St. Francis (N.Y.) (1-4 / 0-0 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (3-3 / 0-0 NEC)
Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) - Moon Township, Pa.

Probable Starters (St. Francis - N.Y. vs. Robert Morris)

Robert Morris (3-3 / 0-0 NEC)

Head Coach Mike Rice (Second Season; Fordham '91) - Making a good first impression is important in any profession, and if Mike Rice's first season as head coach of the Robert Morris University men's basketball team is any indication, the program is in good hands and on stable ground.

In his first year as a head coach, Rice helped guide the Colonials to their first Northeast Conference regular-season championship and postseason appearance in 16 years, as RMU finished with a 16-2 mark in league play while advancing to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for the first time in the 32-year history of the program.

A total of 13 school records were broken last season under Rice's watch, including victories (26), NEC wins (16), consecutive victories (14), road wins (14) and consecutive road victories (10). For those efforts Rice was named the 2008 NEC Jim Phelan Coach of the Year as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District III Coach of the Year.

Rice, who owns an overall record of 29-11, brings to RMU a vast background in collegiate coaching, having served as an assistant coach at alma mater Fordham (1991-94), Marquette (1994-97), Niagara (1997-98), Chicago State (1998-2001), Saint Joseph's (2004-06) and Pittsburgh (2006-07).

Scouting the Terriers - St. Francis (N.Y.) carries an overall record of 1-4 into its 2008-09 Northeast Conference opener with Robert Morris Thursday night and is coming off a 69-61 setback @ St. John's (12/1/08). In that contest sophomore guard Ricky Cadell paced the Terriers with 15 points. Cadell is one of three players scoring in double figures for St. Francis (N.Y.), as junior guard Kayode Ayeni is leading the Terriers in both scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg). Freshman forward Stefan Perunicic has contributed an average of 11.6 points per contest, while Cadell produces an average of 11.2 points a game while owning a team-high 19 assists.

St. Francis (N.Y.) Head Coach - Brian Nash (Keene State '92) is in his fourth season as head of the Terriers and was named to his current post March 30, 2005. He enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 27-65 (.293). Prior to St. Francis (N.Y.), Nash served as an assistant coach at Seton Hall from 2001 to 2005.

RMU's Last Game - Robert Morris hit its first nine shots of the second half and 64.9 percent (24-for-37) on the game en route to a 70-62 win @ Iona, Nov. 29, at the Hynes Athletic Center. RMU never trailed in the contest, as after senior guard Jeremy Chappell and Milan Prodanovic traded three-pointers early in the contest, junior guard Jimmy Langhurst gave the Colonials the lead for good with a trifecta of his own with 17 minutes to play in the first half. It was part of a 19-8 surge for Robert Morris in the opening 10 minutes of the game, as Langhurst scored eight points and Chappell five during the opening salvo. Iona called timeout after junior Mezie Nwigwe's jumper gave RMU an 11-point lead, and the Gaels were able to trim their deficit to five, 19-14, on the strength of six straight points, but a jumper from sophomore guard Gary Wallace and a three-pointer from Nwigwe quickly got the lead back to double digits, 24-14, for Robert Morris. The Colonials eventually entered the break with a 30-17 advantage, and the lead swelled to 15 on a pair of occasions in the first two minutes after halftime thanks to jumpers from Chappell and Langhurst. Iona used a full-court press to try to get back in the game, cutting its deficit to 36-28 after a layup from Devon Clarke. However, Wallace drained a three-pointer to get the Robert Morris lead back to double digits, 39-28, and the biggest advantage of the night for the Colonials came thanks to a pair of free throws from Langhurst with 5:54 remaining that pushed RMU in front, 57-41. The Gaels had one last run, closing to within six, 61-55, after Clarke converted an old-fashion three-point play with just 1:04 to go to cap a 14-4 run. Robert Morris sealed the victory at the charity stripe, hitting seven of its last eight attempts in the final minute. Chappell and Langhurst tied for game-high honors with 17 points each, and the duo combined to hit 12 of their 16 attempts from the field, including a 6-for-8 showing from beyond the arc. Gary Springer scored 17 points off the bench to pace Iona, while Clarke finished with 10 points for the Gaels. Chappell tied Wallace for game-high honors with five rebounds.

