By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Jan. 8, 2010
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - Two things one could always count on over the past couple of winters is wins by the Robert Morris University men's basketball team and cold days in January in western Pennsylvania.
After Thursday, however, a cold day in January is the only guarantee.
The Colonials had their 15-game January winning streak end with a 74-64 loss at Long Island that dropped them to 2-1 in Northeast Conference play. They hadn't lost a January game since falling to Sacred Heart 82-69 at home Jan. 13, 2008.The Colonials were in control of Thursday's game for much of the first 25 minutes.
However, the Blackbirds, down 41-35 with 15:50 left, went on a 20-5 run that produced a 55-46 LIU lead with 7:48 remaining. But LIU was not home free. In a timeout huddle, RMU redshirt Velton Jones exhorted his teammates.
"Enough's enough!'' Jones hollered. "We're NOT going to lose this game!''
And they almost didn't.
The Colonials got within two points (65-63) on a Rob Robinson field goal with 1:19 left but couldn't regain the lead.
"We never got easy buckets,'' head coach Mike Rice said. "We didn't remain disciplined. We didn't play like ourselves.''
The Colonials had come from behind in the second half to win each of their three previous games, including their first two in January, to build some momentum as they re-entered NEC play.
Perhaps one reason for that modest winning streak is that Rice had become less strident in his approach to coaching his team - which includes six newcomers.
"This is a very sensitive team,'' Rice said. "It's more fragile of a team (than his first two RMU teams). I don't think it's any less athletic or talented. It's just … you know I could drive Tony Lee. I could drive Bateko (Francisco) and Jeremy (Chappell). If you told them they were bad, they were going to go and rip somebody's throat out.
"This team? Probably about two weeks ago, I started (to realize) it's not working. Whatever I'm doing with Rob Robinson is not working. Change. Whatever I'm doing with Karon Abraham or Mezie Nwigwe, I'm going to have to change a little bit and I think as a staff we've changed.''
So this is the lighter, softer side of Rice?
"I'm not going to stay calm all the time,'' Rice said.
However, his assistants suggested that he should go easier on the players - at least for a while.
"There's still going to be the same demand, but maybe I'll be less in their ears,'' Rice said. "Maybe I have to lighten up on some of their mistakes. It helps when they're not worried about what (Rice and the assistants are) thinking. (They do better) when they're just worried about going out and playing. I think I'm adjusting to this team a little bit better.''
The loss Thursday night continued a lengthy streak of disappoints for Robert Morris at Long Island. The Colonials are 2-14 at LIU since the 1994-95 season.
The Colonials don't have long to fret about the most recent loss at LIU, though. They play at St. Francis (N.Y.) Saturday at 4:30.
The Terriers (4-8, 2-1) beat visiting Saint Francis (Pa.), 69-57, Thursday night. They also used an impressive run in the second half to assume command, outscoring the Red Flash, 19-3, over an 11-minute span to go up 53-41. St. Francis (N.Y.), which entered the game shooting only 60.1 percent at the foul line, kept the Red Flash at bay by making 16-of-18 free throw attempts in the final four and-a-half minutes.
Akeem Bennett led the Terriers with 18 points, which included 11-for-12 accuracy from the free throw line. Red Flash standout Devin Sweetney, who did have eight rebounds, had an off-night offensively. He was 2-for-11 from the field and scored only four points.
Mount St. Mary's, picked by the NEC coaches to win the league championship this season, finds itself in familiar territory after losing, 64-63, at Quinnipiac Thursday. The Mountaineers are 0-3 - the same record they had after their first three NEC games last season before regrouping and reaching the championship game and losing, 48-46, at Robert Morris. The Mountaineers have lost nine straight games overall, tying the school record for most consecutive losses in the same season set first in 1930-31 and matched in 1951-52.
Senior guard Jeremy Goode led Mount St. Mary's with 24 points, including scoring its final 15 points. Goode was 8-of-17 from the field; the rest of the team was 12-of-42. Justin Rutty had 14 points and 17 rebounds for Quinnipiac. His two free throws with five seconds left gave the Bobcats a 64-60 lead. Goode's three-pointer right before the final buzzer accounted for the final score. James Feldeine had 17 points for Quinnipiac, 7-6 overall and one of seven teams 2-1 in the league after three games.
"That shows our talent and how much deeper we are this year than last,'' Feldeine said. "This year we have depth and everybody's working hard. We want to achieve what Mount St. Mary's (the 2008 champion) and Robert Morris have achieved. Everybody's committed.''
Monmouth, picked to finish ninth by the coaches, continued to show that the coaches might be wrong.
The Hawks stifled visiting Central Connecticut State 55-42 to join the 2-1 brigade. Monmouth, which visits Robert Morris next week, was led by sophomore guard Will Campbell, who had 13 points. Sophomore forward Travis Taylor had a hard-earned 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Central Connecticut tried to double team Taylor whenever he had the ball.
"I told (my players), 'No strolls in the park. Every time he gets the ball it's an emergency,''' CCSU coach Howie Dickenman told the Asbury Park Press. "It's like an ambulance. 'You've got to get down there in a hurry because if he gets the ball one-on-one, I've got a dead body on the floor.'''
Dickenman thinks the Hawks are the most improved team in the NEC.
"By far,'' he said. "They have some shooters. They have some answers - and Travis Taylor is the most versatile inside player in the league.''
Wagner (2-14, 0-3) continued to struggle, losing at Sacred Heart 75-59. The Seahawks were just 2-of-18 from three-point range.
"We're searching,'' Wagner coach Mike Deane said. "Every time we do something well, it seems like we do two things wrong. That's not going to work when you play a team as good as (Sacred Heart).''
Ryan Litke led Sacred Heart with 25 points, including 19 points in the first half. He was 7 of 14 from deep. Corey Hassan, the NEC's top scorer, had 12 points. He was 1-of-8 from the field but did make 10-of-11 free throw attempts. SHU's 7-foot senior, Liam Potter, had his fourth double-double in five games - 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Fairleigh Dickinson kept visiting Bryant winless after 15 games, beating the Bulldogs 66-50. Forward Sean Baptiste led the Knights with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
NEC NUGGETS: RMU's Russell Johnson is just 7-of-30 from the field over the past three games. On the other hand, the Colonials' Karon Abraham is 12-of-15 from beyond the arc in those three games ... In the CCSU/Monmouth game, the teams combined to shoot only 15 free throws, making 10 ... Bryant and FDU had combined records of 2-26 entering their game Thursday night ... Wagner senior Doug Elwell played only four minutes against Sacred Heart because of a lingering foot problem ... Wagner's Michael Orock had a double-double against SHU - 19 points, 10 rebounds ... Seahawk guard Chris Martin had a tough night - 2-for-11 from the field, including 0-of-8 from deep, and eight points.
