THAT is the type of performance that wins you a conference tournament championship in March. Robert Morris rolled over Wagner, dominating on both ends of the court on route to a 91-59 win. Three thoughts...
1) Offensively, Robert Morris has it kicked in high gear. With only one game left in the regular season, this is the perfect time for such a circumstance to take place. Rodney Pryor --who has been quite good over certain stretches this season-- is playing his best basketball of the year. He's destroying teams both inside and out. Tonight he scored 25 on 7-10 shooting. That's insane. 25 points on 10 shots! Marcquise Reed --coming off his worse two game stretch in NEC play-- was back to his usual self. He scored 20 points, including a few huge baskets early in the second half to pull away from the Seahawks. As a team, Robert Morris shot 55 percent from the field, and 64 percent from three! This is the time of year that team's need to click, and the Colonials are doing just that.
2) Saturday is senior day, and one guy who will cherish the moment --for obvious reasons-- is Lucky Jones. Jones dropped 15 points, collected eight rebounds and was a force on the defensive boards tonight. Since his return, Robert Morris looks like a team that can contend for a Northeast Conference title. Jones, who has had about as much success as any player in program history, deserves a great senior day. Pack the Chuck for him, and David Appolon who remains out with injury, Saturday against St. Francis PA.
3) I noted this in the game preview, but it sure seems like this team is starting to figure it out. Everyone played well tonight. Elijah Minnie is a true force now. The freshman has settled in, found his role within the team, and learned the zone. He finished with two blocks, 13 points and five rebound tonight. Not one player delivered a lackluster performance this evening. That will be needed going forward, but as Andy Toole put it in his postgame news conference, "we're cautiously optimistic," in regards to the team figuring it out.
A few other notes: You have to love Aaron Tate. 0-0 shooting, 0 points, but he was still a beast tonight. He defended the Wagner bigs well, and was an anchor on the block in the 2-3 zone. THAT is why Tate is a true leader.
Speaking of the 2-3 zone, it held Wagner to 59 points on 30 percent shooting. Guys were flying around, contesting shots, and making plays. RMU had 13 steals and forced 19 turnovers. Awesome performance on the defensive end.
Bryant snuck by CCSU, and Mount lost to SFPA Thursday night. That means that Robert Morris has clinched at least the three seed no matter what happens on Saturday. A win and they clinch the two seed. If they do lose, they would need Bryant to lose --who host SFBK, the leagues number one-- on their home court.
Go Colonials!!
--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5
1) Offensively, Robert Morris has it kicked in high gear. With only one game left in the regular season, this is the perfect time for such a circumstance to take place. Rodney Pryor --who has been quite good over certain stretches this season-- is playing his best basketball of the year. He's destroying teams both inside and out. Tonight he scored 25 on 7-10 shooting. That's insane. 25 points on 10 shots! Marcquise Reed --coming off his worse two game stretch in NEC play-- was back to his usual self. He scored 20 points, including a few huge baskets early in the second half to pull away from the Seahawks. As a team, Robert Morris shot 55 percent from the field, and 64 percent from three! This is the time of year that team's need to click, and the Colonials are doing just that.
2) Saturday is senior day, and one guy who will cherish the moment --for obvious reasons-- is Lucky Jones. Jones dropped 15 points, collected eight rebounds and was a force on the defensive boards tonight. Since his return, Robert Morris looks like a team that can contend for a Northeast Conference title. Jones, who has had about as much success as any player in program history, deserves a great senior day. Pack the Chuck for him, and David Appolon who remains out with injury, Saturday against St. Francis PA.
3) I noted this in the game preview, but it sure seems like this team is starting to figure it out. Everyone played well tonight. Elijah Minnie is a true force now. The freshman has settled in, found his role within the team, and learned the zone. He finished with two blocks, 13 points and five rebound tonight. Not one player delivered a lackluster performance this evening. That will be needed going forward, but as Andy Toole put it in his postgame news conference, "we're cautiously optimistic," in regards to the team figuring it out.
A few other notes: You have to love Aaron Tate. 0-0 shooting, 0 points, but he was still a beast tonight. He defended the Wagner bigs well, and was an anchor on the block in the 2-3 zone. THAT is why Tate is a true leader.
Speaking of the 2-3 zone, it held Wagner to 59 points on 30 percent shooting. Guys were flying around, contesting shots, and making plays. RMU had 13 steals and forced 19 turnovers. Awesome performance on the defensive end.
Bryant snuck by CCSU, and Mount lost to SFPA Thursday night. That means that Robert Morris has clinched at least the three seed no matter what happens on Saturday. A win and they clinch the two seed. If they do lose, they would need Bryant to lose --who host SFBK, the leagues number one-- on their home court.
Go Colonials!!
--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5
