Robert Morris players spent a lot of time in the film room this past week watching one of their least favorite mixtapes: Ricky Cadell's greatest hits.

Cadell, a guard for St. Francis (N.Y.), scored 29 points against the Colonials in Robert Morris' 67-63 win Jan. 7, and this week Colonials assistant coach Jimmy Martelli edited a tape of each point and made the team watch it four or five times.

"I actually got sick of it and wanted to defend him," Robert Morris coach Mike Rice said.

If the two teams play again this season, the mixtape from Saturday's game will be much shorter.

The Colonials limited Cadell to 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting as Robert Morris (14-8, 9-1) beat St. Francis, 74-56, at the Sewall Center.

The win, coupled with Quinnipiac's 61-56 loss at Mount St. Mary's, gave the Colonials the outright lead in the Northeast Conference standings for the first time this season. Robert Morris is the two-time defending regular-season NEC champion.

Shutting down high-scoring opponents has become routine for the Colonials, who held one of the NEC's top-five scorers below his average for the second consecutive game. Long Island's Jaytornah Wisseh, No. 5 in the NEC averaging 16.4 points per game, scored 11 points on 1 of 12 shooting in Robert Morris' 66-58 win Thursday.

Freshman guard Karon Abraham matched up against the opponent's leading scorer in both games, and his performance against Cadell was even better than the final statistics indicate.

Cadell, who entered the game No. 3 in the NEC averaging 16.7 ppg, scored two points on two free throws in the first half. His remaining 10 points came when the Colonials had a double-digit lead. He did not make a field goal until there was 11:26 remaining.

Rice said his team took it personally after watching Cadell's 29-point performance over and over again.

Abraham said the defensive-minded Colonials anticipate matchups against high-scoring opponents. "It's a personal thing. That's your guy, you've got to defend him. It's a one-on-one thing."

Abraham led all scorers with 23 points, tying a career high.

As Cadell struggled early, Robert Morris surged. St. Francis gained an early 4-1 lead, but it was the only time Robert Morris faced a deficit. The Colonials led, 34-25, at the half.

Robert Morris guard Velton Jones made a jumper less than a minute into the second half, giving the Colonials a double-digit lead for the first time in the game. But the Colonials knew that a double-digit lead against the Terriers -- even in the second half -- is never safe. When the two teams played earlier this season, a 20-point Robert Morris lead disappeared when St. Francis tied the score with 1:22 left. And in last year's NEC tournament, St. Francis came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to trail by nine with seven minutes remaining. Both times, the Colonials won.

This time, Robert Morris kept its large lead intact as St. Francis never pulled closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

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