RMU fell to 0-4 with a 64-52 loss to Air Force. Bad! The Colonials actually looked really good for a large portion of this game. The defense looked great; life was a living hell from Air Force trying to get any good looks at the rim. It was fun!
RMU had a nice lead at one point in the second half. With 17:33 to go in the game Air Force took a timeout to settle themselves after an Elijah Minnie three ball stretched the lead to 30-23. From there, things did not go so well. It was a slobber of turnovers and exhaustion and missed jumpers and no whistles and really everything that could have gone wrong did.
Thoughts:
-Rodney Pryor man, I love you. He had 25 & 10 on 9-18 shooting. My calculator tells me that's 48 percent of RMU's point total! It was an assault of three point jumpers in everyone's grill. Like when you play street ball and hit a shot and yell "Facebook!" that was Pryor every shot. So, so impressive.
-The only other guy who really showed up was Isaiah Still, who is a complete baller. He finished 3-9 from the field and 2-5 from three, but it was an aesthetically pleasing 3-9. Didn't force anything, hit open shots when they were there. I like you, Isaiah Still.
-Any lineup that doesn't have Minnie or Still on the floor, sans Matty McConnell and Aaron Tate (out with injuries), makes me so, so uncomfortable. RMU really went cold in the second half starting with a weird Lester-Stewart-Pryor-Giles-Frederick lineup.
-Want to know what the nail in the coffin was? Turnovers! RMU was down just six with 5:46 left, then had the ball stolen on three consecutive possessions for layups. Frustrating indeed! Things were going so well too! RMU's offensive turnover percentage of 24 percent was 320th in the country going into the game. Hard to beat teams when you beat yourself, folks.
-RMU scored just 17 points in the final 14:05 of the game. My calculator again tells me that that's not very good.
-I have no idea if Aaron Tate was dressed for the game but he didn't play. Not mad about it, but please get healthy and come back soon. Related: Air Force had 17 offensive rebounds.
-RMU did not get the benefit of a lot of whistles in the second half, which did not help things. Not like this was the most aggressive offensive game ever played, but there probably should have been a few more free throw attempts in there. It is what it is.
-First bad game for Elijah Minnie. 10 points on 4-13 shooting, including 1-6 from three. Moving forward, I hope he adjusts a little more as the game goes on and uses his Michael Jordan Space Jam arms to get some better looks at the rim. He also still ran into eight rebounds, so it wasn't all bad.
-Overall I have no idea what else to say. 17 turnovers is way too many, but it wasn't the sole reason for the loss. Robert Morris just couldn't find the bucket when Rodney Pryor wasn't shooting. Frustrating, indeed. It doesn't get easier with New Mexico State up next. Losing a winnable game sucks. Have I mentioned I hate losing?
Until next time.
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella
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