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For Immediate Release March 9, 2010 Men’s Basketball Contact: Ron Ratner Phone: 732-469-0440, Ext. 6 [email protected]

Who Will Go Dancing? Top Seeded Quinnipiac Hosts #2 Seeded Robert Morris On Wednesday For The Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Title

Somerset, NJ -- Last November eleven Northeast Conference (NEC) teams began the season with dreams of playing on March 10th. Of those, eight successfully made it to March and the start of the madness. Now, on the eve of the 2010 NEC Men’s Basketball Championship game, only two are left standing in pursuit of one of the most coveted prizes in collegiate sports: the automatic berth to the NCAA Basketball Tournament that will be awarded to tomorrow’s winner.

Robert Morris (22-11, 15-3 NEC), the defending NEC champion and tournament’s second seed, will travel to top-seeded Quinnipiac (23-8, 15-3 NEC) in the conference title tilt at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, CT at 7:00 pm. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2, ESPN2HD and ESPN 360. Bob Wischusen and Tim Welsh are set to call the action.

Each team’s road to the title game has come on their respective home floors. Quinnipiac downed eighth-seeded Monmouth, 84-75, last Thursday before ousting fourth-seeded Long Island, 83-78, in Sunday’s semifinals. Robert Morris dispatched Central State, 71- 63, in quarterfinal round play then eliminated third-seeded Mount St. Mary’s, 80-62, in the semis.

This season marks the third time in the last four years that the top two seeds will meet in the NEC title game. In 2007, top-seeded CCSU defeated #2 Sacred Heart, 74-70. A year ago, #1 Robert Morris beat #2 Mount St. Mary’s, 48-46. In 14 NEC championship games featuring the two highest seeded teams, the #1 seed has won ten times and the #2 seed four times. In a related note, only three NEC Tournaments - in 1987, 1991 and 1994 - have gone exactly according to seeding. A Quinnipiac win on Wednesday would make it the fourth.

Quinnipiac and Robert Morris met just once this season back on February 20th in Moon Township, PA. With the Colonials needing a win over the Bobcats to clinch the top seed in the NEC Tournament, it was Quinnipiac sophomore guard James Johnson (, NY/Bishop Loughlin) who stole the show. Johnson poured in a career-high 28 points and added six assists as the Bobcats scored the 87-79 road victory. The two teams finished tied for first place and were declared co-regular season champions, but it was Quinnipiac that earned the #1 seed and automatic berth to the Postseason NIT based on the head-to-head win.

The two programs also met in last year’s NEC semifinals, with Robert Morris pulling away in the second half for a 75-48 victory. Three days later, the Colonials defeated Mount St. Mary’s, 48-46, on its home floor to capture the NEC championship.

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Bryant University (2012-13) • Central Connecticut State University • Fairleigh Dickinson University • • Mount St. Mary’s University • • • St. Francis (NY) College Saint Francis (PA) University • The championship game will feature the NEC’s premier offensive unit going up against one of the league’s elite defensive squads. Quinnipiac leads the NEC in scoring at 74.3 ppg and has cracked 80 points in four of the last five games. Over the last ten contests, the Bobcats are averaging 81.1 points per outing. Conversely, Robert Morris ranks second in the conference field goal percentage defense (.410) and three- point percentage defense (.325). The Colonials have held their last four opponents to 63 or fewer points.

The “X” factor in the game could be the Bobcats’ ability to attack the glass. Quinnipiac has jumped over both Michigan State and Kentucky and now ranks first in the nation in rebound margin at +9.5 per game. The Bobcats are also ranked fourth nationally in rebound percentage (the percentage of an opponents’ missed shots that are rebounded successfully) at 57.4 percent. Interestingly, Robert Morris has also been dominant on the boards in the NEC Tournament, outrebounding opponents by 6.5 per game, compared to Quinnipiac’s +8.0 per game.

The title tilt will also serve as a national showcase for the NEC’s top player and top rookie. Quinnipiac junior forward Justin Rutty (New- burgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) was named NEC Player of the Year and Robert Morris freshman guard Karon Abraham (Pater- son, NJ/Harp Academy) was the unanimous choice for NEC Rookie of the Year in voting conducted by league head coaches last week.

Rutty has become the face of a program that has reinvented itself through its ability to attack the glass. Unmatched physically by his conference peers, the Newburgh, NY native leads the NEC in rebounding for the second straight year and is ninth nationally with 11.0 rpg. Rutty has also earned recognition as one of the top offensive rebounders in the nation. After finishing second nationally in offensive rebounding as a sophomore, he ranks third in Division I this season with 4.9 per game. Along with his ferocious work on the boards, the 6’7”, 240 lb. Rutty continued to refine his offensive game in 2009-10 and enters the title game third in the conference in field goal percentage (.537) and eighth in scoring (15.2 ppg). He has compiled a conference-best 16 double-doubles on the year and 29 over the course of his career, a Quinnipiac Division I record. In just three years, Rutty has moved up to 15th on the NEC career rebounding chart with 791 and has a good chance of ending his career as both the league’s all-time leader in the category and the first 1,500-point/1,000-rebound player in conference history.

