Colonials Corner

Jeremy Chappell and the Colonials are back where they started, and Monet Johnson and the Lady Colonials have their first win.

Talk about a quality Saturday for Bobby Mo Hoops.

Johnson scored 25 points in a 64-54 win over Howard at the Sewall Center as part of the RMU Thanksgiving Tournament. They’ll go on to play Wright State in the championship game on Sunday at 2pm. Howard will play IUPUI.

Chappell scored 17 points and was part of a defense that held Iona to 17 points in the first half as the Colonials held on for a 70-62 win. Jimmy Langhurst added 17 of his own, and the Colonials finally looked inspired in the win. Robert Morris led 30-17 at halftime, shot 65% from the floor during the game, and held Iona to 40% shooting – and much of that was improved upon late for the Gaels.

RMU is now 3-3 entering the brief section of NEC home games on Thursday versus St. Francis NY and Saturday versus Long Island.

Gary Wallace added 9, Mezie Nwigwe added 9, and Rob Robinson added 7 for RMU. Robinson apparently nearly broke the basket and the electrical system attached to it with a thunderous dunk over half of the Gaels team in the second half.

The Ladies won their first game despite facing a 24-23 deficit at halftime. Kendra Williams scored 15 points, Angela Pace had 11, and Monica Jones had 10 rebounds.

Oh, and we’re about two weeks away from getting Dallas Green back for the men and Sade Logan for the women. They may even return on the same day. Logan has long hoped that she could return December 14th for the Duquesne game, provided doctors and her surgically repaired shoulder agree. As for Green, I believe the official end of the semester is the 13th, and thus he would be eligible to play on the 14th in Miami, Florida.

Knowing Coach Rice, though, Green may be sitting for a few extra games and could conceivably sit through the 17th at Lafayette and the 20th at Central Michigan, return for the 28th home game versus Duquesne.

By all rights, Robert Morris shouldn’t have won the game. They should have fallen to 1-4 on the year, should’ve walked off the floor embarrassed for letting another team build a 23-point second half lead, and should’ve been preparing for a hellish set of Thanksgiving week practices before heading to Iona on Saturday.

Well, they still may get a healthy platter of the last one.

The Colonials went on a 40-15 run to end the game, beating Youngstown State 74-72 when Bateko Francisco put in a rebound from a missed 3-pointer by Jeremy Chappell.

Mike called it “lucky.”

Maybe the Colonials can call it a turning point.

They were down 45-30 at the half. They were down 23 with 16 minutes left. And then Jimmy Langhurst finally hit a shot – a three, of course – and away they went. Now the Colonials are 2-3 with a chance to pull even against Iona before opening the first section of NEC play next week.

Chappell had 20 points, Langhurst 13 (all in the 2nd half), and Francisco had 9. Rob Robinson and Iffy Ehirim each had 8. Former RMU guard Kelvin Bright had 17 for the Penguins.

Robinson earned his first start as Mike Rice tried to find a starting lineup that worked. It didn’t, but Robinson took the tip with Chappell, Wallace, Langhurst, and Mezie Nwigwe. Francisco, Ehirim, and Whitehead came off the bench. Robinson ended up playing just 13 minutes because of foul trouble.

The purest sign that the Colonials may have figured things out? 6-11 for 54.5% from the line in the first half, 19-21 for 90.5% in the second half.

It’s time to come home.

Monet Johnson scored 37 points. Jeremy Chappell had just 13. No matter how the two leading scorers did for the Robert Morris Colonials, neither could salvage a wretched weekend for Bobby Mo hoops.

Johnson and the Ladies fell to 0-3 with a 94-82 loss to Illinois State, while Chappell and the men fell to 1-3 with a 72-55 loss to Marist.

Both losses came as part of exempt tournaments to kick off the season. The Ladies went 0-3 in the preseason NIT as they began their title defense without Sade Logan, while the men were taking part of the Garden State Challenge hosted by Rutgers.

For the men, they’re clearly missing the friendly rims of the Sewall Center. Once again, the Colonials shot below 40% from the floor, this time hitting 36.8% in the loss to Marist. But it’s not outside shooting that’s hurt the Colonials, although 3-14 from beyond the arc won’t help.

No, the problem has been at the charity stripe and inside the paint. RMU went 10-15 from the line today, not bad, but not as good as it should be. Prior to today, RMU was shooting about 68% from FT range. Maybe Memphis can get away with poor foul shooting, but RMU can’t. Compound that with a rusty Rob Robinson (3 for 9 inside today), a cold Josiah Whitehead (2 for 6), and no Dallas Green, and it’s been a rough start.

Couple bright spots – Jimmy Langhurst will not continue to be as cold shooting as he’s been (0-5 again tonight). Dallas Green returns soon. Rob Robinson will get his legs under him and improve. And the road is a bit easier, with Youngstown State, Iona, and two NEC teams on the slate rather than four teams from four tougher conferences, even if they have their own warts.

