournament semifinals for the second time in the last three years in 2006. In 2003-04 and 2004-05, he led RMU to identical overall records of 14-15. In 2001-02, Schmidt led Robert Morris to a 12-18 overall record, the most victories for a first-year head coach in the 30-year history of the Colonial men's basketball program.

Prior to RMU, Schmidt spent seven seasons as one of the nation's top assistants at Xavier University under current Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser from 1994-2001. While with the Musketeers, Schmidt played a dual role, serving as both a coach and the program's top recruiter. His coaching responsibilities centered mostly around the post players, and he helped develop and recruit players at Xavier that have moved on to the professional ranks, including James Posey (Memphis Grizzlies), David West (New Orleans Hornets), Romain Sato (San Antonio Spurs), Lionel Chalmers (Minnesota Timberwolves) and David Young (Seattle Supersonics). Prior to his stint with Xavier, Schmidt served one year as an assistant at Loyola College in Baltimore, Md., also under Prosser. He also spent two seasons at Penn State University under Bruce Parkhill from 1991-93, and started his coaching career as an assistant at St. Michael's College in Vermont from 1989-91.

Schmidt's playing career was highlighted by four years as a guard/forward at Boston College, where he received his bachelor's degree in business administration and management with a concentration in marketing in 1985. The Eagles went 22-10 and made the NCAA Elite Eight during his freshman season in 1981-82 under head coach Tom Davis and 25-7 the next year in making the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen in his first of three years playing for current Maryland coach Gary Williams. Boston College reached the NIT second round in 1984 and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen again in 1985.

Scouting the Golden Griffs - Canisius owns an overall record of 3-6 entering its game with Robert Morris Wednesday night and is coming off a 75-72 victory @ Detroit (12/16/06) in its last contest. In that contest senior guard Chuck Harris led five Griffs in double figures scoring with 17 points in just 26 minutes of action. Harris is the leading scorer and one of four players scoring in double figures for Canisius. He averages 13.3 points per game and is followed by senior forward Corey Herring (12.2 ppg), freshman guard Frank Turner (10.9 ppg) and senior forward Darnell Wilson (10.6 ppg).

Canisius Head Coach - In his first season on the sidelines for Canisius is Tom Parrotta (Fordham '91), who was named to his current post April 10, 2006. In his first head coaching job, Parrotta served as the associate head coach at Hofstra last season after serving the Pride as an assistant coach from 2001-05. From 1995-2001, Parrotta was an assistant coach at Niagara.

RMU's Last Game - Robert Morris improved to 4-0 at home this season and ran its non-conference winning streak at the Charles L. Sewall Center to nine with a 79-78 victory over Youngstown State Dec. 16. Owning a double-digit lead, 65-55, with less than 10 minutes to play, RMU saw Youngstown State close its deficit to one, 71-70, with 3:16 remaining thanks to a 15-6 run that was fueled by Keston Roberts and Quin Humphrey. Roberts scored six points and Humphrey three during the spurt, with a jumper from Roberts after a steal pulling the Penguins close. Junior guard Tony Lee came through for Robert Morris, driving to the basket and hitting a layup while being fouled by Humphrey to give the Colonials a 73-70 edge. Lee would hit his free throw to complete the three-point play and push RMU to a 74-70 advantage with 2:35 to go. It remained a two-possession game until YSU made the final score a one-point affair after Roberts drained a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds to play after a missed free throw by Jack Liles. However, senior guard Derek Coleman's outlet pass to Lee went the length of the court, allowing RMU to run the time out on the clock. Robert Morris took control in the first half with a 16-6 spurt that gave the Colonials a 38-26 lead with 4:35 to go before the break. Senior center Freddie Harris was an important part to the surge for RMU, scoring eight points while Lee added six. The Colonials kept their double-digit lead into halftime, 48-37, and eventually stretched their advantage to 14 on three occasions in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Youngstown State hung tight thanks to the hot shooting of Humphrey and Roberts, who combined to hit 15-of-33 from the field. Down 63-49 with 13:01 to go, Humphrey ignited a 10-2 Penguin run with six points, including four from the free-throw line. Lee answered with a layup to give Robert Morris an eight-point lead, 67-59, before YSU's surge to close within one. Lee paced RMU with 23 points and eight rebounds while adding five assists, and Harris scored a career high 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-for-9 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Jeremy Chappell added 15 points and six rebounds.

