Oakland tops RMU, Pryors 35 Not Enough

I've finally had a day to think about where this Robert Morris basketball team stands. It was another frustrating evening on Saturday, as Oaklands' Max Hooper came off the bench and hit eight- three pointers, while star Kay Felder notched 21 points, including a personal 9-0 run at the end of the first half. Coach Toole said after the game that he has to manage those last few minutes of the first half better, as he feels like the Colonials should have entered the half with the lead. Rodney Pryor had a career night, scoring 35 points on 12-23 shooting, but didn't get much help offensively from his teammates.

Isaiah Still struggled immensely, shooting 3-17 from the field, including 1-8 from beyond the arc and 5-10 from the charity stripe. It was pretty obvious that Still was getting frustrated, evident by his poor body language. I've loved what I've seen from Isaiah Still so far, but I think he shot the ball a little too much on Saturday. There comes a point where you have to start to look to help your team in other ways, because he wasn't able to convert on many scoring opportunities. A 14-1 run by the Golden Grizzlies pushed opened up a 68-53 lead with 8:46 left. Elijah Minnie was a scratch due to "illness," but I'm not sure if I completely buy that story. Nonetheless, Minnie's offensive and defensive presence were greatly missed in this one. Having him would have spaced the floor and gave Toole someone bigger than Billy Giles and Rodney Pryor to man the middle. Andre Frederick was in foul trouble all night, but even when he was on the floor, he didn't cause many problems for Oakland's bigs. Each game, I get more and more impressed with Billy Giles. He reminds me of Aaron Tate.

He plays with heart, passion and he does all of the little things that fans and coaches appreciate. Giles also has an impressive offensive arsenal up his sleeve. While Toole acknowledged his JuCo numbers were a little ridiculous and they didn't expect him to put up 23 points and 15 boards every night, he is pleased with his progress. "Billy is really putting the work in during practice, and you're seeing that hard work pay off," Toole said. The one thing I am very excited to see is Billy Giles and a healthy Aaron Tate on the floor together. Having their intensity and passion out there will be fun to watch.

Kavon Stewart struggled in this one, shooting only 1-8 from the field. There was a point in the second half where the Colonials were slowly chipping away, and Stewart and Pryor were on a fast break. Stewart decided to take the layup himself, but it rolled off the front rim, very much displeasing the crowd. Toole said after the game that he would have used more of Jordan lester in the second half, but Lester became ill during halftime and told Toole he didn't think he'd be able to compete.

But where does this team stand? Assuming Elijah Minnie was actually sick, I didn't think the Colonials played a terrible game. Toole liked the energy he saw and thinks they will be in good shape if that carries over to future games.

When Robert Morris had a 37-28 lead in the first half, I think they tried to get a little too cute. They turned the ball over a few times on fast-breaks trying to go for highlight plays, rather than making a simple bounce pass for a layup. It's those type of things that separate the bad teams from the good and the good teams from the great. I actually kind of feel good about this team right now simply for the fact that the NEC is TERRIBLE. I don't think the Colonials are terrible, but I think they have one of the more talented teams in the NEC and I think that will show when conference play begins. LIU Brooklyn is the team to look our for, in my opinion. I said prior to the season that it wouldn't surprise me one bit if LIU was the NEC representative in the NCAA tournament. I'd like to see Matty McConnell get more involved in the offense. I know he is more than a spot up shooter, but we haven't really seen him take the ball to the hoop that often. I still expect big things from him in conference play.

Robert Morris travels to the great state of New York to take on a 5-5 Columbia team on Monday, December 14, at 2:00 PM. HOPEFULLY, Elijah Minnie will be in the lineup. Happy finals week!!! Until next time.