By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Jan. 15, 2011
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University played at home Thursday for the first time since Dec. 11.
That was a good thing.
"We had fans cheering for us and not booing us,'' guard Velton Jones said. "I think our fans give us a boost, more energy. It was exciting.''
The Colonials last Thursday also found themselves at home at the free-throw line.
That was an even better occurrence.
"Coach (Andrew Toole) has us work on it every day,'' Jones said. "We work on foul shots every single day. Games can come down to free throws, so he emphasizes that we need to shoot them. If we get fouled, go to the line and make them.''
That the Colonials did against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Their 83-65 victory perhaps technically did not come down to free throws. But the reason it didn't is that they made them.
As the Knights, down 58-39 with 10:14 left, began implementing their full-court press, the Colonials entered the one-and-one free throw situation.
Over the next six and-a-half minutes, RMU made only one field goal, a not-a-surprise trey by Karon Abraham, but went 14-for-14 at the foul line, effectively keeping the Knights at bay en route to running their Northeast Conference record to 3-2.
In that stretch, Jones was 6-for-6 from the line. Abraham was 4-for-4. Anthony Myers hit both of his attempts, as did Russell Johnson.
That run of perfection made the Colonials 18-of-22 from the free throw line for the game and continued a five-game stretch in which they've made a significant improvement in their free throw shooting.
Five games ago, their team free throw percentage sat at 63.7. In those five games since, they're 85-for-113 (75.2 percent), lifting their season mark to 68.3.
"I think we have a team that can create some mismatches for people and can get into the lane and can get fouled,'' Toole said. "When we get there we have to take advantage of that. There were games early this season where we would get fouled and not take advantage, and that (became) an empty trip for us. You might as well turn the ball over. We've worked on it a lot. We've shot a lot of free throws in practice the last two or three weeks.''
The Colonials also put up a lot of practice shots from all over the court in the two or three days before the FDU game. That helped them shoot 50.9 percent from the field, including 47.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Abraham was at the top of his shooting game against the Knights.
The sophomore blitzed FDU with eight points in the first 88 seconds of the game. He had 17 points in the first half and finished with 24. He made 6-of-7 from deep.
"I came into the game in a rhythm because of all the extra shots we put up this week,'' Abraham said.
Jones knew immediately it would be a big night for Abraham.
"He made his first (three-pointer) and it was like his eyes lit up,'' Jones said. "Then he made the second one. I was like, 'Oh, yeah. He's on. Let's keep getting him the ball.'''
Soon, all the Colonials got the ball.
"Once I got hot, (FDU) went into a box-and-one,'' Abraham said. "That opened it up for everybody else.''
"Him shooting the ball like that, it draws more attention to him,'' Jones said. "If he drives, they want to help out on him more. Then once he kicks it, it helps us out even more to be open and make shots.''
"(Abraham) shot the ball very well,'' Toole said. "That's something he can do in his sleep. His ability to come off screens and make shots, his ability to constantly be a threat and put pressure on the opposing defense, is invaluable because it not only opens up opportunities for other guys, (but also) as a coach sometimes it makes it easy to call plays when you know he can come off (a screen) and make a shot.''
Fairleigh Dickinson, which has lost eight straight games, hung with the Colonials for a bit because it shot uncharacteristically well from deep. The Knights entered the game shooting just 26.2 percent from beyond the arc on the season. And they'd been abysmal from three-point range in their first four NEC games with a total of 6-for-43 (14 percent).
And yet, led by Terence Grier, FDU made five of its first eight from downtown.
Grier confounded the Colonials, and the shot clock, twice in the first half.
With 11:05 remaining in the first half, he threw up a three from in front of the RMU bench and it banked in as the shot clock sounded.
"Basketball gods helped him out,'' Abraham said.
Six minutes later, as the shot clock wound down, Grier, who was just 1-for-7 from three-land entering the game, launched another three from the right elbow. This one, too, just beat the clock and found nothing but net.
"When you bank one in at the end of the shot clock and then you make a 30-footer at the end of the shot clock, you have to tip your cap to him, I guess,'' Toole said.
The Knights wound up 10-for-19 from beyond the arc.
"I think out of the 10 three's they made, maybe three or four we could have taken away and probably three or four I'm not sure they make again,'' Toole said.
The Colonials received a solid contribution from Johnson, a sophomore who's struggled with his shot recently. Johnson did score nine points, all in the second half, but had a larger influence with his nine rebounds, helping RMU own the glass (39-30).
"Russell's one of our more intelligent players in terms of basketball IQ,'' Toole said. "I think he understands what it takes to win games and what his role can be on any given night. He has such a positive impact on the game. He communicates well on defense, and he does little things that help you win basketball games. I think you're going to continue to see more and more of that. Even without scoring the basketball, he can still affect the game in a positive way and help us win.''
UP NEXT: The Colonials face another struggling team Saturday night at the Sewall Center.
Monmouth (5-12, 1-4) has lost seven of its past eight games following a 70-54 defeat at Saint Francis (Pa.), Thursday evening.
The Hawks, down to eight scholarship players after having four players suspended indefinitely because of academic reasons, trailed the Red Flash, 38-19, at halftime.
"We came out the first few possessions and turned the ball over, and we just struggled from the get-go,'' Monmouth coach Dave Calloway told the Asbury Park Press.
NEC STUNNER: Bryant, which last season won only one game, got its fourth victory this season with a remarkable 69-61 win at preseason favorite Quinnipiac Thursday.
The Bobcats, playing a third straight game without standout center Justin Rutty (elbow), led Bryant, 20-3, before the Bulldogs made their first field goal with 6:24 left in the first half. And Quinnipiac held a 31-8 lead with 3:53 remaining in the first half when the Bulldogs began a spurt of their own.
Over the next 14 minutes, stretching into the second half, Bryant outscored Quinnipiac, 38-13, to take a lead it held pretty much from there until the end.
Freshman Alex Francis scored 22 points to lead Bryant, which was 30-of-41 at the foul line. Quinnipiac, whistled for 28 personal fouls, was just 11-of-19 from the free throw line.
Quinnipiac guards Deontay Twyman and James Johnson combined made only 8-of-36 field goal attempts, including 5-of-21 from beyond the arc.
NEC LEADERS: Long Island, with no starter playing more than 20 minutes, moved to 4-1 with a 91-69 win against visiting Mount St. Mary's, which was 30-of-38 from the free throw line. The win put the Blackbirds into a first-place tie with Wagner, which picked up its first league loss at St. Francis (N.Y.), 72-56.
Wagner, which had made an average of 10 three-pointers in each of its first four NEC games, was just 1-of-13 from deep. The Seahawks were also called for 34 personal fouls, helping the Terriers go 33-of-49 from the stripe.
Wagner plays at Long Island Saturday.
NEC NUGGETS: Rutty could be sidelined at least another two weeks, meaning he might miss the Bobcats' game against Robert Morris at Quinnipiac Jan. 27, the teams' only regular-season meeting … Monmouth was just 2-of-16 from deep at Saint Francis (Pa.) … Bryant in the first half at Quinnipiac was 3- of-25 from the field and trailed, 36-15, at the break … Ken Horton had 27 points, eight rebounds and five steals to lead Central Connecticut State to an 88-75 victory at Sacred Heart.
