Recap: RMU takes the Steel City Showdown

Winner winner chicken dinner! The streak is over! (p/c: Justin Berl)

RMU defeated rival Duquesne by a score of 67-63. Goodbye five game losing streak! The game shaped up like any other; RMU jumps out to a hot start, cools off as the half goes along, and gives their opponents some easy baskets. In the blink of an eye, RMU’s 14 point lead is two at half.

After a back-and-forth start to the second half, something magical happened: bench contribution!!! Chuck Oliver just went out-of-his-mind-stupid-unconsciousness, hitting 26 foot three’s with hands in his face among other cool things. He had ten straight from the 11:13 to 8:18 mark in the second half.

This paragraph was originally about how Karvel Anderson made some tough three’s and ended it but then RMU started missing ALL of the free throws late and Duquesne hit some three’s and just like that RMU is only up three with 30 seconds left. They still finished it out (thanks to a beautiful Karvel dish at the end of the shot clock) but c’mon guys Y.G.T.M.Y.F.T. Other thoughts:

-Positive: Jeremiah Worthem finished with 15 points. Negative: He had seven before the first media timeout, so he fell short of his projected 46. But seriously, Worthem was a monster who paced RMU early. He got to the rim but kept the Dukes off balance by hitting his outside shot. The kid just continues to impress.

-RMU went 2-3 zone all afternoon again. It looked good. Rotations were pretty crisp and, for the most part, Duquesne earned everything.

-Great game from Aaron Tate. The best he’s played all season, in my opinion. The stats won’t show it, but he was extremely active in zone defense. His rebounding was just an extra bonus today.

-Anthony Myers-Pate hit TWO three’s today. Then we started getting a snowstorm. Coincidence? Not a chance.

-11 rebounds from Lucky Jones. Not a great shooting day, but he ALWAYS contributes in some aspect.

-You know how we wrote about making your own opportunity earlier in the week? Chuck Oliver and Aaron Tate did. Stephan Hawkins continues to play atrociously bad basketball. David Appolon didn’t se a lot of PT in the second half either. No minutes for Juanie Newton.

-We saw some unique lineups today, but one thing that would have me overjoyed is the two point guard set with anyone but David Appolon at three guard. Also, we saw Duquesne go with a 2-3 zone for the majority of the game. I say when that happens, just say screw it and go with Ant-Karvel-Chuck-Lucky-Worthem and shoot them out of it.

That’s about it. It’s always nice to beat up on your clearly inferior cross-town little brother.

--Chris Cappella

--@C_Cappella

Lee's Thought's:

Karvel's favorite player is Kobe Bryant. He closes games out just like #24. A couple huge shots, and a beautiful drive and drop-off to Ant for a huge bucket to close the game out. I'm happy 15 in blue is a Colonial.

Andy Toole said in his postgame press conference last week that the guys on the bench would have a shot --with a whole week of practice before this game-- to earn minutes and gain his trust. Charles Oliver took advantage. The transfer dropped 10 straight points and played some great D in the second half.

Toole said on his post game radio show, "Chuck was solid defensively. He was active & alert, and it gives me confidence to keep him in the game. He hit some big shots."

Not only is the losing streak over, but so is the ugly 80+ points given up streak. About time. This zone isn't alway pretty but it's been effective. I don't know if Toole sticks with it long term, but in the meantime, it will help this team get some much needed wins.

RMU plays Campbell at home Wednesday, and at Oakland next Sunday. Both games are winnable. I think the Colonials pull out both.

More over the next few days, in the meantime enjoy the four game win streak over our rivals and now, dare I say, little brothers , the Duquesne Dukes.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5