The smallest starter in the conference, Abraham took little time to develop into a big-time player for the Colonials this season. The graduation of 2008-09 NEC Player of the Year Jeremy Chappell and a season-ending injury to starter Jimmy Langhurst resulted in Abraham stepping into the starting lineup for the Colonials, who didn’t miss a beat in claiming a share of their third consecutive NEC regular season title. Abraham not only leads all NEC freshman in scoring at 13.3 ppg, but is the only conference freshman to lead his team in point production. With a quick first step and incredible elevation on his shot, the 5’9” shooting guard has almost unlimited shooting range. Abraham has drilled 79 three-pointers on the year, and ranks second in the league in three-point percentage (.449) and fourth in three-pointers per game (2.4). Automatic from the line, he leads the NEC in free throw percentage at 87.1 percent. Abraham recently set the Robert Morris single-season freshman record for points, and has scored 438 heading into Wednesday’s game.

Tonight’s coaches have combined to win the last three Jim Phelan (NEC) Coach of the Year honors. They should also be accustomed to the big game atmosphere and the bright lights of ESPN. Quinnipiac’s Tom Moore was a longtime assistant at UConn, while Mike Rice of Robert Morris served as an assistant at .

In what has been a breakthrough season for Quinnipiac, Moore has his sights set on one more milestone - bringing home an NEC Tournament championship to Hamden. In just his third year, Moore has led the Bobcats to a school record 23 wins this season, a perfect 14-0 mark at home and a best-ever 15-3 record against conference opponents. In doing so, Quinnipiac earned a share of its first NEC regular season title and will take part in the postseason - either the NCAA or Postseason NIT - for the first time in its Division I history. Bolstered by the outstanding inside-outside duo of Rutty and senior guard James Feldeine (, NY/Cardinal Hayes), Moore has forced the opposition to take a pick-your-poison approach to playing his squad. Even if the shots aren’t falling, the Bobcats’ success on the boards has made them difficult to beat. Moore, who was recently named the 2009-10 Jim Phelan Coach of the Year, has now posted a winning conference record in all three of his seasons and is 36-18 against NEC competition.

In leading Robert Morris to a share of its third consecutive NEC regular season championship, Rice has already managed to etch his name throughout the league’s record book. Faced with the loss of NEC Player of the Year Jeremy Chappell and NEC Defensive Player of the Year Bateko Francisco to graduation, along with a season-ending injury to starting senior guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, OH/Willard), Rice has kept the Colonials flying high in 2009-10, sparked by the all-freshman backcourt of Abraham and Velton Jones (, PA/ Northeast). In three seasons under Rice, the Colonials are 46-8 (.852) in NEC play, the best three year stretch in league history in terms of wins and winning percentage. In his short tenure, Robert Morris has also become the second team in NEC history to post three straight 20-win seasons, and now holds conference records for most wins over two (50, 2007-09) and three (72, 2007-10) year spans. Overall, Rice has posted a 72-30 record and the Colonials have reached the Postseason NIT and NCAA Tournament in his first two years. (Page 2-of-4; Who Will Go Dancing?) How They Got Here Quinnipiac’s run to the NEC title game began with a tight quarterfinal outing against #8 Monmouth, one of just three teams to beat the Bobcats during the regular season. The Hawks led for much of the contest and the Bobcats never did pull away in an 84-75 victory. Johnson scored a game-high 23 points in the win, while Rutty recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards. With Sunday’s semifinal game against #4 Long Island up in the air with under a minute to play, it was Johnson who hit the game's key basket - a runner as the shot clock was about to expire - that gave Quinnipiac a four-point lead and the Bobcats finished off the Blackbirds at the line en-route to an 83-78 victory. Rutty tallied his 16th double-double of the year with 22 points and 16 rebounds, including eight off the offensive glass.

Robert Morris began its path to the NEC championship with a hard-fought 71-63 win over #7 Central Connecticut State. With the Colonials up by just a point with under three minutes to play, Abraham - who led the team with 19 points - came up big with back-to-back trifectas as Robert Morris closed the game with an 11-4 spurt. Facing each other for the fifth straight year in NEC postseason play, the expected semifinal barnburner between Robert Morris and #3 Mount St. Mary's never materialized. The Colonials held a seven-point lead at intermission and began to take over midway through the second stanza before cruising to an 80-62 triumph. As has been the case all season long, the Colonials featured balanced scoring, led by Abraham’s 18 points.

