Rodney Pryor hit the 1,000 point mark on Thursday, as Andy Toole has his team clicking at the right time of the season. Robert Morris swept the season series of the LIU Blackbirds, defeating Long Island 74-67 at the Chuck. Guided by a breakout performance of freshman Steven Whitley, who had a very efficient night (16 points, .71%) Robert Morris was able to win their second game in a row, snapping LIU’s mini hot streak. Pryor became the latest member of the Colonials’ 1,000 point club. What makes it even more incredible is that he hasn’t even played two full seasons in a Colonial uniform. Sound familiar? Rodney finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds, including a monstrous windmill dunk as time in the second half expired. Pryor said he apologized to LIU afterwards, as his adrenaline got the best of him. He isn’t a cocky player, and he said he made sure afterwards that LIU knew that the dunk wasn’t meant to showboat. The excitement of reaching 1,000 definitely took over.
Kavon Stewart has been playing excellent basketball as of late. When Pryor was out with his concussion, a lot of pressure was put on Stewart. And he responded. He was leading the team in scoring and assists for a couple of games and since the return of Pryor, he hasn’t had to do as much scoring. Kavon has looked like a more complete player down the stretch, proving to be the floor general Andy Toole hoped he’d evolve into when he recruited him out of Patterson, New Jersey. Stewart finished with 13 points in 34 minutes.
Billy Giles also continued his strong play, chipping in with 11 points and some very solid defense in the middle of the 2-3 zone. Freshman Matty McConnell struggled shooting the ball, but continues to help the team in other ways. Matty and Kavon are numbers one and two in the NEC in steals. McConnell is very active at the top of the zone, and his court vision is very impressive. I guess having an NBA point guard in T.J. McConnell as your older brother might help just a little bit. Toole noted in his post game press conference that Matty has matured a lot since the beginning of the season and watching him evolve over the next few years is going to be fun to watch.
The Colonials face another familiar foe this evening, as they welcome St. Francis Brooklyn to town. Robert Morris has to be excited about getting freshman Isaiah Still back from his three game suspension, as Still was averaging over 20 PPG in the three games leading to his suspension. The Terriers sit in sixth place in the NEC, as the Colonials have a chance to potentially gain some ground in the standings. SFBK is coming off of a 12 point win against Saint Francis PA, as they also look to gain some ground in the NEC standings. Tyreek Jewell is the Terriers’ leading scorer, averaging 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Jewell gave the Colonials problems last year in the NEC final, as well as earlier this year in Brooklyn.
Chris Hooper and Yunus Hopkinson are also very talented players, as Hooper is a force to be reckoned with in the low post. He puts up 11.5 points per game and Hopkinson is right behind him, scoring 11.4 ppg. The match-ups between these two teams are always tough and I’m sure tonight will be no different. Are the Colonials finally back? I feel like we’ve said that so many times this season. A win today would put them at three in a row and still, the team that NOBODY wants to face in the NEC tournament.
Kavon Stewart has been playing excellent basketball as of late. When Pryor was out with his concussion, a lot of pressure was put on Stewart. And he responded. He was leading the team in scoring and assists for a couple of games and since the return of Pryor, he hasn’t had to do as much scoring. Kavon has looked like a more complete player down the stretch, proving to be the floor general Andy Toole hoped he’d evolve into when he recruited him out of Patterson, New Jersey. Stewart finished with 13 points in 34 minutes.
Billy Giles also continued his strong play, chipping in with 11 points and some very solid defense in the middle of the 2-3 zone. Freshman Matty McConnell struggled shooting the ball, but continues to help the team in other ways. Matty and Kavon are numbers one and two in the NEC in steals. McConnell is very active at the top of the zone, and his court vision is very impressive. I guess having an NBA point guard in T.J. McConnell as your older brother might help just a little bit. Toole noted in his post game press conference that Matty has matured a lot since the beginning of the season and watching him evolve over the next few years is going to be fun to watch.
The Colonials face another familiar foe this evening, as they welcome St. Francis Brooklyn to town. Robert Morris has to be excited about getting freshman Isaiah Still back from his three game suspension, as Still was averaging over 20 PPG in the three games leading to his suspension. The Terriers sit in sixth place in the NEC, as the Colonials have a chance to potentially gain some ground in the standings. SFBK is coming off of a 12 point win against Saint Francis PA, as they also look to gain some ground in the NEC standings. Tyreek Jewell is the Terriers’ leading scorer, averaging 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Jewell gave the Colonials problems last year in the NEC final, as well as earlier this year in Brooklyn.
Chris Hooper and Yunus Hopkinson are also very talented players, as Hooper is a force to be reckoned with in the low post. He puts up 11.5 points per game and Hopkinson is right behind him, scoring 11.4 ppg. The match-ups between these two teams are always tough and I’m sure tonight will be no different. Are the Colonials finally back? I feel like we’ve said that so many times this season. A win today would put them at three in a row and still, the team that NOBODY wants to face in the NEC tournament.
