Top Storyline - The Robert Morris University men’s basketball team returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center Monday night after a four-game road trip to open its 2004-005 season with a 7:30 p.m. tilt against Thiel. The Colonials are coming off an 83-59 loss to No. 16 Pittsburgh (11/24/04) and are looking to snap a three-game losing streak against the Tomcats. Under fourth-year head coach Mark Schmidt, Robert Morris has posted a 2-1 record in home openers, including victories in each of its last two games. RMU will also host Quinnipiac Saturday, Dec. 4, for its 2004-05 Northeast Conference lidlifter during the team’s two-game homestand and will get back on the road Tuesday, Dec. 7, when it travels to Lewisburg, Pa., for a 7:30 p.m. game against Bucknell.

Quick Stat of the Night - Robert Morris enters Monday night’s game against Thiel owning an all-time record of 24-4 (.857) in home openers, including a record of 8-2 in the last 10 years. The Colonials, averaging just 58 points in their first four games of the 2004-05 campaign, will also look to use the familiar surroundings of the Sewall Center to get their offense going. Over RMU’s 8-2 record in the last 10 years in home openers, the Colonials have averaged 71 points per game, including a 90-60 win over Carnegie Mellon (12/2/03) in the team's 2003-04 home opener. Robert Morris also own an all-time record of 16-3 in home openers at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

Monday’s Opponent and the All-Time Series - The Colonials and Tomcats will square off for just the second time in school history Monday night, with Robert Morris having won the inaugural meeting between the two clubs back in 1989. RMU garnered a 96-50 victory over Thiel (11/27/89) in RMU’s 1989-90 home opener as former Colonial Wade Timmerson (1988-92) led five Robert Morris players in double figures with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from both the floor and free-throw line on the night. Former Colonial Anthony Dickens (1985-90) added 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.

Probable Colonial Starters (2004-05 ppg, rpg averages)

Probable Tomcat Starters (2004-05 ppg, rpg averages)

Head Coach Mark Schmidt (Third Season - Boston College ’85) - The 2004-05 campaign marks Mark Schmidt’s fourth year as head coach of the men’s basketball program at Robert Morris University. He owns an overall record of 37-53 (.411), including a 28-28 mark in the Northeast Conference, and was named to his current post May 7, 2001. Schmidt guided the Colonials to an overall record of 14-15 in 2003-04, including a 10-8 mark in the NEC. RMU tied for fourth in the league and advanced to the NEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2000. In 2001-02, Schmidt led Robert Morris to a 12-18 overall record in his first year on the sidelines, the most victories for a first-year head coach in the 29-year history of the RMU men’s basketball program.

Prior to RMU, Schmidt spent seven seasons as one of the nation’s top assistants at Xavier University under current Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser from 1994-2001. While with the Musketeers, Schmidt played a dual role, serving as both a coach and the program’s top recruiter. His coaching responsibilities centered mostly around the post players, and he helped develop and recruit players at Xavier that have moved on to the professional ranks, including James Posey (Memphis Grizzlies), David West (New Orleans Hornets), Romain Sato (San Antonio Spurs), Lionel Chalmers (Los Angeles Clippers) and David Young (Seattle Supersonics). Prior to his stint with Xavier, Schmidt served one year as an assistant at Loyola College in Baltimore, Md., also under Prosser. He also spent two seasons at Penn State University under Bruce Parkhill from 1991-93, and started his coaching career as an assistant at St. Michael’s College in Vermont from 1989-91.

Schmidt’s playing career was highlighted by four years as a guard/forward at Boston College, where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management with a concentration in marketing in 1985. The Eagles went 22-10 and made the NCAA Elite Eight during his freshman season in 1981-82 under head coach Tom Davis and 25-7 the next year in making the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen in his first of three years playing for current Maryland coach Gary Williams. Boston College reached the NIT second round in 1984 and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen again in 1985.

Scouting the Tomcats - Thiel enters Monday night’s game with Robert Morris with an overall record of 1-2 after dropping an 86-82 decision to Baldwin-Wallace (11/27/04) in its 2004-05 home opener. The Tomcats opened their 2004-05 season with an 85-50 loss to Muskingum (11/20/04) in the Doc Greene Tipoff Tournament before rebounding to post a 91-63 victory over Penn State-Berks (11/21/04) in a consolation game of the tourney. Leading the way for Thiel has been senior guard Daryl Moore, who averages 23.3 points per game while also shooting 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from beyond the three-point arc. Junior Percy Sweeting is averaging 12.7 points per game and is pulling down a team-high 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Thiel Head Coach - In his third season as head coach of the Tomcats is Mike Snell (Ohio ’85), who owns an overall record of 26-31. Prior to Thiel, Snell served as an assistant coach at Division II West Liberty State (W.Va.) from 1998-2002, and he also served as an assistant coach at Division III Marietta College (Ohio) and Ohio Valley College, an NAIA Division I institution in Parkersburg, W.Va. At Ohio Valley, Snell helped guide the Fighting Scots to the National Small College Athletic Association Tournament in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