Quinnipiac Quick Hits • Quinnipiac is 0-1 in NEC title games. Seeded seventh, the Bobcats fell to Central Connecticut State, 78-71, in 2002. • The Bobcats have won five straight games and nine of their last ten. • Quinnipiac’s 15-game home win streak dating back to last season is tied for the ninth longest in the nation. • Quinnipiac is averaging 83.5 ppg in its two NEC Tournament wins and has shot 53-64 (.828) from the line. • Rutty has averaged 18.0 ppg and 14.5 rpg in two tournament games. Johnson has contributed 14.5 ppg and 7.5 apg in tourney play, while junior guard Deontay Twyman (Olney, MD/Sherwood (Ball State, Polk CC)) has put up 13.0 ppg on 61.5 percent shooting from the floor. • Quinnipiac eclipsed the single-season school record with its 23rd win on Sunday. The Bobcats had won 22 in 1979-80 and 1972-73, both under the legendary Burt Kahn. • The Bobcats have outrebounded 30-of-31 opponents on the season. • Feldeine, a first team All-NEC performer, is the league’s fourth-leading scorer at 17.1 ppg. • Quinnipiac is looking to become the first NEC team since Monmouth in 2003-04 to run through the season unbeaten at home. • Quinnipiac’s 23 wins this season under Tom Moore are not only a school record, but ties for sixth on the NEC’s all-time single season list. CCSU holds the record with a 27-win season in 2001-02.

Robert Morris Quick Hits • Robert Morris has won an NEC-high six titles, with five coming from 1982-92. The Colonials are making their ninth championship game appearance. • The Colonials now hold the NEC mark for most wins over two (50, 2007-09), three (72, 2007-10), four (89, 2006-10) and five (104, 2005-10) year spans in league history. • Robert Morris has shot 50.5 percent from the field over its first two tourney games. • Robert Morris is 28-19 (.596) all-time in NEC Tournament play. The program’s 28th win on Sunday established a new league record for victories. Fairleigh Dickinson has won 27 tourney games. • Mike Rice’s 6-1 (.857) record is the second-best in NEC Tournament history behind Matt Furjanic’s 13-2 (.867) mark. Furjanic coached at Robert Morris and won NEC titles in both 1982 and 1983. • The Colonials are the only NEC team with a winning road record at 9-7. • Robert Morris’ balanced attack has eight players averaging between 5.8 ppg and 13.3 ppg. No player is averaging more than 26.7 minutes per game. • Senior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, MD/Oxon Hill (Globe Institute)) was a second team All-NEC selection. He is the only other Robert Morris player averaging in double digits (10.1 ppg). • Senior guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, MD/High Point) was tabbed the NEC Defensive Player of the Year. • Nwigwe will be playing in his ninth NEC Tournament game on Wednesday, the most of anyone in the contest. • Senior forward Dallas Green (Indianapolis, IN/Northwest) hit the game-winning shot with 2.2 seconds left to defeat Mount St. Mary’s, 48-46, in the 2009 championship game.

(Page 3-of-4; Who Will Go Dancing?) NEC Championship Game Tale of the Tape:

Quinnipiac Robert Morris (Hamden, CT) (Moon Township, PA)

23-8 (15-3 NEC)2009-10 Record 22-11 (15-3 NEC) #1NEC Tournament Seed #2 Tom MooreHead Coach Mike Rice None# of NEC Titles 6 (1982, 1983, 1989, 1990, 1992 & 2009) None# of NCAA Appearances 6 106All-Time NEC Wins 271 728All-Time NEC Tournament Wins

7,500School Enrollment 5,000 William Weldon, Notable Alumni Hank Fraley, Chariman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson 10-year NFL center (Eagles, Browns) Murray Lender, Kevin Colbert, Founder of Lenders Bagels Dir. of FB Operations, Pittsburgh Steelers Prime Time Matchup Justin RuttyName Karon Abraham JuniorClass Freshman ForwardPosition Guard SociologyMajor Sport Management Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free AcademyHometown/High School Paterson, NJ/Harp Academy 6’ 7”, 240 lbs.Height/Weight 5’ 9”, 150 lbs. 15.2 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 53.7 FG%, 16 double-doubles2009-10 Stats 13.3 ppg, 44.9 3PFG%, 79 3PFG 18.0 ppg, 14.5 rpg, 50.0 FG%, 2 double-doubles2010 Tourney Stats 18.5 ppg, 63.6 FG%, 7 3PFG 2009-10 NEC Player of the YearNotable Achievement 2009-10 NEC Rookie of the Year

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