Leading Scorers: Chappell (17), Langhurst (17), Wallace (9), Nwigwe (9)
Leading Rebounders: Chappell (5), Wallace (5), Whitehead (5)
Assists: Francisco (6), Robinson (4), Four tied with ... (1)

Iona Game Notes - The Colonials improved to 2-1 all-time against Iona and have swept the two-game series over the last two seasons ... RMU converted 57.1 percent (8-for-14) of its shots from long range against the Gaels, while Iona was 7-for-19 (36.8 percent) ... Robert Morris outrebounded Iona, 26-23, despite the Gaels owning a 12-3 edge in offensive rebounds ... Iona shot just 27.8 percent (5-for-18) in the first half and 40 percent (20-for-50) on the game ... RMU turned the ball over 24 times as Iona outscored the Colonials, 30-19, in points off turnovers ... The Gaels suffered 19 turnovers ... The Iona reserves scored more points than the starters (41 to 21) ... A pair of Colonials fouled out, as Gary Wallace and Jeremy Chappell each picked up five personal fouls ... After having his consecutive streak of starts snapped at 38 against Youngstown State (11/25/08), Bateko Francisco was inserted back into the starting lineup against the Gaels ... Iona held a 24-20 edge in points in the paint and an 11-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Strings On Fire - RMU's shooting percentage of 64.9 percent (24-for-37) in its 70-62 victory @ Iona (11/29/08) not only is a season high, it marks one of the best shooting performances of the decade for the Colonials. Robert Morris tingled the twines better only one time since the start of the 2000-01 campaign. In a 93-74 victory @ Maryland-Eastern Shore (12/18/02) during the 2002-03 campaign, a span of 171 games, RMU shot 66.7 percent (34-for-51) from the field.

Free Is For Me - While Robert Morris got off to a slow start in converting from the charity stripe this season, shooting under 70 percent in three of its first four contests, the Colonials have come around. Over the last two games, RMU is shooting 81.2 percent (39-for-48) from the free-throw line, including a season-high 87.5 percent (14-for-16) in a 70-62 win @ Iona (11/29/08). A number of Colonials have also come through for Robert Morris. In addition to the solid shooting of senior guard Jeremy Chappell and junior guard Jimmy Langhurst, a look at some of the other Colonials: After missing each of his first five attempts at the free-throw line to start this season, junior forward Josiah Whitehead has converted at an 85.7 percent (12-for-14) clip ... Senior guard Bateko Francisco's mark of 79.2 percent (19-for-24) is good enough to rank 10th in the NEC ... Senior forward Ifeanyi Ehirim, who entered the year with a career free-throw percentage of 48.3 percent (29-for-60), has converted eight of his 11 chances (72.7 percent) this season.

Mixing and Matching - Through six games of the 2008-09 campaign, second-year head coach Mike Rice has employed four different starting lineups. Senior guard Jeremy Chappell has been the lone constant, starting each of RMU's six games. However, nine other Colonials have earned at least a pair of starts so far this season, marking the most players to earn a position in the starting lineup since the 1993-94 season, when 11 different players started a game for Robert Morris.

The G Unit - Quietly growing into another solid all-around option for Robert Morris has been sophomore guard Gary Wallace. Since being inserted into the starting lineup in the second game of the season, an 86-75 win over Delaware (11/18/08), Wallace has averaged 7.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 52 percent (13-for-25) from the floor, including 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from beyond the arc. Over that stretch, Wallace has either tied or established a new career high in six categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and minutes).

Block Party - Another Colonial growing into his role for Robert Morris this season is junior forward Rob Robinson. After missing the first two regular-season contests due to a violation of team rules, the junior college transfer from Globe Institute of Technology has given RMU a spark in the post. In each of his first four games in a Colonial uniform, Robinson has recorded at least one block and owns five on the 2008-09 campaign. He has also taken advantage of his offensive opportunities, as he's shooting an even 50 percent (14-for-58) from the field. In each of the last two games Robinson has earned a starting assignment, and over that stretch he's shot 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from the field while scoring eight points each in victories over Youngstown State (11/25/08) and @ Iona (11/29/08).

Hot and Cold - Senior guard Bateko Francisco started off the 2008-09 taking more of a role for Robert Morris offensively, as he reached double figures in scoring in each of the club's first three games of the season. Lately, however, Francisco has become more selective with his shot. After taking an average of nine shots per game in RMU's first three contests, Francisco has averaged just 4.7 shots per game in the last three games. Not surprisingly, Francisco has averaged just 7.0 points over the last three contests.

Concentration - Jimmy Langhurst has been as reliable a free-throw shooter for Robert Morris over the past two seasons as anyone, and despite having his streak of consecutive free throws made dating back to last year snapped at 24 in an 86-75 win over Delaware (11/18/08), the junior guard continues to produce for Robert Morris at the charity stripe. Through six games Langhurst is 20-for-22 (.909) from the free-throw line, which leads the club and ranks third in the NEC. Langhurst enters Thursday's game with a career free-throw shooting percentage of 86.1 percent (87-for-101), which would stand as the RMU career record, eclipsing former Colonial Tom Park's (1978-83) mark of 86 percent.

Freebies - An area of strength for Robert Morris over the last 10 years has been the club's ability to convert at the free-throw line. Robert Morris has finished in the top five in the Northeast Conference in free-throw percentage in nine of the last 10 years, including league-best marks of 76.1 percent (452-for-594) in 1998-99, 75.4 percent (384-for-576) in 2003-04 and 75.6 percent (353-for-467) in 2006-07. Robert Morris has paced the NEC in free-throw shooting a total of six times in the 26-year history of the league. In 2007-08, the Colonials shot 72.6 percent (406-for-559) from the free-throw line, which ranked second in the NEC. Through six games of the 2008-09 campaign, Robert Morris is shooting 72.9 percent (97-for-133) from the free-throw line, which ranks second in the NEC.

Making It Count - RMU has gotten off to a good start in 2008-09 in hitting free throws in pressure situations, as through six games the Colonials have converted 40 of their 49 opportunities (81.6 percent) in the last five minutes of games. Senior guard Bateko Francisco has been in the situation the most so far this season, converting 12 of his 14 attempts (85.7 percent). Junior guard Jimmy Langhurst, meanwhile, is 11-for-12 (.917) at the free-throw line in the last five minutes this season, and on his career has has converted 55 of his 63 opportunities (87.3 percent) in crunch time.

Defense Wins Championships - Mike Rice has preached as head coach at Robert Morris that defense wins championships, and the numbers bear that out. RMU's 70-62 victory @ Iona (11/29/08) marked the club's first win this season when holding its opponent under 70 points. Thanks to the win, RMU improved to 77-21 (.786) over the last eight years when turning the trick, including a mark of 18-2 (.900) in two seasons under Rice.

Start Me Up - Through the first six games of the 2008-09 campaign, head coach Mike Rice has switched up his starting lineup, using four different combinations. In a 70-62 win @ Iona (11/29/08), senior guard Bateko Francisco was inserted back into the starting lineup after coming off the bench in a 74-72 win over Youngstown State (11/25/08). Rice has used seven different starting lineups in his first two seasons as head coach at Robert Morris. A look at RMU's starting lineups this season:
 
 2008-09 Starting Lineups (F, F, G, G, G) and RMU's Record:
 ? Ehirim, Nwigwe (G), Chappell, Langhurst, Francisco (0-1)
 ?? Ehirim, Whitehead, Chappell, Francisco, Wallace (1-2)
 ??? Robinson, Nwigwe (G), Chappell, Langhurst, Wallace (1-0)
 ???? Robinson, Francisco (G), Chappell, Langhurst, Wallace (1-0)