Leading Scorers: Lee (23), Harris (16), Chappell (15), Coleman (8)
Leading Rebounders: Lee (8), Jackson (7), Chappell (6), Harris (4)
Assists: Coleman (5), Lee (5), Chappell (4)

Youngstown State Game Notes - The first five field goals on the game for Robert Morris came from beyond the arc but the Colonials finished just 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) shooting from long range ... RMU has failed to shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc in seven of its first nine games this season ... Senior forward A.J. Jackson battled foul trouble and finished with just seven points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action ... Of junior guard Tony Lee's team high eight rebounds, five came on the offensive glass ... Youngstown State notched 10 steals on RMU's 14 turnovers ... Robert Morris outscored the Penguins, 42-10, in points in the paint.

Running With the Devil - Robert Morris has played some close ball games so far on the 2006-07 season, with the Colonials coming out on top. In games decided by five points or less RMU boasts a record of 3-0, including a pair of one-point victories. That mark has helped Robert Morris improve to 23-18 (.561) under sixth-year head coach Mark Schmidt in games decided by five points or less. However, basketball is a game of runs, and that has never been more prudent than with Robert Morris in 2006-07. In each of RMU's nine games so far this season, the Colonials have either owned a double-digit lead or trailed by double digits.

Center Stage - With senior forward A.J. Jackson battling foul trouble in RMU's 79-78 win over Youngstown State (12/16/06), one of the most positive developments against the Penguins was the production the Colonials received from senior center Freddie Harris. In a season high 30 minutes of work Harris set a new career high for points with 16, hitting on five of his seven shots from the field and six of his nine attempts from the free-throw line. Entering the game, Harris had scored just 17 points in the first eight games.

Picasso - With the emergence of senior center Freddie Harris in RMU's win over Youngstown, it helped the Colonials dominate the Penguins in an important category: points in the paint. Robert Morris outscored YSU, 42-10, in the category, marking the fifth time in nine games the club has scored more points down low than its opponent. The 42 points in the paint is the highest amount by the Colonials since scoring 46 in a 93-78 defeat @ Fairleigh Dickinson (2/6/06) and also marks just the fifth time under sixth-year head coach Mark Schmidt the club has eclipsed 40 points in the paint against a Division I opponent.

Buddy Lee - Junior guard Tony Lee led Robert Morris in its victory over Youngstown State (12/16/06) by posting team highs in points (23), rebounds (8) and assists (5) and for those efforts was named the Northeast Conference Player of the Week Dec. 18. It marks the second weekly honor for Lee on his career and it marks the third time a Colonial has won league player of the week accolades so far this season. Senior forward A.J. Jackson was named the NEC player of the week on both Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, 2006.

Road Warrior -  While junior guard Tony Lee led the Colonials to their win over Youngstown State, he very well could be the player to keep an eye on when RMU visits Canisius Wednesday night. Lee seems to love playing away from the Charles L. Sewall Center, as he is coming off a two-game road trip to Sacred Heart (12/7/06) and Wagner (12/9/06) in which he averaged 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in the two games. Dating back to the start of the 2005-06 campaign, Lee has scored in double figures in 17 of his last 20 road games and over that span is averaging 13.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 46.8 percent (95-for-203) from the field.

Light My Fire - It's often stated that when one player struggles shooting it can be contagious to other individuals on the team, and that can definitely said about Robert Morris and its three-point shooting. A number of Colonials will look to snap slumps Wednesday @ Canisius. Senior forward A.J. Jackson has converted just four of his last 28 opportunities from beyond the arc in his last five games, a success rate of just 14.3 percent. Joining Jackson in struggling from beyond the arc has been sophomore guard Jeremy Chappell (two for his last 18) and junior forward Colson Sénat (five for his last 22).

The Chase Is On - For the second time in three seasons, the Robert Morris career record for three-point field goals could be challenged in 2006-07. Former Colonial Aaron Thomas (2000-04) established a new career record for three-pointers in 2003-04 by finishing his career with 218. That record was only 48 treys ahead of former Colonial Maurice Carter (2001-05) entering the 2004-05 campaign, but Carter hit just 47 in his senior season to finish second in the record books with 217 career three-pointers. Now, thanks to a career-high 74 three-pointers in 2005-06, senior Derek Coleman entered his final season in 2006-07 a total of 78 three-pointers shy of breaking the record held by Thomas. Coleman owns 20 three-pointers so far on the 2006-07 season, pushing his career total to 161, which ranks tied for fifth all-time at RMU.