Robert Morris fights off Wagner, wins 74-70

Once again, Robert Morris was down to just eight player as they hosted pre-season favorite, Wagner on Saturday evening. Once again, the available players showed their toughness, as they gutted out a 74-70 win, moving them to 6-0 in Northeast Conference play.

Myers Pate and the Colonials moved to
6-0 in the NEC.

It was a back-and-fourth affair as RMU struggled with Wagner's size. Hawk picked up a quick three fouls and once he was out of the game, Wagner attacked the paint.

RMU hung around, and then Karvel Anderson and Chuck Oliver made their move. The two sharp shooters knocked down back-to-back threes including Anderson's in transition that gave RMU the lead back.

Kavon Stewart, on his birthday, knocked down some HUGE free throws down the stretch and RMU held off Wagner, maintaining their lead in the NEC.

That lead will be up for grabs as Bryant travels to Moon Township Thursday. The game will be an 8pm tip, and nationally televised on ESPNU.

As for the players not currently on the team, we should have some news over the next few days on length of suspensions, etc.

Thoughts: 

Kavon Stewart has found his confidence and is another weapon on the perimeter for the Colonials. He gets into the lane so easily, and creates scoring opportunities for himself, and his teammates. He also knocked down 10 of 12 free throw attempts including four down the stretch that helped seal the win.

While Karvel, Luck and Ant are the big names for RMU, Hawk will be the key player for RMU moving forward. He is really starting to play well, but needs to avoid foul trouble. His absence on the court almost cost RMU the game. Thursday, when Bryant comes in, he will need to stay on the court.

A lot more to come on CTC, but for now, enjoy your Saturday night. The Colonials are 6-0, and alone in first place.

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

Great work on the recap Lee. To begin with... wow, what a game! That was just a really great mid-major basketall game. I enjoyed every second of it and was impressed with RMU's grit to come back down seven in the second half. They started off flat in the second half but really picked it up and the Sewall Center crowd could sense that and picked up their energy too. I was talking to Andrew Chiappazzi at halftime and he said if RMU and Wagner were to meet in the NEC championship come March, it would probably be the best mid-major conference championship match-up in the country. That gives you an idea the level these two teams are at.

Game ball goes to Aaron Tate. I've been critical of Tate at points in this season but he is playing some outstanding basketball. Stephan Hawkns was in foul trouble early in the game and Tate responded with seven first half boards and nine in the game. He even had a nice back down in the low post for a lay-up. Tate went 1-4 from the free throw line but hit a wild one when it mattered most that ended the game. Good for Aaron; he did more than hold his own at the five against the biggest team in the conference.

-RMU played some funky lineups today and will continue to with eight guys. Just when you think Toole couldn't go any smaller, he ran a two point guard set, had Karvel at the three, Chuck at the four, and Lucky at the five. That's right, Lucky Jones was the center. Wagner might have been a little offended by that lineup and threw down an alley-oop the first possession it was out, which is pretty funny in hindsight.

-Karvel Anderson started to go bonkers again and it was awesome. He's got two pretty unstoppable shots that he displayed again tonight. The first is the handoff at the wing for three. Teams don't know whether to hedge or switch on it and Karvel simply takes the ball and shoots it, no dribble or anything. The second is his free throw jumper, which he displayed early in the game off a tough fadeaway. Besides that, his heat check three in the second half about brought the roof down at the Chuck, and it was all up in Dwaun Anderson's grill which made it that much better.

-Lucky Jones only shot 3-13 but grabbed some key rebounds and brought a ton of energy. Honestly, that stat line doesn't really do justice to how he played.

-Anthony Myers-Pate was awesome. You can just see the confidence is playing with. He hit not one but two HUGE three pointers. I am always a proponent of two point guard sets and he and Kavon Stewart continue to play so well together. Ant said after the game he knows he has to start hitting some shots with how much teams are going to focus in on Karvel and he did so tonight big time.

Overall GREAT energy at the Chuck and a great game. Loved every second of it. Thursday's game will be on ESPNU at home, so it's time to represent ourselves like we know how. More to come tomorrow.

--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella