What we saw: RMU takes down Savannah State

Generic sentence about how the last time Robert Morris played at the Sewall Center it was against Kentucky.

Generic sentence about trying to replace Velton Jones, Russell Johnson, Coron Williams and Treadwell Lewis.

Corny phrase: “RMU tamed the tigers in their 88-66 win” or “revenge is the sweetest medicine.”

I’m not here for generic, obviously, and neither are you. RMU played really, really well last night; much better than I was expecting and much better than even coach Toole was expecting. He said as much in his postgame press conference.

But why and how?

Karvel Anderson picked up right where he left off.
(p/c: Justin Berl)

Well, RMU is more talented then Savannah State and that’s always a good place to start. How nice is it to have a guy like Chuck Oliver just stroll of the bench? Or Kavon Stewart? This is one they should have won and did.

RMU shot 21 three’s (and made 11) but it still felt like there was really good balance. They got to the line 45 times and dumped down to Mike McFadden in isolation a few times to let him do his thing. I really liked Mike’s game last night. His first shot of the game was a missed jumper, but it still looked good. He was aggressive. And when Savannah State played up on him a little to contest that jump shot he went to work with his back to the basket, using spins to get to the hoop like Dwight Freeney does to get to quarterbacks.

Karvel Anderson made five three’s and Chuck Oliver made two. They both did a good job of getting good looks by taking what the defense gave them. Anderson got going in the second half by taking a handoff from McFadden and essentially using him as a shield, setting himself for a solid two seconds, and knocking it down. The one after that came off an extra pass from McFadden, also wide open. His next three came in transition; Anthony Myers-Pate (awesome game from him) took the inbounds off a make and pushed it up court to Anderson for another good look. If RMU can create opportunities like that for one of the best three point shooters in the country, teams are in trouble.

I really like Desjuan Newton’s game. I’m going to give him the dreaded “glue-guy” label. A glue guy is someone who does the little things for a team like plays solid defense, rebounds well, sets screens, hustles, etc; it’s a backhanded compliment in the fact that you give them no credit for being good at things people notice.

I don’t care. Newton impresses the hell out of me. The first shot he took was a good look from three in the corner and knocked it down. He ended up with eight total points. Good game, Juanie.

After re-watching the game I was much happier with the game Lucky Jones had than I thought I would be. There were times in the game he looked disinterested. No one likes the body language police, but that’s just my opinion. He’s a leader on the team and I’d like to see more out of him in that aspect. Anyway, it’s not like Lucky was really taking bad shots or forcing anything, his shot just wasn’t there. He realized that in the second half and got to the line six times. This was a game he didn’t need to carry the team.

RMU hits the road for a series of games starting Tuesday with a good Lafayette team. I’d like to see RMU crank up the defense a little more and force a few more turnovers but that’s just me being nitpicky, especially against a team who so clearly had no idea how to run a halfcourt offense.

Overall, good job everyone. Total attendance was at almost 1,200- not terrible- but we could use a little more energy from the crowd. The dance team and cheerleaders continue to do a good job as well.

Game ball: Mike McFadden for his versatility on offense and tough day rebounding

Have a good Sunday!

--Chris Cappella

--@C_Cappella