Overall Record: 26-11 / Northeast Conference Record: 13-5 Third Place in the NEC / Seventh Straight Winning Season 2012 NEC Tournament Runner-Up / 2012 CIT Quarterfinalist
2011-12 Schedule / Results 11 15 19 22 25 27 1 3 6 8 17 20 22 29 2 5 7 12 14 19 21 26 28 2 4 8 11 16 18 23 25 1 4 7 13 17 21
NOVEMBER (4-2) RIDER W, 83-57 @ Saint Peter’s W, 69-52 @ Penn # L, 60-66 @ James Madison # W, 82-77 vs. La Salle # W, 51-44 @ No. 16 Pittsburgh # L, 71-81 DECEMBER (6-2) FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON * W, 66-54 MONMOUTH * W, 69-51 @ Duquesne W, 64-60 CLEVELAND STATE L, 58-62 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE W, 72-64 HAMPTON W, 64-54 @ Youngstown State W, 59-56 @ Memphis L, 47-64 JANUARY (6-3) @ Ohio W, 70-67 @ Bryant * W, 84-53 @ Central Connecticut State * L, 53-68 QUINNIPIAC * L, 76-78 SACRED HEART * W, 70-67 @ Fairleigh Dickinson * W, 67-55 @ Monmouth * (OT) W, 81-73 LIU BROOKLYN * W, 75-66 ST. FRANCIS (N.Y.) * L, 68-81 FEBRUARY (6-2) @ Wagner * L, 69-80 @ Mount St. Mary’s * W, 67-62 @ Saint Francis (Pa.) * W, 78-74 SAINT FRANCIS (Pa.) * W, 70-56 BRYANT * W, 69-40 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE * W, 68-60 @ Sacred Heart * W, 55-53 @ Quinnipiac * L, 69-73 MARCH (4-2) No. 6 MONMOUTH $ W, 87-68 @ No. 2 Wagner $ W, 71-64 @ No. 1 LIU Brooklyn $ L, 73-90 @ Indiana State % W, 67-60 @ Toledo % W, 69-51 @ Fairfield % L, 61-67
Top Story - Led by second-year head coach Andrew Toole, the Robert Morris University men’s basketball team posted an overall record of 26-11 (.703) in 2011-12, including a mark of 13-5 (.722) in the Northeast Conference that was good enough to finish third in the league standings. The Colonials advanced to their fourth straight NEC Tournament championship game before falling @ No. 1 seed LIU Brooklyn (3/7/12), 90-73. Despite falling short of its third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four years, RMU accepted a bid to the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, the program’s fourth postseason appearance in the last five years. In the CIT, Robert Morris advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to road wins @ Indiana State (3/13/12) and Toledo (3/17/12) before suffering a 67-61 loss @ Fairfield (3/21/12). Redshirt junior guard Velton Jones was named to the 2012 All-NEC First Team and led the Colonials in scoring (16.0 ppg), assists (167) and steals (68), while freshman forward Lucky Jones earned spots on both the 2012 All-NEC Rookie Team and the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-America Team. In his first year at Robert Morris, Lucky Jones averaged 8.5 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per contest. In addition to earning a spot on the 2012 All-NEC First Team, Velton Jones joined redshirt sophomore guard Coron Williams as members of the 2012 All-NEC Tournament Team. Williams averaged 10.8 points per game for the Colonials in 2011-12, converting 87 three-pointers, the second highest single-season total in school history. Both Williams and redshirt junior forward Russell Johnson have opportunities to join the RMU 1,000-point club next season, as Johnson is 131 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the club, while Williams needs 365 points to eclipse 1,000 career points.
RMU vs. the NEC Under Toole
What’s Next - Already in the midst of its golden Overall Record ..................................... 25-11 (.694) era in program history thanks to seven straight At Home .................................................. 14-4 (.778) winning seasons, the 2011-12 Robert Morris ros- On The Road ........................................... 11-7 (.611) ter featured just one senior and returns the bulk NEC Tournament .................................... 4-2 (.667) Largest Victory ........... vs. Bryant (3/2/11), 91-38 of its production next year. RMU’s only senior in Largest Defeat ............... vs. CCSU (2/5/11), 58-80 2011-12 was forward Lawrence Bridges, who averaged 3.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 55.3 percent (105-for-190) from the field in 65 career games. The Colonials return four starters and nine letterwinners in 2012-13, highlighted by guards Velton Jones and Coron Williams and forwards Russell Johnson and Lucky Jones. In all, Robert Morris returns an astounding 92.2 percent (2,334-of-2,532) of its scoring, 86.2 percent (1,150-of-1,323) of its rebounding and 88.8 percent (443-of-498) of its assists. Since the beginning of the 2005-06 campaign, RMU has compiled an overall record of 149-81 (.648) during its seven consecutive winning seasons.
# The Philly Hoop Group Classic (Philadelphia, Pa.) * NEC game; $ NEC Tournament; % CIT
Robert Morris Usual Starters ... # 34 24 1 2 3
P F F F G G
Name Russell Johnson (6-6, 180, R-Jr.) Lawrence Bridges (6-5, 225, Sr.) Mike McFadden (6-8, 220, So.) Velton Jones (6-0, 170, R-Jr.) Coron Williams (6-2, 170, R-So.)
Pts. 8.5 3.8 8.4 16.0 10.8
Reb. 5.7 3.8 4.3 2.8 2.6
G/GS 31/28 37/34 27/26 37/36 37/37
Hometown Chester, Pa. Detroit, Mich. Newark, N.J. Philadelphia, Pa. Midlothian, Va.
Quick Fact Enters 2012-13 campaign 131 pts shy of RMU 1,000-point club RMU 33-12 (.733) in two years with Bridges in starting lineup Career-high 20 points and seven rebounds @ Fairfield (3/21/12) Owns single-season (207) & career (397) records for free throws Shot 53.7% (22-for-41) from beyond arc last six games of season
Robert Morris Off The Bench ... # 22 11 5 35 21
P F C G F G
Name Lucky Jones (6-5, 195, Fr.) Lijah Thompson (6-7, 215, Jr.) Anthony Myers (5-11, 170, So.) Keith Armstrong (6-7, 230, Fr.) Brandon Herman (6-1, 190, Fr.)
Pts. 8.5 7.3 6.2 2.0 1.8
Reb. 6.1 4.2 2.6 1.9 1.0
G/GS 35/9 32/14 37/1 31/0 30/0
Hometown Newark, N.J. Philadelphia, Pa. Washington, D.C. Raleigh, N.C. Chattanooga, Tenn.
Quick Fact Named to 2012 CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-America Team Paced Robert Morris in blocks (33), owns 62 career rejections Ranked third in the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82) Shot 47.4% from the field in averaging 10.2 minutes per game Tied career-high @ Wagner (2/2/12) with 11 points off bench