By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Feb. 9, 2011 

Meyer on Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. - Not surprisingly, these are not the happiest of times for the Robert Morris University men's basketball team.

After all, slipping quickly from dizzying heights in the Northeast Conference to mediocrity in the league in less than a season is not an easy fall.

Going from beating Bryant by 53 points, the Colonials' largest margin of victory against a league opponent in history, to sustaining the most lopsided loss to an NEC team at home in 14 years in the space of 48 hours is not conducive to feeling good.

Stuck at 6-6 in league play this season after amassing a 46-8 record in regular-season league play in the previous three seasons does not make a team a bunch of happy campers.

But that's where the Colonials are with six league games left. They're not used to being in this position, and it shows.

"I can't put it into words,'' senior guard Gary Wallace said. "I'm just mad about everything.''

Such is life currently with the Colonials after their 80-58 loss to second-place Central Connecticut State last Saturday at the Charles L. Sewall Center. They do have the chance to improve their personalities tonight when Saint Francis (Pa.) visits, but if there's one certainty about this RMU team it's that there are no certainties.

"There's no reason why we shouldn't be better than we are,'' Wallace said, "but the reality is the words we go by - accountability, consistency, relentless - we just don't do it every game, and it shows in the final score.

"We blow out Bryant and we say, 'OK, we got a win.' It seems like guys take too much of a deep breath. Last year, we'd win a game by 15 points and it was like, 'OK, next game. Let's take care of business the next game.'''

And the Colonials generally would.

Last season en route to a 15-3 NEC record the Colonials reeled off a 12-game winning streak against league teams.

The season before? Again, they finished 15-3 and fashioned a 13-game winning streak against NEC teams.

The season before that? They won their final 13 league games and finished 16-2.

This season? The Colonials' longest winning streak is three games. Four times they've followed a league win with a league loss.

"We play well one day and then the next day we just fall apart,'' Wallace said. "In the past, we've gone out and made teams quit, and we don't do that anymore. Sometimes we're down seven (points) and some people feel like we've lost the game. Sometimes I don't think there's a belief that we're still in the game. Sometimes we get so down on ourselves. (That) doesn't make our job any easier. Then we start doing stupid stuff and dig ourselves a bigger hole.

"Coach (Andrew Toole) says when you get pushed into a corner you can either swing or curl up. We've just curled up too many times.''

The Central Connecticut State game was another of those times.

Midway through the second half, the Colonials, who had trailed for much of the game, found themselves in a 50-42 hole.

Then it seemed as if they might have found themselves. Period.

A 6-1 mini-run capped by Wallace's layup zipped RMU to within 51-48 of the Blue Devils.

But just 12 seconds later, even before a boisterous home crowd could fully register its appreciation, CCSU's Robby Ptacek zapped the Colonials.

Left alone beyond the top of the key because of a Robert Morris defensive breakdown, Ptacek drained a three.

"A huge play,'' Toole said. "We had two of our experienced guys, Gary and Karon Abraham, two of our guys who are supposed to be rock solid in what we do not switching (on) a screen. A miscommunication. We have them all the time. Robby Ptacek is standing all by himself at the top of the key and two of our defenders are guarding one guy under the basket. And then to make it worse, (Abraham) runs by and hits (Ptacek) in the stomach as he shoots the ball. It's just a back-breaker.

"Gary's a guy you're supposed to (be able to) depend on. He's been here for four years. (Karon's) a guy everyone thought coming into this year would be Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, what people don't realize is that (then-seniors) Dallas Green, Mezie Nwigwe, Rob Robinson, Josiah Whitehead and Jimmy Langhurst made up for a lot of his errors last year because they were rocks. When he stopped, Dallas went and got the rebound. When he stopped, Rob Robinson got the rebound. When he got beat, Mezie helped (defensively).

"When you have to be the guy who's supposed to make those plays and you don't make them, what? (Current freshmen) Ant Myers, Yann Charles and Coron Williams are supposed to have it all figured out 23 games into their careers?''

Ptacek made the free throw to complete the four-point play and begin a CCSU run in which the Blue Devils extended their lead to 67-52 by making 12-of-14 free throw attempts.

"Very frustrating,'' Wallace said. "You're trying to stay in the game and they just slowly keep pulling away.''

The Blue Devils made 31-of-35 free throws in this game, meaning they had very few empty possessions. Thus, making free throws was a strong weapon for CCSU.

"We spend a ton of time on free throws,'' CCSU coach Howie Dickenman said. "It's our bread and butter. One of our keys was to attack the basket, attack on offense. I think as a result of that we did draw some fouls, and we were able to convert.''

Toole agreed - sort of - that CCSU's ability to make free throws is one of its strengths.

"When you foul them every possession, it is,'' Toole said. "If you don't let them get to the free throw line, then it's not as big a weapon.''


Toole was less than pleased with the production of Abraham, Velton Jones and Russell Johnson, the Colonials top three scorers this season. Against CCSU, the three sophomores combined to score only 21 points and were a collective 6-for-25 from the field.

"It was a big game,'' Toole said. "Your big guns are supposed to be there for you.''

"They have some shooters who just didn't make them (last Saturday),'' Dickenman said. "But I will say this for Robert Morris. They generally start four sophomores and freshmen. When he gets it going, Abraham is as good as there is. They're going to get better. They're going to be very good in time. Maybe this year. They have some tournament experience even though they're still young. The last couple of years, they know how to win when tournament time comes. There's something to be said for tournament experience. They'll be fine.''

Toole hopes that's true as he continues to push his relatively young team toward a berth in the NEC Tournament that the Colonials won each of the previous two seasons.

"I thought for the most part we had some pretty good intensity (against CCSU),'' Toole said. "Was the energy level there? Yes, most of the time it was there. But you get exposed when you break down. We broke down at inopportune times and kind of got worn down by an experienced, veteran, tough, mature team.

"We have guys who don't understand what it's like to play against a team like Central Connecticut State and how hard that is and how much intensity they play with and how tough they are. We told our guys before the game that the toughest team would win, and clearly the toughest team won.

"We played hard. There's no doubt about it. But when your opponent's better, it can make you pay for mistakes. And it's those little bitty plays that not everyone sees that separates a win from a loss - even in a 22-point game. And we find ourselves in those little plays, those little situations, all the time, and we don't make the play enough.

"We were able to beat Bryant to some loose balls and play with some effort and we made some open shots and so everyone (felt) great about everything. But (losing to CCSU) is what happens when you play a really good team. This is what happens when you're not as tight as you need to be with details and you play a really good team. They expose you.''

NEXT UP: Saint Francis (Pa.), 5-7 in the NEC, lost to visiting Bryant, 70-69, last Saturday. The Red Flash trailed, 61-51, with 2:40 left and 66-60 with 57 seconds remaining, but Umar Shannon's trey with five seconds left put St. Francis ahead, 69-68. However, Frankie Dobbs' basket with a second left gave the Bulldogs the victory.

"I can't put into words how much this loss hurts,'' Saint Francis (Pa.) coach Don Friday said. "I know that it really hurts our kids right now. I'm proud of the fight we showed in rallying back to take the lead, but we lost in the end and this one stings.''

NEC NUGGETS: The Colonials' 22-point loss to CCSU was their worst loss to an NEC team at the Sewall Center since Monmouth beat them, 82-59, Feb. 17, 1997 … Monmouth (2-10) lost at Wagner, 63-60, Saturday. The Hawks are 1-7 in NEC games decided by five points or fewer … Freshman Latif Rivers scored 27 points for Wagner … Long Island (10-2) stayed a game ahead of CCSU with an 84-79 win against visiting Quinnipiac. LIU was just 15-of-31 from the free throw line … Quinnipiac's Justin Rutty, who again didn't start, scored 20 points … Fairleigh Dickinson (2-10) lost its seventh straight game, falling at Mount St. Mary's, 70-59 … St. Francis (N.Y.) rushed out to a 35-15 halftime lead and beat visiting Sacred Heart, 78-51. Sacred Heart (4-8), like Monmouth and FDU, is in danger of not making the NEC Tournament field … With its wins against Saint Francis (Pa.) and RMU last weekend, CCSU completed its first sweep of the two Pennsylvania teams on the road since 2001-02. The Blue Devils' win at RMU was its first at the Sewall Center since Feb. 28, 2004 … CCSU is 93-of-114 (81.6 percent) from the free throw line in its past three games, raising its league-leading percentage to 76.7 in games against NEC teams … The Blue Devils have held NEC teams to a league-low 26.3 percent from beyond the arc.