For the ladies, it’s about finding balance. Johnson had a career high 37 points, including 8-12 from beyond the arc. That is one point and one three shy of tying school records. But they’ve had spurts of just going ice cold, and that continued today. RMU went down 42-18 at one point to Illinois State.

They obviously miss Sade Logan, but it’s been a tough road as well to start the season. Xavier could be a Sweet 16 team or better, and they’re already in the Top 25. Illinois State went 26-7 last year out of the MVC, and Ball State was a solid 15-15 out of the MAC.

The Ladies have their Thanksgiving tournament at RMU this weekend. Hopefully that and some home cooking will help right the ship for both teams.

It started off so well for the Colonials. They were making outside shots. They had something resembling a post presence. They were forcing Rutgers to take bad shots.

Then Hamady N’Diaye swatted down his first block of the night.

Rutgers’ beast of a center tied a career high with 8 blocks to lead his team to a 69-55 win in the Garden State Challenge in Piscataway, New Jersey. The 6’11 N’Diaye and the rest of the Rutgers frontcourt had 13 total blocks, plus plenty of hands in the face of Colonials shooters, as RMU once again shot below 40%.

“The man in the middle dictated the game, and mentally it started to wear on our guys,” Mike Rice told WPIT 730 AM after the game.

The Colonials apparently took their mental frustrations to the free throw line, shooting a paltry 11-21 (52.4%) from the line. Not surprisingly, those ten points were a major factor in keeping the game close in the second half.

Bateko Francisco had 13 points to lead the Colonials, while freshman sensation Mike Rosario poured in 27 points for Rutgers.

Gary Wallace once again got the start at point guard but had just 3 points in 31 minutes. Jimmy Langhurst played 24 minutes and scored just six points. Jeremy Chappell had a quiet night with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Josiah Whitehead also added 10, while Rob Robinson added 7.

Robinson made his debut and was the subject of many of N’Diaye’s blocks. In fact, his first two points came after the 6’11 Senegal native was called for goaltending on a block in the first half.

Robert Morris returns to the floor in less than 24 hours to take on Marist at 6pm. “It’s going to be a real test. I want to see who cuts corners, who jogs down the floor on defense,” Rice said.

Monica Jones scored 20 points and the Lady Colonials staged a furious comeback after falling behind early, but the defending champs fell 85-81 to Ball State as part of the Women’s preseason NIT.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 16-4 lead to start the game, but Robert Morris tied it up at 27 with 6 minutes left in the first half following two free throws by Monet Johnson. Ball State led 42-34 at the half as RMU shot just 31.5% from the floor in the first half.

The two teams battled back and forth in the second half until Angela Pace made a steal with 38 seconds left and scored on a layup to pull the Colonials within two points at 83-81. The Colonials chose to play defense and not to foul, but Emily Maggert scored from underneath the basket to seal the win for Ball State.

Jones was 9-18 for 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Kendra Williams was 6-19 (5-12 from beyond the arc) for 18 points with 5 steals. Monet Johnson added 16 points and 11 boards, Grace Williams 10 points and 10 boards, and Angela Pace 13 points to lead the Colonials.

RMU will play Illinois State to wrap up their participation in the WNIT tomorrow afternoon at 5:30

Couple things to hit on before we prep for what should be a fantastic 36 hours or so. We’ve got men’s hoops at Rutgers tonight at 8, women’s hoops at Ball State at 8, both hockey teams in action (ladies are at home at the Island SportsCenter tonight), the NEC Volleyball Championships at RMU tomorrow, women’s hoops versus Cleveland State or Illinois State at 5:30 tomorrow, men’s hoops versus Marist at 6, and more hockey.

And if that’s not enough, if you need some non-RMU sports to balance out your weekend diet, there’s always the four high school championship games at Heinz Field and Penguins hockey on Saturday.

Glorious time of the year.

Some pieces of news and reminders:
- RMU tip-off versus Rutgers tonight is scheduled for 8, but might be closer to 8:30. Tune in your radio to WPIT 730 or click the Yahoo Sports link on the right side of the page and just stay tuned to see how the first game goes in Piscataway. One other thing to keep an eye on is how Rob Robinson is used in his first game as a Colonial. He won’t start, apparently, but there’s no question he’ll get some solid minutes.

- Ball State and the ladies dance at 8:00, as well. That’s part of the WNIT preseason tip-off, and you can catch it on WPYT 660 AM or Yahoo Sports. Should be a better barometer to see where the ladies are so far without Sade Logan than the incredibly talented Xavier squad that blitzed them in the second half in the season opener.

- With both games at 8 tonight, and then 5:30 and 6:00 starts tomorrow, it might be tough to listen to both games. My suggestion is to find a place like CSTV.com or other sports website that has live gametrackers and use those to follow both games as you switch back and forth between audio broadcasts. That’s what I’ll be doing. Live stats can also be found through team websites. RMU doesn’t have them, but many other teams do.

- And in a bit of sad news, Iona College has disbanded its football program. After the MAAC ended play last year, sending Marist to the Pioneer League and Duquesne to the NEC, Iona tried to survive as an independent. With no support from the school administration, that was a failed endeavor. 100+ students will now have to either give up their college football careers or transfer. In these difficult economic times, that’s a decision I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Some could even end up here at RMU.

