Coming into the game, the Colonials were without Hawk, who sat out to rest his hurt ankle. The team had clinched the NEC one seed, and didn't look like they had much to play for.
After all, what did they really have to play for? The team had the stacks against them, and with eight minutes to go, with only SEVEN bodies on the active roster, and four of them in foul trouble, almost, if not every team in college basketball in their position, would pack it in. Move on.
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| Appolon helped RMU to another comeback win (p/c Post Gazette). |
Not this group.
They just battled, battled and battled. The result, a 69-64 win, improving them to 14-1 in the NEC, 19-11 overall. A 17-0 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) run to win the game. FDU didn't score in the final five plus minutes of the game.
The beauty in this comeback, it was a complete team effort. That's not to take away from guys in the past two big comebacks, but let's be honest, Karvel Anderson carried them. This game, he was hot early, but didn't have to put the team on his back to will them to the win.
It was the defense, and a complete effort on the offensive end that helped the Colonials ruin the FDU Knights senior night.
The 2-3 zone was suffocating the final eight minutes of the game, and RMU forced a couple of huge turnovers. Once again David Appolon made winning play after winning play down the stretch. Lucky Jones had a few huge blocks, and hit his free throws in the final minutes.
The Colonials certainly got some help, as FDU went into complete "play to not lose the game mode", instead of play to win mode. They ran the shot clock down under five almost every possession the last few minutes and couldn't get any good looks.
RMU took advantage.
Thoughts:
Anderson finished with 22 points, 17 in the first half. He also had what may have been his first dunk in an RMU uniform mid-way through the first half. He went cooled, but helped his team in other ways during the comeback.
My biggest worry, Lucky Jones once again shot terribly. He went 2-14 from the field. But, like he normally does, he was excellent on the boards, played great D, and made shots when it mattered. He hit a big three during the comeback and made a few big free throws. Luck ended up with 13 points, 10 rebounds.
Chuck Oliver also struggled, going 2-10 from the floor. He scored eight.
These two need to score for RMU to win games. Simple as that. Karvel can only do so much. In the first half, Vel had 17 points, but RMU only had 30 as a team. I would like to see these two get going heading into the NEC tournament.
Once again, David Appolon was phenomenal. He finished with six points, eight rebounds but made countless winning plays on both sides of the ball. His steal and finish while RMU was pressing to cut the FDU lead to one late in the game was the official turning point. Keep it up App.
Kavon played a solid game, and made two HUGE free throws to give RMU the lead for good. Those were big time free throws for a freshman. Nice to see.
Wagner clinched the two seed tonight with their win over St Francis PA. That is big because now Saturday's game between the Seahawks and Colonials has zero effect on the NEC tournament. Both teams will want to win, but expect players to rest. My guess is Hawk will play, but not much, and I don't expect Karvel to play as much as he normally would.
These comebacks are fun and all, but they need to stop. Not stop winning games, but stop with the comebacks. It's flirting with fire, and making me very nervous at the end of games. Starting March fifth, hopefully RMU is the team taking the 15 point lead, and then holding that lead.
--Lee Kunkel
--@kunkel5
Much more to come tomorrow, including a preview for the game Saturday.
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