Meyer on Morris Link

Moon Township, Pa. - This is the week in the Northeast Conference schedule that doesn't fit with that old saying by coaches that they're "just taking them one game at a time.''

That's because this week NEC teams will play them two games at a time.

That's right, fans. It's "Rivalry Week.''

That means the NEC will feature these back-to-back, home-and-home matchups:

The Battle of Brooklyn - Long Island/St. Francis (N.Y.)

The Connecticut Collision - Central Connecticut State/Quinnipiac

The Garden State Rivalry Series - Fairleigh Dickinson/Monmouth

The New England Knockout - Bryant/Sacred Heart

The North-South Showdown - Mount St. Mary's/Wagner

And the Keystone Clash - Saint Francis (Pa.) and your Robert Morris University Colonials.

"It's just a strange thing to go play a team on a Wednesday and then Saturday see the same exact team - just in a different building,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said.

It's kind of like déjà vu all over again.

In the Colonials' case, they'll play Saint Francis (Pa.) Wednesday in Loretto, Pa., and then see the same exact Red Flash in the Charles L. Sewall Center Saturday.

"A couple things are good about (Rivalry Week),'' Toole said. "One, you get a week where you don't have extensive travel. You take your day trip up to Saint Francis and come back that night and get home at a reasonable hour. You kind of have a slower week in terms of travel. And, two, you play Wednesday and Saturday (rather than the customary Thursday and Saturday). It's shorter on the front end, but I think having two days in between (games) will give guys a little bit more of a rest than they've had in past weeks.''

Toole isn't buying into that "taking them two games at a time'' approach.

"We're taking it half by half right now,'' Toole said. "We're not even game by game.''

Case in point? The Colonials' game at Mount St. Mary's last Saturday.

Robert Morris trailed, 32-19, with just over three minutes left in the first half, then decided to rev up its defense.

Over the next eight minutes extending five minutes into the second half, the Colonials outscored the Mountaineers, 22-3, to take a 41-35 lead.

That was similar to the run the Colonials manufactured just a week earlier at home against St. Francis (N.Y.). Trailing the Terriers, 22-14 in the first half, RMU went on a 27-13 run that gave them a 41-35 lead five minutes into the second half.

Déjà vu all over again indeed.

However, the Colonials couldn't hold that 41-35 lead against the Terriers and lost, 81-68. At Mount St. Mary's, they managed to prevail, 67-62, limiting the Mountaineers to 26 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.

"I don't know why you have to be down 32-19 to figure out that effort's really important and energy's really important,'' Toole said. "(But) our defensive focus definitely increased and in the second half was pretty effective.''

The Colonials were without Russell Johnson (ankle) last Saturday and received just four minutes from Mike McFadden (knee) against the Mountaineers. Freshman Keith Armstrong took up some of the slack from McFadden's limited availability and supplied four points and three rebounds in his 20 minutes.

"He made a lot of positive plays for us,'' Toole said. "He made some mistakes, but everybody did. I've always said it's not a question of talent with our young guys. It's a question of focus and consistency. He's shown flashes in practice and in other games where he's (demonstrated) he's capable, but if you're going to have a program that has any kind of culture you have to show up every day and you have to work in practice and you have to be locked in and you have to be trying to improve or else your opportunities become inconsistent, and that's exactly what's kind of gone on with these guys.

"They've gotten opportunities in certain games based on injuries or fouls or some circumstance and have done pretty well and then haven't been able to maintain that level of focus and concentration through our practices. So when the next game comes around you're going, 'I don't know who's showing up today.' Sometimes it's harder to play guys consistent minutes when they act inconsistently.''

Perhaps this back-to-back session against Saint Francis (Pa.) will help the Colonials show some consistency.

"Umar Shannon's (loss) is tough for them,'' Toole said. "That hurts your team a lot.''

Last Saturday at Wagner, Saint Francis (Pa.) dressed only nine players.

"This is a haul, and it can be a struggle at times,'' Red Flash coach Don Friday said. "But what keeps me going is the belief that we're getting better and we're going in the right direction.''

"They've done a good job of keeping (opponents) on their heels by switching defenses -- matchup zone, a man, a 1-3-1 (zone) and on and on and on,'' Toole said. "They've done a good job -- even with their injuries and some of the things that have happened - of being able to put a plan together that's going to give them the best chance to win.''

With its win at Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris moved to 17-8 overall and 8-4 in the NEC, good for fourth place and a game ahead of fifth-place Central Connecticut State. With first-place LIU Brooklyn and second-place St. Francis (N.Y.) playing each other twice this weekend and because CCSU plays sixth-place Quinnipiac twice this weekend, the Colonials could benefit if they can take care of business against the Red Flash twice.

"I think right now we can't even concern ourselves with that,'' Toole said. "I think we really just have to concern ourselves with Wednesday night and playing as well as we can play and trying to win the game. When we start to look big picture, that's when we lose focus.''

NEC NUGGETS: The Colonials have clinched a seventh consecutive winning season, extending their school record. Their steak of seven straight winning seasons is the second longest in the NEC behind FDU's 10 straight from 1981-91 ... Wagner's Latif Rivers' 15 free throws made (in 17 attempts) against RMU last Thursday night were the most made in a game by a Seahawk since Terrance Bailey made a school-record 18 against Marist Feb. 1, 1986 ... RMU guard Velton Jones has made 140 free throws this season. He's 11 makes away from the season record of 151 set by Gabe Jackson in 1994-95.