Reactions:
Lee: Juanie Newton made the play of the game late in the second half. It won't go down in the stat sheet, but wow was it huge. After Karvel Anderson (who played incredible) was trapped at halfcourt he turned it over. It appeared that UTA had an easy breakaway lay up to tie it up. Newton had other ideas. He raced down the court and used every bit of athleticism he used to win the RMU dunk contest to contest the layup at the rim. His D forced a crucial miss.
On the other end, the ball deflected off a UTA defender right to Newton under the basket. He calmly finished with a reverse layup and put the Colonials up four. A four point swing all off pure hustle. Well done Juanie. Newton finished with five points, four assists, and two rebounds.
Chris: Glue guy alert! I’ve expressed my love for Juanie’s game a
few times already and it continues to grow. Good things happen when he’s on the
court. Watching him play with the energy level he does energizes me. I thought
about checking in a few times but ultimately decided against it because a)
Toole wouldn’t like it (maybe) and b) I had a radio broadcast going. Either
way, Juanie had a direct impact on some of the biggest plays of the game. I’m
interested to see if he could eventually find himself in the starting line-up
over a guy like Aaron Tate or Jeremiah Worthem.
Lee: Ant Myers Pate was fantastic. We told you Ant would bounce back, and he did. The senior finished with 10 points and nine assists, not to mention a perfect 6-6 from the FT line including two big one's late to help seal the victory. He was in complete control all game long. Way to bounce back Ant!
Chris: THAT’S the Anthony Myers-Pate I’ve been waiting for. He was
in complete control. He’s so quick off the dribble he can beat just about any
defender to the hoop but is almost always looking to pass. It was awesome. His
free throw shooting was obviously really good and had to be. What a game he
gets my game ball.
Lee: Karvel was out there looking like Karvel Anderson. Yea. Eight three's tying a Sewall Center record (which he has done before) isn't even a surprise anymore. He's just that good. Only complaint...SHOOT MORE VEL. He only took 11 shots tonight! I want to see more then 15 shots when he is shooting this good. Anderson finished 8-11 on the night (8-10 from three) with 24 points.
Chris: Agreed! Keep shooting! Toole even said as much in his
postgame press conference. The kid is such a great shooter but an even better
teammate. He doesn’t want to come off as selfish by taking too many shots. Ron
Ratner summed it up best with this tweet:
Enough said. Love everything about this guy truly.
Lee: Mike McFadden hit a few big jumpers but it was an off night for the big guy. He almost cost the team the game by picking up a foul, then a stupid technical, giving UTA a four point possession, and got himself disqualified doing so. I'm not worried about it though. Mike is a leader and a smart player. He knows he messed up, and I expect him to bounce back quick. Love the jumper big fellow, all that off-season work paying off.
Lee: Lucky has came a long way. His jumper wasn't there at all tonight. He couldn't buy a shot (0-6 from three). Didn't matter. He still made some great plays and helped the team win. He doesn't have to have his shot going to make winning plays. A lot of players --both in college and professionally-- do not make a positive impact on games when they are not in a flow offensively. The special ones do. Jones finished with a team high 10 rebounds and still tallied 15 points despite his struggles. That's good for a double-double. Nice job Luck.
Chris: Best part about Lucky’s game was his effort on the defensive end. I enjoyed so much watching him compete. He rebounded like a center tonight, grabbing ten boards. The best part of his game is when he gets to the hoops. His fouls drawn per game were among the top 40 in the country last year and I can see why. His size and quickness is just a problem. Great complete game from Lucky tonight. Even when his shot is off, he can still get you 15 points. That’s the mark of a great player
Lee: Jeremiah Worthem is going to be a BEAST for RMU for a long time. He doesn't look, nor play like a freshman. He bossed an older, taller UTA frontline on multiple occasions. He also showed some nice touch on a baseline jumper. Toole will take 7 and 6 from the big guy every night this season.
Charles Oliver could be one hell of a weapon off the bench. Chuck came in and scored eight straight points during a stretch in the second half that included two corner three's and a nifty floater in the lane. Oliver finished the game with 11 points. He'e RMU second best shooter behind Karvel, and could become the teams best weapon off the bench by NEC play.
Other odds and ends via Chris: McFadden and Hawk found themselves in foul trouble again and Worthem really stepped up to the plate. It seemed like every time RMU needed a rebound or a put-back he was there. Doesn’t it feel like when RMU is on they’re really on? I mean, who played a bad game tonight? It’s been like that in every win… Chuck Oliver can ball. Beautiful floater in traffic to get his scoring going and some knock down corner three’s. He always seems to score in spurts and at crucial times… Complaint: finishing at the rim is still a problem.
Lee: Nice crowd crazies, I liked what I saw. But lets get a few chants going next time?! Baby steps though! Keep it up.
More to come tomorrow!
Lee Kunkel (@Kunkel5)
Chris Cappella (@C_Cappella)
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