In front of a national TV audience on ESPNU the Colonials, who still only had eight players available, pulled out a tight 79-76 win to move to 7-0 in NEC play.
The win puts the Colonials a full two games up on second place Bryant --and they own the tiebreaker with two head-to-head wins-- and at least three games ahead of every other team in the league. So yeah, it was crucial.
Thoughts:
First off, amazing job by the players, coaches, and of course, the RMU student body.
The place was packed, and the student section was huge, loud, and wild. Just as it should be. The Crazies brought their A game. I mean try to find something better to do then that in Moon Township? Create that atmosphere every game, and the team will win, and the fans will go home entertained (Yes! yes! yes!)
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| Myers Pate led the Colonials to the win (AP). |
I've probably already typed too many words without mentioning Anthony Myers Pate. Simply put, he was the difference maker. 21 points on 8-9 shooting including 3-3 from downtown, and he added five rebounds. His shots were big time buckets too, including some clutch free throws to help maintain a late lead. Of yea, he did it all with the flu.
The second player I need to mention? David Appolon. You look at the box score, and you say "why?", but if you watched the game, you would have saw Dave making big play after big play, especially on the defensive end. He was the ultimate glue guy last night, and that's something RMU needs with the current roster situation.
I could probably do a paragraph on every player, because they all played well for the most part. Even Lucky Jones, who struggled from the floor shooting just 1-12, once again found ways to make a big impact in other areas --as he always does-- grabbing eight boards and dishing out four assists.
MVP? Yessir:
While Robert Morris continues to distance themselves from the rest of the NEC, Karvel Anderson continues to distance himself from all other candidates in the Player of the Year discussion. Another big night for Karvel, shooting 8-16 from the field, and finishing with a team high 24 points. He also added a highlight reel block on a breakaway.
The league has a lot of good players, including Alex Francis who scored 30 on the Colonials for the second time this year, but Anderson has built a solid gap between him and other candidates. With his team at a perfect 7-0, Anderson already has a few memorable performances, and continues to carry a heavy load on his shoulders.
Some of the shots he hits, you can't help but think he has a shot at playing in the Association. The Kobe esk fadeaway's, hitting shots with one and two guys draped all over him. The guy is a top notch scorer, and I'm happy he got to show off that skill-set on national TV.
Don't stop now:
As awesome as that night was, and that win was, it won't mean much if RMU can't sustain this play. They have a very winnable game Saturday against CCSU and should be 8-0 at the halfway point. They're in a great situation moving forward, and have a very good shot at securing home court in the NEC tournament. That will continue to be the goal, and one way of doing that is protecting home court. You hear that Crazies? Bring that energy, and the Colonials won't lose at home. If they don't lose a home game the rest of the season, they will be in the NCAA tournament, so don't stop now Crazies.
--@Kunkel5
--Lee Kunkel
Not much more that needs to be added on. RMU has a pretty clear blueprint right now on how they need to win: Don't turn the ball over and get to the free throw line. RMU only had 11 turnovers last night and went 16-17 from the line. One of the only true silver linings of not having Mike McFadden and Jeremiah Worthem on the team is RMU's walk-rate per game went down 98 percent. That's not a real fact, but it sure seems like it.
Eight really is enough for the Colonials right now. Something that the players and coaches stressed in interviews this week is most of the teams in the NEC only play eight guys most of the time anyway. The only difference with this team is they cannot afford an injury. Even still, RMU has now beaten Wagner and Bryant with an eight man rotation.
Every individual has stepped up with the suspensions but none bigger than Anthony Myers-Pate. He is just feeling it right now. I've never seen Ant shoot the ball like that. The first interview I ever did at RMU was actually with Anthony a few years back. At that point, he was struggling to find his shot and was struggling with his confidence. My point? It always has been and always will be about confidence with Myers-Pate. And he's feeling it now.
Another benefit to Ant feeling it is how much more effective the two point-guard set is. Having the ball handlers is nice, but now Ant can play truly more of a two guard and teams have to respect his shot. There was a point in the second half Bryant tried to press the two point guard lineup and, to the surprise of absolutely no one in the arena, it lead to an easy lay-in.
Like Lee said, David Appolon had a very good game. He started the game off by grabbing a few boards and causing a few turnovers. That's what Appolon is in there for. I love his energy.
Karvel Anderson is the MVP of the NEC. I wanted to do an MVP chant when he was at the line yesterday but Lee yelled at me, so I didn't. Great game from him. He could make a tutorial on his footwork.
That's all I have, nice win and we'll have a CCSU preview up later.
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella
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