On The Rebound: Robert Morris Looks to Bounce Back at Wagner
By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Feb. 20, 2009
Meyer On Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - Feb. 20, 2009 - That extended lunch break Robert Morris decided to take in the second half Thursday night put a decided dent in the Colonials' productivity at Monmouth's Boylan Gym.
Perhaps, then, the Colonials will return to work Saturday night at Wagner with more of a nose-to-the-grindstone approach to their business at hand - specifically, finishing the job of clinching the Northeast Conference regular-season championship.
The Colonials, who lost at Monmouth, 60-57, did catch one break - second-place Mount St. Mary's lost at Wagner, 70-65, Thursday night. That reduced the Colonials' magic number for clinching an outright title to one.
You can do the math. If the Colonials win at Wagner, it's over. They probably can't count on Mount St. Mary's (11-5 in the NEC) losing at last-place Saint Francis (Pa.), which is 2-13, Saturday.
Robert Morris, which had won 13 consecutive NEC games and 15 consecutive NEC road games dating to last season, maybe overlooked Monmouth, which had lost seven straight games. The Colonials can't afford a similar letdown at Wagner, which they pummeled at home, 104-56, Jan. 17.
The Seahawks (5-10), like Monmouth (5-10) battling Fairleigh Dickinson (6-10) for the eighth and final berth in the NEC tournament, received a season-high 23 points from senior Justin Drummond in their win against Mount St. Mary's.
Wagner, which had shot just 53.9 percent (48-of-89) from the free-throw line in its previous five games, was 8-of-11 at the line. The Seahawks also did better from the field than they had in those five games, in which they shot only 38.8 percent. Against the Mount, Wagner shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) and was 8-of-15 from three-point range.
“I still believe there is nobody in this league that we can't beat if we play well,” Wagner Llewchean Radford told the Staten Island Advance. “I don't know if we need to win all three (remaining) games to get into the tournament. But if we do win them, then we're not leaving it up to the computers to decide tie-breakers. We're in.”
Perhaps it's worth nothing that Wagner finishes the regular season, Feb. 28, with a game at Monmouth.
Wagner senior Jamal Smith continued to struggle Thursday night. He scored nine points and has only 35 points in his past five games, in which he's made just 14-of-39 field goal attempts.
“We have to get Jamal back on track,” coach Mike Deane said. “I don't know what it's been. But we need him at his best if we're going to play good basketball down the stretch.”
The Colonials should take note of this about Wagner. Over the past six games, the Seahawks have limited their opponents to 29 percent shooting (33-of-114) from beyond the arc. Robert Morris was not particularly adept from three-point range at Monmouth, making only 5-of-19 casts.
There were other shortcomings against the Hawks, too. They shot just 37 percent from the field - their lowest since a 31 percent effort against Duquesne Dec. 28.
“When you shoot 37 percent, you're not going to win many games,” RMU coach Mike Rice noted.
Standout Jeremy Chappell managed a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but he was only 5-of-16 from the field - including 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. Jimmy Langhurst also had an off-night. He was 1-of-6 from the field and missed all three of his deep balls. And forward Rob Robinson, who'd become a persistent pain in the paint for opponents, was 2-of-8 from the field and had six points and four rebounds.
“Rob didn't attack the rim like he normally does,” Rice said. “And Jeremy slept-walked through the first half (during which he scored five points). I have to take the blame for it because we weren't ready to win a conference game. I didn't like the way we played at all. We didn't move the ball. We had too many dumb turnovers. We just didn't play Robert Morris basketball.”
That said, the Colonials still seemed to have the game in hand with 14 and-a-half minutes left, leading 41-29.
However, that's when they put up the "Out to Lunch'' sign in front of their bench. The Colonials didn't score for the next seven and-a-half minutes, shooting 0-for-7 from the field and committing seven turnovers while the Hawks ran up 18 unanswered points.
“We just couldn't sustain what was making us successful,” Rice said.
For the first time this season, Monmouth coach Dave Calloway started his true freshman trio of Travis Taylor, Will Campbell and Michael Myers Keitt, and those three rewarded Calloway's confidence by combining for 47 points. Campbell had 23, including 18 in the second half.
“There was no magic formula, no ?Win one for the Gipper' before the game,” Calloway told the Asbury Park Press. “It was these guys. They did it. They deserve all the credit.”
“I think we can beat anybody in the league,” Taylor said. “This win here was a reality check that we can beat anybody in the league.”
While Robert Morris (13-2 in the NEC) still has a comfortable lead in the standings, Mount St. Mary's is feeling some heat from Long Island (10-5) and Sacred Heart (10-6).
Long Island had six players score in double figures and shot 11-of-25 from beyond the arc in an 85-71 win against visiting Saint Francis (Pa.) that kept the Blackbirds unbeaten (8-0) in home league games this season. Devin Sweetney had 35 points for the Red Flash.
Sacred Heart also had six players in double figures and scored over 100 points for the second time in four games in its impressive 101-67 win at Central Connecticut State.
The Pioneers, who have won seven of their past nine games, shot 62.5 percent from the field and were 15-of-25 from beyond the arc. Guards Ryan Litke and Corey Hassan were a combined 9-of-14 from downtown.
“It starts to get (discouraging),” CCSU guard Shemik Thompson told the New Britain Herald. “You try and be positive, but after a while, when they can't miss, you start to think, ?Man, that's crazy.'”
“Whatever they wanted to do on offense, they did,” CCSU coach Howie Dickenman told the Connecticut Post.
Blue Devil sophomore Ken Horton, averaging 15.2 points per game against NEC teams, sat out the game because of a concussion he sustained against Bryant last Saturday.
Quinnipiac (8-7), which Rice predicts will be “a tough out” in the NEC tournament, beat Fairleigh Dickinson, 78-62, despite making only 7-of-19 free-throw attempts. Jeremy Baker scored 20 points in 24 minutes off the bench for the Bobcats.
NEC NUGGETS
Fairleigh Dickinson, which made 20 field goals against Quinnipiac, had only four assists ... Central Connecticut State hadn't allowed 100 points in a game in regulation since a 101-86 loss to Chicago State in the 1996-97 season ... St. Francis (N.Y.) won at Bryant, 82-66 ... Freshman Stefan Perunicic had another of “those games” for the Terriers, as he was 7-of-9 from three-point range and finished with 23 points ... Monmouth in its past four games is just 14-of-61 (22.9 percent) from deep ... On the other hand, over those same four games, Hawk opponents are only 22-of-77 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc ... In its past four home games, Central Connecticut State has made just 9-of-50 attempts (18 percent) from three-point range.
