Robert Morris (13-13, 9-6) @ Monmouth (9-18, 5-10)
Saturday, February 19, 2011 - 7:00 p.m.
The MAC (4,100) - West Long Branch, N.J.

Top Story - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team concludes a three-game road trip Saturday in search of its fourth straight win when it visits West Long Branch, N.J., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Monmouth at the MAC. The Colonials, winners of four of their last five games, are coming off a 74-50 victory @ Fairleigh Dickinson (2/17/11) in which sophomore forward Lijah Thompson led the way with 16 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a career-high four blocks. Sophomore guard Karon Abraham added 12 points in the win over the Knights, while junior forward Lawrence Bridges and senior guard Gary Wallace each scored nine points. Robert Morris enters Saturday's game in a tie for fourth place in the league standings with Wagner thanks to a 9-6 mark in league play, a game behind Quinnipiac, which sits in third place with a 10-5 record in the NEC. The Colonials return home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for their final two home games of the 2010-11 regular season after taking on the Hawks Saturday, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Mount St. Mary's Thursday, Feb. 24.

Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris wouldn't carry a three-game winning streak into Saturday's game @ Monmouth without the contributions its received from senior guard Gary Wallace and junior forward Lawrence Bridges. The Colonials own a 4-1 so far in the month of February, which coincides with Wallace and Bridges being added to the starting lineup. In their five games together as starters, Wallace and Bridges have combined to produce averages of 16.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 57.1 percent (32-for-56) from the field. Over the last four years the Colonials own a record of 16-13 (.552) when Wallace is in the starting lineup and a mark of 11-4 (.733) when he scores in double figures.

Saturday's Opponent and The All-Time Series - Robert Morris and Monmouth will tip for the 53rd time Saturday, with the Hawks holding a 31-21 (.596) edge in the all-time series. RMU has won three straight over Monmouth and nine of the last 11 meetings between the two programs, including a 60-57 victory at the Charles L. Sewall Center (1/15/11) in the first game of the 2010-11 season series. In that contest redshirt sophomore Russell Johnson scored a layup off a feed from redshirt sophomore guard Velton Jones with 1:48 to play to snap a 52-52 tie and propel the Colonials to the win. Sophomore guard Karon Abraham led Robert Morris with 18 points and also added four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Probable Starters (Robert Morris @ Monmouth)

Robert Morris (12-13, 8-6 NEC)

Head Coach Andrew Toole (First Season; Penn '03) - When it came time for Robert Morris University Director of Athletics Craig Coleman, M.D., to name a new head coach for the men's basketball program, he didn't have to look far. Andrew Toole was introduced as the eighth head coach in the 35-year Division I history at a press conference at the Charles L. Sewall Center May 11, 2010. He owns an overall record of 13-13 (.500), including a mark of 9-6 (.600) in the Northeast Conference.

Anyone familiar with the success the Colonials have had over the last three years should be familiar with Toole. Named as former head coach Mike Rice's top assistant in 2007-08, Toole spent the last two years as Associate Head Coach at RMU. Moving one office over in the basketball suite at Robert Morris seemed a natural progression and a step that Toole was ready to take.

"I'm unbelievably excited to be the head coach at Robert Morris University," Toole said at the time of his hiring. "It's an incredible opportunity that I've been given by the University, the search committee, Dr. Dell'Omo and Dr. Coleman. I'm honored they felt I was the right individual to continue the success of this program. I take that honor very seriously, and I'm going to work incredibly hard and tirelessly to prove those people right while continuing to build on the success that we've had over the last three years."

Toole is at the helm of an RMU program that has experienced unprecedented success over the last five years. The Colonials own NEC records for victories over the span of two, three, four and five years. From 2005 to 2010, Robert Morris posted an overall record of 105-56 (.652). From 2007 to 2010 with Toole as an assistant on the staff at RMU, the Colonials posted an overall record of 73-31 (.702).

At 30 years old, Toole is the youngest head coach at the Division I level.

