By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Jan. 10, 2011
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University head coach Andrew Toole awoke last Saturday, checked the Northeast Conference standings and noticed his Colonials were tied for eighth place in the 12-team league.
"I almost got sick,'' Toole said.
Never mind that NEC teams had played only three games apiece. Never mind, either, that each team had 15 more league games to play.
What came to Toole's mind was that only eight of the 12 teams qualify for the NEC Tournament that determines the league's entrant in the NCAA Tournament.
And tied for eighth is not where any team wants to be at any point in the season.
Several hours later, Toole's "health'' had improved.
Slightly.
His Colonials held off Mount St. Mary's, 51-48, Saturday afternoon to even their NEC record at 2-2 and move them into a tie for fourth place.
Albeit with five other teams.
What really might get Toole on the mend is that the Colonials finally will play a league game at home Thursday, just their second home game since Nov. 19, and that beginning with that game they'll play seven of their next nine games at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
"It will be nice to shoot at some friendly rims when it counts,'' Toole said. "Hopefully, getting home will give us the energy and lift to get us on a winning streak.''
A winning streak is something the Colonials (6-9) haven't had this season. Each of their previous five victories was followed by a loss.
Perhaps the sixth time will be a charm for RMU.
The Colonials weren't in the best of shape entering the Mount St. Mary's game.
Not only did they bus from Staten Island, N.Y., to Gettysburg, Pa., following their game at Wagner last Thursday night, arriving at their hotel about 1:30 Friday morning, but they also had a 1:00 p.m. tipoff at Mount St. Mary's Saturday.
"With that early starting time, the guys were just not in tune as far as getting their normal rest,'' Toole said.
The Colonials started a bit sluggishly, missing their first six field goal attempts. However, they did find their legs and had 20 points midway through the first half, getting the final two of those 20 on Russell Johnson's only field goal of the afternoon.
But they would score only 30 points in the last 30 minutes of the game and shot just 29.2 percent in the second half, evidence that their legs grew fatigued.
"I'm glad the guys understood the importance of playing defense,'' Toole said. "That's why we won. It was not because of anything we did offensively.''
The Colonials, who frittered away most of a 10-point lead in the final five minutes, put this win away following a heads-up play by Johnson and Lijah Thompson with just under a minute left.
Robert Morris led, 47-46, but Thompson missed a jump shot. He hustled for the rebound while Johnson got a hand on the loose ball and tipped it toward him. Thompson grabbed the ball, then passed it to Karon Abraham, who was fouled and made two free throws.
"It's always one or two plays,'' Toole said. "Thankfully, we were able to make that extra winning play that put us over the top.''
Abraham made two more free throws with three seconds remaining, and the Colonials avoided having to play more than 40 minutes for a third consecutive game.
"I don't think I could have handled a third overtime game,'' Toole said.
The Colonials won in overtime at Ohio University, Jan. 2, and lost in overtime at Wagner last Thursday night.
RMU's total of 51 points was its lowest against a Northeast Conference foe since beating Mount St. Mary's, 48-46, in the 2009 NEC Tournament championship game at the Sewall Center March 11, 2009.
Abraham led RMU with 13 points, while freshman Anthony Myers added 10.
Myers started in place of classmate Yann Charles, who didn't start for the first time this season. Thompson took Charles' place in the defensive interior.
"That gave us our best offensive team on the floor,'' Toole said of starting Myers. "And I wanted to simplify things for Yann. The guy in the back has to be the train conductor on defense, and sometimes it's hard for a freshman.''
The Colonials outrebounded the Mountaineers, 37-35.
"A lot of people thought rebounding would be a weakness for us,'' Toole said, "but our guys have really bought into the 'gang rebounding' concept.''
Johnson, who had another tough game from the field and scored only four points, compensated with a team-high 11 rebounds. And that late-game "touch pass'' to Thompson.
"Russell's an intelligent player,'' Toole said. "He understands the game. He knows what's going on. Without his rebounds, we don't this game. I hope this springboards us.''
NEXT UP: The Colonials meet Fairleigh Dickinson Thursday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center, then entertain Monmouth Saturday evening.
FDU has lost seven consecutive games, including a 66-56 loss to visiting Quinnipiac last Saturday. Quinnipiac, which had only five turnovers, again was without standout forward Justin Rutty (elbow injury) and survived making only 14 of 27 free throw attempts. Senior Terence Grier led FDU with 20 points.
Monmouth, playing again with four players on indefinite academic suspension, lost at home to Sacred Heart, 80-65, after trailing, 55-54, with 6:20 remaining. The Hawks continued to hurt themselves by shooting poorly from the free throw line (12-of-21).
"We're not going to make excuses here,'' Monmouth coach Dave Calloway told the Asbury Park Press, referring to the Hawks being short-handed. "This is the team we have. This is the team we're going to put on the floor. Each guy has to step up. We're making it hard on ourselves, so it's hard. Life is hard. We just have to keep working.''
NEC NUGGETS: The 48 points allowed by RMU at Mount St. Mary's were the fewest scored against the Colonials by an NEC team since they beat Sacred Heart, 64-39, at home Feb. 18, 2010 … Johnson over the past three games has scored 27 points and is just 8 for 32 from the field, including 1-of-9 from beyond the arc … League-leading Wagner, which won only three NEC games last season, ran its league record to 4-0 Saturday night with an 81-53 victory against St. Francis, Pa., which had 26 turnovers. "I'm thrilled,'' first-year Wagner coach Dan Hurley told the Staten Island Advance. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. We have a long way to go. But we're happy where we are right now.'' … RMU and Saint Francis (Pa.), which is 0-4, were the only two NEC teams that had to play their first four league games on the road this season … Bryant, which won only one league game last season, matched that total Saturday night with a 67-64 win against visiting St. Francis (N.Y.) on freshman Corey Maynard's trey with five seconds left … Long Island won at Central Connecticut State, 72-67 … Ken Horton (31) and Robby Ptacek (22) had 53 of the Blue Devils' 67 points … Playing back-to-back overtime games, as RMU did, is one thing. But how about former RMU coach Mark Schmidt's St. Bonaventure team? The Bonnies beat visiting Ohio University, 112-107, in four overtimes Dec. 18, then beat visiting Charlotte, 92-88, in three overtimes last Saturday.
