For Robert Morris, which virtually clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference tournament Thursday night, the game against visiting Long Island tonight is the first step in determining how high the Colonials will finish in the regular-season standings and how high they will be seeded in the league's postseason tournament.
- Matchup: Long Island (12-10, 4-7 NEC) vs. Robert Morris (18-6, 9-2), 7 p.m. today, Sewall Center, Moon.
- Radio, Internet: WPIT-AM (730), Yahoo sports.
- Long Island: Is 3-8 on road, including 1-5 in NEC. ... 10th in NEC in field-goal percentage (.405). ... Led by G Jaytornah Wisseh (14.3 ppg) and F Kellen Allen (14 ppg).
- Robert Morris: Coming off 95-45 win Thursday against Fairleigh Dickinson, the second-largest margin of victory in NEC history. Wagner beat Sacred Heart by 53 points (116-63) Feb. 22, 2000. ... Has won six games in a row, 13 of past 15. ... Tied for second with Wagner in NEC.
- Hidden stat: A.J. Jackson, with 1,315 career points, needs 14 points to pass Gene Nabors (1,328) and move into seventh on RMU's career scoring list. Tony Lee is sixth with 1,361.
At the moment, the Colonials are tied with Wagner for second place with a 9-2 conference record. Sacred Heart leads the pack at 11-2, and Quinnipiac is fourth at 8-3. Since the league returned to an 18-game schedule in 2002-03, no team with at least nine victories has failed to make the league tournament.
Long Island finished 10th last season after being picked to finish third. This season, it was picked for last but is in seventh despite a handful of newcomers, including 6-foot-4 forward Ron Manigault.
He's a cousin of Earl "The Goat" Manigault, a New York City playground phenom in the late 1950s and '60s whose career was derailed by drugs and whose life was detailed in a 1996 HBO movie.
"A legend," said Robert Morris coach Mike Rice, who played collegiately at Fordham. "When you're playing pickup games there and doing all that stuff, he's more than just talked about."
Ron Manigault, also from New York City, spent the previous two seasons at City College of San Francisco. For Long Island, he's averaging 4.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
"He wanted to come back to New York and play," said Long Island coach Jim Ferry. "He's a do-everything guy. He brings a lot of personality and toughness. He's had to live a little bit in the shadow of his cousin, but he's his own person -- a great kid."
Robert Morris enters the game relatively fresh after being able to rest its starters for much of a 95-45 cruise Thursday night past short-handed Fairleigh Dickinson. The Blackbirds might not be so fresh. Even though they held a 47-22 lead early in the second half Thursday at St. Francis, Pa., they were extended before securing a 71-61 win.
The Colonials capitalized on three starters missing from Fairleigh Dickinson's team (two injured, one suspended) to post a rare lopsided league win.
"We knew coming in that we were handicapped with only eight players -- four scholarship [players] and four walk-ons," Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tom Green said.
Barely six minutes into in the game, Rice had all five Robert Morris' starters on the bench after the Colonials jumped to a 24-7 lead.
The bench, including freshman walk-on Cody Wilson from DuBois, Pa., contributed 38 points -- shooting 17 of 28 from the field -- and 28 rebounds. Wilson scored his first collegiate points with a late 3-pointer.
Senior Tony Lee said that would get Wilson no special recognition at practice yesterday.
"We'll tell him, 'Good shot,' " Lee said. "I mean, he's not going to get any cake and ice cream."
First Published: February 9, 2008, 5:00 a.m.
