It's been 11 days since the Robert Morris men's basketball team last played.
And while third-year coach Mike Rice would have preferred a game or two during Thanksgiving break, he said practice has been more beneficial.
Rice and his Colonials will find out tonight how much the extra practice helped when they open Northeast Conference play against conference rival and preseason favorite Mount St. Mary's at Sewall Center. It's a rematch of last year's NEC title game, which Robert Morris won, 48-46, on a jumper by Dallas Green.
The Colonials (1-4) have won six of the past seven games against Mount St. Mary's, including three times last year on their way to the NEC regular-season and conference championships.
"I'd rather play a game, but the time helped us grow, and we got better as a team," Rice said. "We were able to attack our weaknesses. We've been inconsistent, and we were breaking down in our four losses. We've had five different leading scorers in five games. I would have never thought Velton Jones, who's supposed to be our distributor of the ball, would be our leading scorer. We do have some offensive weapons, but we have to get better defensively."
Robert Morris is coming off a 71-66 loss to Albany on Nov. 22. Mount St. Mary's (3-3) played Monday and fell to No. 16 Georgetown, 83-62.
The Colonials have won two consecutive NEC regular-season titles under Rice. Each team had go-to players: Tony Lee in 2007-08 and Jeremy Chappell in 2008-09. Rice is still looking for that type of player to take charge this year.
Senior forward Rob Robinson could fit that role. A finger injury has slowed down senior guard Jimmy Langhurst, and guards Mezie Nwigwe and Gary Wallace have shown signs of leadership. Another player who has emerged is freshman guard Karon Abraham.
Rice said he won't have a problem getting his players to focus tonight.
"Our goal is not to win every nonconference game; we'd like to. Our goal is to win the NEC title again," Rice said. "We've been on top of the conference the last two years. We have to play harder and be more focused. There should be plenty of motivation playing Mount St. Mary's."
Mount St. Mary's coach Milan Brown said the rivalry is good for both programs, though Brown would like to start beating RMU more often.
"It's hard to have a rivalry where we're located (northern Maryland, just south of Gettysburg)," Brown said. "But we've met them quite a few times the last couple of years, and most of the games have come down to the last possessions. The best thing about it, it's a respected rivalry. We like it, and I'm sure they enjoy it, too."
Additional Information:Game info
Robert Morris (1-4) vs. Mount St. Mary's (3-3)
When/where: 7 p.m. today/Sewall Center, Moon Township.
TV/radio: PCNC/WPIT-AM (730)
Favorite: No line
Series record: Mount St. Mary's leads, 24-22.