RMU’s Last Game - Robert Morris challenged nationally-ranked Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center before falling to the No. 16 Panthers, 83-59, Nov. 24. RMU had no problem getting its offense started after a couple of cold shooting performances, hitting eight of its first 10 shots from the floor to help the Colonials to take a 22-21 advantage at the 12:04 mark of the first half. After Carl Krauser hit a three-pointer to give Pittsburgh an 8-5 lead, the Colonials used an 11-4 run to take a 16-12 advantage. Sophomore guard Derek Coleman, senior forward Chaz McCrommon and senior guard Maurice Carter each hit three-pointers to propel the Colonials. McCrommon hit another trifecta to up RMU’s advantage to 19-14, but the Panthers used a 7-3 spurt to climb within 22-21. The Colonials eventually upped their lead to 25-21 with 9:51 left before the break thanks to senior center Mark Anderson, who converted a three-point play thanks to a layup and free throw after a foul by Aaron Gray of Pittsburgh. Carter then hit another three-pointer, his fourth of the first stanza, to up RMU’s lead to 30-26 at the 6:17 mark of the first half, but the Colonials hit a lull offensively, not scoring the rest of the half. Over that span, Robert Morris was 0-for-4 from the field and committed eight turnovers as the Panthers used a 16-0 run to take a 42-30 advantage into halftime. In the second half Robert Morris closed the gap to 42-36 by scoring the first six points of the stanza as Anderson hit a jumper, McCrommon converted a pair of free throws and junior forward Joseph Ison hit his first field goal of the evening. RMU closed the gap to 44-40 on jumpers from McCrommon and Anderson, but the Panthers responded with a 15-6 run to open a 59-46 lead with 11:37 remaining.

Finding His Groove - Senior center Mark Anderson has been the most consistent Colonial in the early going of the 2004-05 campaign, as he has paced Robert Morris in scoring in each of the last three games. Anderson finished with a career-high 20 points @ Ohio State (11/16/04) and followed that performance with a 14-point effort @ Virginia (11/19/04) and an 18-point outburst @ Pittsburgh (11/24/04). On the season Anderson has posted a team-best 14.3 points per game average, which ranks ninth in the Northeast Conference, while shooting 52.3 percent (23-for-44) from the field. Over the course of his last 13 games dating back to the 2003-04 campaign, Anderson is averaging 11.8 points per game and is shooting 60.9 percent from the floor (56-for-92). Anderson has scored in double figures in each of the last three games, his longest stretch as a Colonial, and returns to the Charles L. Sewall Center Monday night against Thiel, where he shot 60 percent from the floor (39-for-65) during the 2003-04 campaign.

Rebounding - After getting off to somewhat of a slow start, senior forward Chaz McCrommon came through with a complete performance @ Pittsburgh (11/24/04), finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and adding five assists. Despite averaging 10.8 points per game in RMU's first four contests of the 2004-05 campaign and shooting just 32.7 percent (17-for-52) from the floor, McCrommon hasn’t let that affect other parts of his game. McCrommon is averaging a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game, including 14 offensive rebounds, and has also posted a team-best 13 assists while compiling two blocks and three steals.

Night and Day - Another Colonial that rebounded from a couple of subpar performances has been senior guard Maurice Carter, who posted one of his most complete games as a Colonial in RMU’s season-opening 68-49 victory over Morgan State (11/15/04). Carter led the way with 22 points while adding three rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal against the Bears while shooting 7-for-11 shooting from the field, a 63.6 shooting percentage that marked his best shooting performance since his sophomore season in 2002-03. He also finished 7-for-11 from the floor for 20 points in a 93-74 win @ Maryland-Eastern Shore (12/18/02). Carter followed that performance against Morgan State by shooting 0-for-8 from the field @ Ohio State (11/16/04) and being held scoreless, the first time since his freshman campaign in 2001-02 Carer didn’t score a point. He finished 0-for-3 from the field in 14 minutes of work @ Sacred Heart (1/3/02). Carter followed the first scoreless game since his freshman year with a nine-point performance @ Virginia (11/19/04), shooting just four times on the night. The four field goal attempts by Carter are the fewest he’s shot in a game (minimum 25 minutes played) since finishing 2-for-4 in 25 minutes of work @ Long Island (1/28/02). Carter got off to a hot start @ Pittsburgh (11/24/04), eventually finishing with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the three-point arc. It marks the eighth game of his career that Carter his hit at least five trifectas in a game.

The New Tag Team - Senior guard Maurice Carter, who ranks fourth all-time at Robert Morris with 180 career three-pointers, lost his favorite shooting partner from beyond the three-point arc when forward Aaron Thomas (2000-04) graduated in May of 2004. Carter and Thomas combined to hit 345 trifectas together over the course of their three years as teammates at Robert Morris, but Carter may have found another Colonial similar to Thomas this season in freshman forward Beau Gibb. Through the first four games of the 2004-05 campaign, Gibb has hit six three-pointers, second on the club to Carter’s 10. Gibb, averaging just 13 minutes a contest, is shooting 54.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc, which ranks third in the Northeast Conference. Carter, a career 34.3 percent (170-for-495) shooter from beyond the three-point arc entering this season, ranks tied for fourth in the conference with a shooting percentage of 50 percent (10-for-20).