Prior to coming to Robert Morris in 2007, Toole spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. Between 2004 and 2006, Toole spent two years with The Hoop Group in Neptune, N.J.

Toole was a four-year starter at the Division I level, playing for Elon University (1998-2000) before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania (2000-03). In two seasons with the Quakers, Toole helped guide Penn to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003. A co-captain of the 2002-03 Penn team that finished with an overall record of 22-6, in two years as a starter Toole helped lead the Quakers to an overall record of 47-13 (.783).

A member of the Friars Senior Society at the University of Pennsylvania in 2002-03, Toole earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Penn in 2003. He resides in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, Pa., with his fiancée, Brooke Kelly.

Scouting the Hawks - Like Robert Morris, Monmouth owns a three-game winning streak heading into Saturday's game at the MAC. The Hawks are coming off a 57-51 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) (2/17/11) and are tied with the Red Flash in the league standings in ninth place with a mark of 5-10 in the NEC. Overall Monmouth owns a record of 9-18. Freshman guard Jesse Steele came off the bench to lead the Hawks in the win over Saint Francis (Pa.) with 20 points and on the 2010-11 campaign is averaging 9.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Junior forward Mike Myers Keitt tops Monmouth inscoring at 9.6 points per contest while owning a team-high 32 three-pointers. The leading rebounder for the Hawks has been sophomore forward Ed Waite, who grabs 5.9 per game while scoring at a 9.2 points per game clip.

Monmouth Head Coach - The 2010-11 campaign marks Dave Calloway's (Monmouth '91) 14th season as head coach of the Hawks. He enters Saturday's game against Robert Morris with an overall record of 178-223 (.444), all at Monmouth. Calloway has led the Hawks to three Northeast Conference tournament championships (2001, 2004 and 2006).

RMU's Last Game - Robert Morris shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the field in the second half en route to its third straight win with a 74-50 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, Feb. 17, at Stratis Arena. Thanks to the win, RMU clinched a berth in the Northeast Conference Tournament for the eighth straight year while also climbing back to .500. The Colonials own an overall record of 13-13, including 9-6 in the Northeast Conference. Sophomore forward Lijah Thompson scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the second half for Robert Morris and also grabbed seven rebounds while blocking four shots and recording three steals to lead the Colonials to the win. RMU took control against the Knights thanks to a 14-4 surge over the final 8:15 of the first half. Redshirt sophomore forward Russell Johnson started the run with a pair of free throws, while Thompson and sophomore guard Karon Abraham each scored four points. The Knights were held without a field goal in the final 8:23 before intermission, scoring each of their four points at the free-throw line. RMU received balanced scoring before the break, with senior guard Gary Wallace leading the way with six points. Defensively Robert Morris held Fairleigh Dickinson to a shooting percentage of just 28.6 percent (6-for-21) in the first half and forced 11 turnovers, recording seven steals and outscoring the Knights, 15-0, in points off turnovers. In the second half Terence Grier buried a long three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to trim the deficit for the Knights to nine, 30-21, but a 9-2 surge that included six straight points from Thompson and a three-pointer from Abraham pushed Robert Morris to a 39-23 advantage. FDU could never get its lead to single digits the rest of the game, with the Colonials taking a 61-39 edge with 6:23 to play after a three-pointer from Abraham. Thompson finished 6-for-9 shooting from the field and finished 4-for-5 at the free-throw line to lead Robert Morris, while Abraham added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Wallace and junior forward Lawrence Bridges each finished with nine points. Robert Morris shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from the floor overall, including 45.5 percent (5-for-11) from long range.

