By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Feb. 6, 2010
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - Here are some numbers for you to keep in mind Saturday evening when Robert Morris University entertains Saint Francis (Pa.) at the Sewall Center: 18-0, 8-0, 0-16 and 0-22.
In order, those numbers represent Robert Morris' record in its past 18 games against Northeast Conference teams at the Sewall Center, the Colonials' record in their past eight games, Saint Francis (Pa.)'s record in its past 16 NEC road games and the Red Flash's record in its past 22 road games overall.
If the Colonials (15-8, 10-1 in the NEC) extend all those streaks this evening, they'll be virtually assured of at least a first-round home game in the NEC Tournament March 4.
A win this evening also will make this senior class - Mezie Nwigwe, Dallas Green and the injured Jimmy Langhurst are the three members who have been at RMU for four seasons - the winningest class in program history.
The class which included Jeremy Chappell, who played his fourth and final season last year, was 82-44. This senior class is 82-38.
The Colonials reached this point with a 76-67 victory at Saint Francis (Pa.) Thursday night, the opener of this back-to-back, two-game series that is part of the NEC's "Rivalry Week.''
Robert Morris had to come from behind after playing its worst defensive first half since the season opener at Syracuse when it trailed 55-32 at intermission.
Saint Francis (Pa.) made 17-of-30 field goal attempts (56.7 percent) in the first half Thursday and led 43-38 at the break.
"It was a two and-a-half bus ride up here,'' RMU coach Mike Rice said. "Those are excuses, but maybe something had to do with (the Colonials') brain synapses not firing very quickly.''
When one considers that in their four previous games the Colonials had held their opponents to an average of 54.3 points per game, those 43 first-half points by the Red Flash represented some rare defensive generosity by Robert Morris.
Or simply Saint Francis (Pa.) offensive expertise.
"I thought Saint Francis did as (good) a job of attacking our defense as we've seen in probably a month,'' Rice said. "We've seen so many teams with just their main offense as a ball screen and dribble, dribble, dribble. Saint Francis had a great flow, a great attack. They took advantage of some of the switches that we do, and they certainly came out with an intensity and urgency that we didn't match.''
However, a three-pointer by Nwigwe just before the half seemed to get the Colonial synapses in sync.
Robert Morris scored the first nine points of the second half. The Red Flash did rally to take a 63-61 lead late in a closely contested second half, but the Colonials scored 15 of the final 19 points to win for the 41st time in 47 NEC regular-season games under Rice.
"(We're) starting to kind of get the swagger and the confidence of a team that's confident,'' Rice said after the Colonials finished their sixth consecutive win in Loretto. "They aren't afraid of close games.''
One reason for the Colonial confidence is the team's defense, which in the second half played just as it has through much of this team's eight-game winning streak.
"We finally stopped being reactive and started being proactive,'' Rice said of the second half in which the Red Flash made 10-of-26 field goal attempts - and was 0-of-7 from beyond the arc. "To put it in football terms, in the first half we were getting blown off the line.''
Which Rice pointed out to his players at halftime.
"I challenged the gentlemen,'' he said.
And those "gentlemen'' responded.
"Give them credit,'' Red Flash coach Don Friday said. "They wear you down. Their pressure just kept wearing and wearing (on us). They're a good team. There's a reason they are 10-1. They are the defending champions, and we're not there yet.
"They can keep throwing bodies at you. They've got a steady stable of that. I've got a lot of puppies.''
The Colonials outrebounded Saint Francis (Pa.), 36-23. And once again the Colonials received solid contributions from their bench. Russell Johnson (12 points), Gary Wallace (11) and Josiah Whitehead (6) outscored the Saint Francis (Pa.) bench, 29-7.
Robert Morris also continued to stifle its foes from beyond the arc. Saint Francis (Pa.) was 4-of-20 free deep. Over their past six games, the Colonials have limited the opposition to 25 percent (33-of-132) accuracy from three-point range.
The victory kept the Colonials one game ahead of Quinnipiac (15-7, 9-2) as the two teams continue on track for their NEC showdown at the Sewall Center Feb. 20 - their only regular-season meeting.
The Bobcats quickly took control of their game at Sacred Heart Thursday and won, 86-71.
"They came out on fire,'' Pioneer senior Ryan Litke said. "We got hit in the face, and we didn't throw a punch back.''
Regular Bobcat standouts James Feldeine and Justin Rutty did what they normally do. Rutty had 22 points and 10 rebounds; Feldeine was 11-of-14 from the field and scored 27 points.
However, the big story of this game was the defensive job James Johnson did on Sacred Heart's Corey Hassan.