Robert Morris put forth a new starting lineup and it came up with a win. Oh, and the bench was pretty good, too.

The Colonials beat Delaware 86-75 as part of the Garden State Challenge Tuesday night at the Sewall Center. The home opener looked considerably better than the season opener Friday night in St. Bonaventure, and it also featured a new starting lineup.

Gary Wallace earned his first collegiate start at point guard in place of Jimmy Langhurst, while Josiah Whitehead started with Iffy Ehirim at forward. Bateko Francisco and Jeremy Chappell kept their starting spots.

Langhurst ended up playing more than Wallace – 24 minutes to 22 – but both were crucial to the Colonials’ success. While Jeremy Chappell once again led RMU with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Wallace and Langhurst combined for a perfect 8-8 from the floor – 5-5 from 3-point range. Langhurst added a 9-10 performance at the free throw line – the majority of them late in the 2nd half – to finish with 19 points.

Wallace and Whitehead had 12 points each, Francisco 11, and Ehirim 10.

Fouls and turnovers continued to plague the Colonials, as they tacked up 27 fouls and 23 turnovers. The turnovers were generally unforced – Delaware only had 9 steals.

Next up is the finale of the Garden State Challenge in New Jersey. Rutgers hosts RMU Friday night at 8pm, and then RMU hooks up with Marist at 5:30 on Saturday.

Rob Robinson will make his RMU debut this weekend according to the Trib. He sat out the start of the season after violating team rules.

So now the big question is this: Are James O’Quinn’s three NEC Rookie of the Week awards enough to give him the honor for the year? Might be.

O’Quinn wrapped up his first season as a wide receiver with the Colonials by catching four passes for 134 yards and two TDs against St. Francis. O’Quinn is tied with Chidozie Oparanozie of Duquesne for the number of total awards won by rookies this year in the NEC.

Should be an interesting note. Several Colonials should at least get post-season mentions and honors on the All-NEC teams.

Michael Landers, Alex DiMichele, Adam Lawrence, Mark Syzmanski, O’Quinn, Shadrae King, Myles Russ, Nick Schirtzinger, and Erik Cwalinski would all be logical choices for either a first or second team mention.

Now that all of the games within the past 36 hours are over with, a chance to sit back and think about what went down last night in the North Hills.

I was up at Martorelli Stadium for the Blackhawk/Highlands Class AAA Semifinal. Blackhawk had control throughout much of the game, and they’re hungry for a rematch with Thomas Jefferson in the finals this Saturday at Heinz Field. Blackhawks 36-7 win was pretty convincing, but I saw TJ the week before, and they live up to the hype.

I watched Highlands QB Jeff Sinclair with particular interest, knowing that his only scholarship offer comes from Robert Morris right now. Unfortunately for Sinclair, Highlands, and his college prospects, Blackhawk’s defense shut him down. Then they added injury to insult. Sinclair had zero running room, and once Blackhawk took a two-touchdown lead around halftime, Sinclair had to throw and couldn’t.

Midway through the third, he left for two series with an elbow injury. He only attempted one or two passes after his return.

Sinclair was more impressive on defense, breaking up several passes and showing good coverage skills.

Blackhawk QB Zach Hayward is strictly a QB, and he could be a potential fit for Robert Morris. He’s mobile, but he’s very much a pro-style quarterback. He also has a strong arm. Talked to him after the game, and he said while interest was there from D-I schools like Marshall, the prime interest is from Dayton, Duquesne, and Robert Morris.

Hayward was 18 of 26 for 236 yards and three TDs. He’s thrown just two interceptions all year
long.

I’m hoping to get down to Heinz Field, either through the Times or another offer, on Saturday and I’ll stick down there to see how Hayward does with Thomas Jefferson. Should be interesting.

It could be worse.

We could be St. Francis.

The Red Flash fell to 0-10 today with the 35-20 loss to Robert Morris, and they have one game left against Bryant. RMU is done and finishes the season 5-6 (4-3 in the NEC).

Erik Cwalinski was 8 of 22 for 179 yards and 3TDs with 1 interception. Myles Russ had 20 carries for 82 yards, and James O’Quinn had 4 catches for 132 yards and 2TDs.

SFPA struck first with two field goals, but then Cwalinski hit O’Quinn on a 64-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-6. Of course, SFPA came right back. Remember, this is a rivlary, even if it’s not as heated as RMU-Duquesne. With the score 13-7 in favor of St. Francis, Cwalinski found Sherrod Evers in the endzone for a 6-yard touchdown.

But Cwalinski threw a pick-six before the end of the first half, giving RMU a 20-14 deficit.

It stayed that way until the fourth quarter, when Jeff Link capped a long drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 21-20. Minutes later, O’Quinn caught a beautiful deep pass from Cwalinski for a 43-yard touchdown to make it 28-20.

James Snider capped off the scoring when the ball somehow popped loose on a St. Francis end-around and Snider returned the fumble 65-yards for the touchdown.