Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pitt's Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall fight for a rebound with Robert Morris' Jeremy Chappell in the second half last night at the Petersen Events Center. Click photo for larger image. Related articles Pitt Basketball: Panthers go inside for 67-53 victory vs. Colonials Collier: Elegant Cook not a perfect fit with rugged Pitt

The Robert Morris Colonials figure playing at second-ranked Pitt last night and against regrouping Duquesne Saturday night at home gives them a good test before they begin Northeast Conference play a week from tonight at Sacred Heart.

"It makes us play harder," forward A.J. Jackson said. "We know how it is in conference play. We have to elevate our intensity."

"I think it's good to get these [rivalry] games out of the way before the conference begins," coach Mark Schmidt said. "Sometimes you play a couple conference games and then you play the rivalry games and you lose focus.

"This is a good time to play both these teams. Plus, it keeps us home, which is a positive."

Another positive is Robert Morris' start. The Colonials opened with four victories for the first time in school history.

And even their 67-53 loss to the Panthers seemed impressive. The Colonials led, 42-41, with 13 minutes left and were within six points (55-49) with seven minutes remaining.

"I was really proud of our team's effort," Schmidt said. "I thought our guys really fought. To have a lead and be within six [late] says a lot about our effort and our players."

A key to their 4-1 start is the experience the Colonials have.

In addition to returning the top four scorers from last season, they also have back center Freddie Harris, top reserve Colson Senat and Kelvin Bright, who redshirted last season as a freshman but who practiced daily.

"We feel comfortable playing with each other," guard Tony Lee said. "I think all of us have the same goal -- do whatever we can to help the team get better and win games."

"I feel like we have real good leadership this year," said point guard Derek Coleman, the only senior. "Me, Tony and A.J. got together [before the season] and decided we want to win a championship and [that] it has to start with us three.

"Once we started preseason conditioning and weightlifting, we set the tone. I think that really helped us coming into the season. The younger guys look up to us. As long as we're doing it right, they're going to do it right.

"It's important to be on the same page and pulling for one another and really pulling for the team."

"If you have the leaders all on the same page with the same goals, you can be a pretty good team," Lee said.

"I think that's the biggest thing this year," Coleman said. "Since I've been here, what we've lacked is the leadership."

Coleman cited Chaz McCrommon and Maurice Carter, who were upperclassman when Coleman was a freshman in 2003-04.

"Chaz was a good leader and 'Mo' was a good leader, but they were good leaders in their own ways," Coleman said. "They did it differently. We just decided we're going to be on the same page with everything. And it's really helping us right now."

"That's real big," Lee said. "Usually a team is only as good as its coach, its leaders and its people coming off the bench. The people coming off the bench are playing well for us, coach Schmidt has been doing his job, and the leaders have been doing their job. That's why we're a successful team so far.

"[If] we keep doing the same things we've been doing, we're going to be a pretty good team and a hard team to beat."

Height disadvantage

Jackson entered last night's game averaging 24 points a game but was limited to six points -- none in the second half. Jackson, who shot 48.5 percent from the field in the first four games, last night was just 2 for 13, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range.

"He's 6-foot-5," Schmidt said. "It's hard for him to score with 6-10 [Levan] Kendall and 7-foot [Aaron] Gray in there."

Friends with the Dukes

Coleman is a good friend of Shawn James, one of five Duquesne players shot Sept. 17. James, a transfer from Northeastern University, and Coleman played together during the summer in the Boston area.

"When I heard, I called Shawn right away to see if he was all right, and he told me he'd gotten shot and a couple other kids got shot," Coleman said. "It was kind of a crazy experience -- to know somebody who had to go through that."

Coleman became friends with the other four players shot that night because his girlfriend, Ashley Smith from Penn Hills, who runs track at Duquesne, introduced Coleman to a lot of the Duquesne players and they hang out together.

So what will it be like for Coleman Saturday night when Duquesne plays at Robert Morris?

"It's going to be kind of crazy," Coleman said. "I see them all the time. On the court, we'll be at it, but off the court we'll be cool."