Robert Morris (13-14, 9-6) lost to Sacred Heart (13-15, 7-8) by a score of 80-76. With that win, Sacred Heart has officially qualified for the NEC tournament for the first time since 2011-2012. This was a back and forth affair, with no team taking control at any point in the game. With 2:21 remaining, the score was tied 70-70. However, Robert Morris couldn't get stops when it mattered most. Some thoughts...
-On the positive side for the Colonials was Rodney Pryor, who scored 31 points on 12-16 shooting. He was fantastic in every aspect. The thing that most impressed me was his shot selection. Pryor is a guy who can force it sometimes, but he didn't tonight. Every shot came in the flow of the offense or through his own creation. If RMU can get anything close to that type of efficiency from Pryor the rest of the way through, they'll stay tough to beat.
-Pryor didn't have a lot of running mates with him. Marcquise Reed struggled tonight, scoring 16 points on 6-17 shooting with five turnovers. Just one of those nights for the young freshman. It's not like he was taking bad shots either. He was taking shots we've seen him make most of the time. There were times where he might have been a little out of control, but he was probably due for a clunker.
-More disappointing than all of this is Lucky Jones, who did not play for the second straight game due to a suspension for a violation of team rules. Jones impact was felt in many ways that I'll touch on more throughout the post...
-Sacred Heart center Tevin Falzon transformed into Jahlil Okafor tonight. Or Tyson Chandler. I haven't decided yet. Either way, he put up 13 points and 18 rebounds, 9 of which were offensive. Throw in 3 blocks and and 3 steals and you have a ball game. Perhaps no bucket of his was bigger than his layup with 30 seconds remaining to make it 76-71. Falzon truly dominated.
-Guard Evan Kelley paced the Pioneers with 18 points on 7-14 shooting and 4-4 from the line. As a team, SHU made 18 of their 23 free throws.
-Interesting conversation with Toole before a practice the other day regarding rebounding numbers... To save some time, here's the main point: If a team has 1/3 the offensive rebounds as you do total rebounds... you're doing okay. However, Robert Morris had 32 rebounds and 22 defensive rebounds. Sacred Heart had 18 offensive rebounds. Not a recipe for success. I don't know what SHU's second chance points looked like, but it was probably nice.
-Having no Appolon or Lucky hurt Robert Morris tonight. Even with Reed having an off game, Robert Morris shot 52.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from the field AND scored 75 points in the game. That's usually a recipe for success. However, Robert Morris was porous on the defensive end. Credit to Sacred Heart, who moved the ball well, but this is where Robert Morris missed Jones the most. The frontcourt played the best they could given the situation but anyone not names Aaron Tate doesn't really have the foot speed to close out or slide properly on the wing. That's where Jones comes in. That, and he's a great rebounder.
-Overall, there's still a lot to feel good about. Pryor got in his groove and Kavon Stewart was absolutely fantastic tonight. He was in complete attack mode at all times. Even the frontcourt played their best collective game in terms of effort. If Jones comes back (I think he does Saturday) and Reed finds himself again (he will) they'll be okay.
Updates standings: LIU lost at MSM tonight. St. Francis PA won tonight. As it stands, Robert Morris would be in third place with Bryant (who they play Saturday) and St. Francis PA (who they play next Saturday) and amount St. Mary's (who they swept) breathing down their neck.
This post was edited on 2/19 11:07 PM by Chris Cappella
-On the positive side for the Colonials was Rodney Pryor, who scored 31 points on 12-16 shooting. He was fantastic in every aspect. The thing that most impressed me was his shot selection. Pryor is a guy who can force it sometimes, but he didn't tonight. Every shot came in the flow of the offense or through his own creation. If RMU can get anything close to that type of efficiency from Pryor the rest of the way through, they'll stay tough to beat.
-Pryor didn't have a lot of running mates with him. Marcquise Reed struggled tonight, scoring 16 points on 6-17 shooting with five turnovers. Just one of those nights for the young freshman. It's not like he was taking bad shots either. He was taking shots we've seen him make most of the time. There were times where he might have been a little out of control, but he was probably due for a clunker.
-More disappointing than all of this is Lucky Jones, who did not play for the second straight game due to a suspension for a violation of team rules. Jones impact was felt in many ways that I'll touch on more throughout the post...
-Sacred Heart center Tevin Falzon transformed into Jahlil Okafor tonight. Or Tyson Chandler. I haven't decided yet. Either way, he put up 13 points and 18 rebounds, 9 of which were offensive. Throw in 3 blocks and and 3 steals and you have a ball game. Perhaps no bucket of his was bigger than his layup with 30 seconds remaining to make it 76-71. Falzon truly dominated.
-Guard Evan Kelley paced the Pioneers with 18 points on 7-14 shooting and 4-4 from the line. As a team, SHU made 18 of their 23 free throws.
-Interesting conversation with Toole before a practice the other day regarding rebounding numbers... To save some time, here's the main point: If a team has 1/3 the offensive rebounds as you do total rebounds... you're doing okay. However, Robert Morris had 32 rebounds and 22 defensive rebounds. Sacred Heart had 18 offensive rebounds. Not a recipe for success. I don't know what SHU's second chance points looked like, but it was probably nice.
-Having no Appolon or Lucky hurt Robert Morris tonight. Even with Reed having an off game, Robert Morris shot 52.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from the field AND scored 75 points in the game. That's usually a recipe for success. However, Robert Morris was porous on the defensive end. Credit to Sacred Heart, who moved the ball well, but this is where Robert Morris missed Jones the most. The frontcourt played the best they could given the situation but anyone not names Aaron Tate doesn't really have the foot speed to close out or slide properly on the wing. That's where Jones comes in. That, and he's a great rebounder.
-Overall, there's still a lot to feel good about. Pryor got in his groove and Kavon Stewart was absolutely fantastic tonight. He was in complete attack mode at all times. Even the frontcourt played their best collective game in terms of effort. If Jones comes back (I think he does Saturday) and Reed finds himself again (he will) they'll be okay.
Updates standings: LIU lost at MSM tonight. St. Francis PA won tonight. As it stands, Robert Morris would be in third place with Bryant (who they play Saturday) and St. Francis PA (who they play next Saturday) and amount St. Mary's (who they swept) breathing down their neck.
This post was edited on 2/19 11:07 PM by Chris Cappella