Leading Scorers: Thompson (16), Abraham (12), Wallace (9), Bridges (9)
Leading Rebounders: Thompson (7), Myers (5), Abraham (4), Charles (4), Johnson (4)
Assists: Myers (5), Jones (3), Abraham (2), Johnson (2), Charles (1), Wallace (1)

Fairleigh Dickinson Notes - The Colonials have won seven straight over the Knights and eight of the last nine meetings between the two programs to take a 33-30 (.524) edge in the all-time series ... Fairleigh Dickinson held a 36-35 advantage on the glass, but both teams produced 10 offensive rebounds ... RMU outscored FDU, 34-18, in points in the paint while holding a 16-6 advantage in points off turnovers ... Both the Robert Morris and Fairleigh Dickinson benches scored 23 points ... The Colonials posted 14 assists and suffered just four turnovers, their lowest output of the season .

Liftoff With Lijah - Arguably the one Colonial who has come the farthest this season is sophomore forward Lijah Thompson, who seems to be saving the best basketball of his young career for the stretch run of the 2010-11 campaign. Thompson, who leads the Northeast Conference in field goal percentage (.547), paced RMU in a 74-50 win @ Fairleigh Dickinson (2/17/11) with 16 points, seven rebounds, a career-high four blocks and three steals. In five games in the month of February, a stretch in with the Colonials are 4-1 (.800), Thompson leads Robert Morris in both scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) while shooting 57.5 percent (23-for-40) from the field and 81.5 percent (22-for-27) from the charity stripe.

Game On - Senior guard Gary Wallace appeared in his 128th career game in a 74-50 win @ Fairleigh Dickinson (2/17/11), and he is just the third Colonial in school history to play in at least 120 contests. Wallace trails only former guard Mezie Nwigwe, who played in 131 career contests at Robert Morris from 2006 to 2010. Should Wallace play in each of RMU's final three games of the 2010-11 regular season he'll tie Nwigwe's record for career games played at Robert Morris of 131. Over his last eight games Wallace is averaging 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9 percent (23-for-47) from the field.

Paint By Numbers - In a 74-50 victory @ Fairleigh Dickinson (2/17/11), Robert Morris dominated down low, outscoring the Knights, 34-18, in points in the paint. For the Colonials, it marked the first time in five games this season in which they scored at least 30 points in the paint and earned a victory. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Robert Morris has posted a record of 41-9 (.820) when turning the trick. RMU's season high for points in the paint so far this season came @ Morgan State (12/30/10) with 36.

The Dish Network - Freshman guard Anthony Myers has given the Colonials depth at the point guard position in his first season in 2010-11, but he has proven over the course of the season he may be the best fit to run the offense. Over his last 12 games Myers owns 43 assists against 16 turnovers (2.69 assist-to-turnover ratio), and he enters Saturday's game @ Monmouth leading Robert Morris in assists (104). Myers needs just three assists to establish a new freshman record in the category, as former Colonial Samba Johnson (1992-94) currently owns the mark with 106 in 1992-93. At his current pace, Myers is slated to finish the regular season with 116 dimes.

Golden Gate Bridge - Having provided improved play for Robert Morris in recent weeks has allowed junior forward Lawrence Bridges to earn the first five starts of his career, a stretch in which the Colonials are 4-1 (.800). Bridges tied a career-high in points with 12 against Central Connecticut State (2/5/11) and added nine points and two rebounds in a 74-50 victory @ Fairleigh Dickinson (2/17/11). Bridges, who is shooting 70.8 percent (17-for-24) from the floor as a starter, scored a total of 19 points in his first 11 games in a Robert Morris uniform but enters Saturday's game @ Monmouth having averaged 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds over his last 11 games while shooting 68.9 percent (31-for-45) from the field.

Two Pair - Guards Anthony Myers and Velton Jones have an opportunity to join a select group of players in school history this season thanks to the ability of the duo to create for their teammates. Myers and Jones could become the fourth pair of teammates to each eclipse 100 assists on the year and the first since former Colonials Derek Coleman (2003-07) and Tony Lee (2004-08) combined for 275 dimes during the 2006-07 campaign. Myers leads RMU with 104 assists so far this season and is on pace to finish the regular season with 116 dimes, while Jones owns 95 dimes and is on pace for 106 this year.