Johnson held Hassan to 4-of-15 shooting and eight points - the first time this season Hassan didn't score in double figures. Those eight points were more than 13 under Hassan's per game average (21.4) coming into the game and 28 fewer than the 36 points he dropped on Wagner just five days earlier.
"When we see somebody we have such high respect for like Corey, who's having a phenomenal year, we'll basically play four-on-four (defensively) and let James Johnson shadow him,'' Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore said. "When you have a kid as athletic as James Johnson and as tough-minded, you can unleash him and say, 'Follow him wherever he goes.'''
That means Johnson could draw the defensive assignment on Karon Abraham, RMU's leading scorer, in that Feb. 20 game.
Long Island (9-13, 7-4) moved into sole possession of third place with a 62-53 win at St. Francis (N.Y.).
Guard Jaytornah Wisseh led the Blackbirds with 21 points and six assists and made four free throws in the final 40 seconds to clinch the victory. Teammate David Hicks added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
St. Francis (N.Y.) point guard Justin Newton, who injured his left knee in the game at Robert Morris last Saturday, played 30 minutes against Long Island. Ricky Cadell had 13 points. Stefan Perunicic was 2-of-11 from beyond the arc and had six points.
THE JUMBLE-TRON: There are seven teams behind the top three that are either 6-5 or 5-6.The two hottest teams in that pack are Central Connecticut State, which entertains Robert Morris Thursday, and Mount St. Mary's. Each has won three straight games to get to 5-6.
CCSU fell behind, 8-3, early at winless Bryant, which Robert Morris visits Feb. 13, but had little trouble thereafter in its 60-34 victory. Joe Seymore had 19 points for CCSU, which outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-28.
Bryant, which scored only 14 points in the second half, scored its fewest points in a game this season. The Bulldogs (0-23, 0-11) were 12-of-51 from the field, including 2-of-14 from deep.
"We had a very difficult time scoring tonight,'' Bryant coach Tim O'Shea said. "We can't afford to miss the number of shots we did around the basket. We can't have a pity party. We have to keep persevering. We've got some pieces. We just don't have all the parts right now of a fully functioning Division I team.''
Bryant did earn some respect from CCSU.
"They're not going to go 0-for-(the season) because they play hard,'' Seymore told the New Britain Herald.
"They play as hard as you possibly can for a winless team,'' Blue Devil coach Howie Dickenman said.
Mount St. Mary's rushed to a 35-19 halftime lead and cruised past visiting Wagner, 69-44. The Mountaineers were 12-of-23 from beyond the arc; Wagner was just 4-of-19 from deep. Mount St. Mary's held opponents to an average of just 50.7 points per game in the sweep of its three-game homestand.
"We got after it a little bit more (defensively),'' guard Jean Cajou told the Carroll County Times. "That's what we do. We got away from that.''
"The Mount St. Mary's defensive stamp is starting to come back,'' coach Milan Brown said. "But we're nowhere - by any stretch of the imagination - out of the woods.''
Fairleigh Dickinson (7-16, 6-5) also had a big halftime lead - 40-24 - but had to hold on a bit down the stretch to turn back visiting Monmouth 75-69. The Knights led 47-25 early in the second half, but the Hawks closed to within five points (62-57) with 3:46 remaining.
"We had chances,'' Monmouth junior James Hett told the Asbury Park Press. "We just couldn't make enough plays. (But) if you don't dig yourself a 20-point deficit, it doesn't come down to that.''
Monmouth (10-13, 6-5) played its fifth consecutive game without standout forward Travis Taylor, who was suspended for seven games by coach Dave Calloway Jan. 18 for violating team rules. FDU, which was 25-of-39 (64.1 percent) from INSIDE the arc, got 27 points and 10 rebounds from Sean Baptiste and 20 points from point guard Mike Scott.
"We scored enough points,'' Calloway said. "We didn't guard them. We didn't get any stops when we needed them. Seventy-five points is way too many points. They were way too comfortable on offense.''
NEC NUGGETS: Robert Morris was the only NEC team that trailed at halftime Thursday to rally to win … Sacred Heart's Chauncey Hardy, who'd missed four consecutive games since being suspended by coach Dave Bike for a team-rule violation, returned Thursday. The senior guard scored nine points in his 18 minutes … Quinnipiac shot 60 percent (33-of-55) from the field against Sacred Heart and for the 22nd time this season outrebounded its opponent … Abraham had 13 points Thursday night, raising his season total to 296. He continues to be in range of Chappell's program record for most points by a Colonial freshman in a season (410).
