The Robert Morris University men’s basketball team opens a three-game road trip Monday by traveling to Loretto, Pa., for a 7:00 p.m. tip against in-state rival Saint Francis U. at DeGol Arena.

– RMU opened its 2014-15 Northeast Conference slate with a 70-45 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (1/3/15), the third straight victory for the Colonials at the Charles L. Sewall Center. Senior forward Lucky Jones paced Robert Morris with 17 points and eight rebounds and was one of four players to score in double figures in the win.

– Freshman guard Marcquise Reed and junior guard Rodney Pryor each reached double figures in the win over the Mount with 12 points, while freshman forward Elijah Minnie came off the bench and contributed 10 points.

– Robert Morris improved to 17-17 (.500) all-time in Northeast Conference openers with its victory over the Mount, including a mark of 4-1 (.800) under head coach Andrew Toole. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign, the Colonials have posted a record of 100-25 (.800) in league play.

– Senior forward Lucky Jones has scored in double figures in nine of his last 10 games, averaging 13.9 points per contest over that span. During that stretch he is shooting 56.3 percent (27-for-48) inside the three-point line. Jones, RMU’s active career leader with 1,345 points and 723 rebounds, is just 29 caroms shy of becoming the program’s all-time leading rebounder.

– Senior forward Lucky Jones also owns career totals of 157 assists and 149 steals and with his next steal will become just the third player in Northeast Conference history to eclipse career totals of 1,300 points, 700 rebounds, 150 assists and 150 steals.

– RMU wrapped up its 2014-15 non-conference slate with a 64-57 setback @ Clemson (12/30/14). Freshman guard Marcquise Reed came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points, finishing 9-for-14 shooting from the field, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, while going 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. Senior forward Lucky Jones added 13 points against the Tigers.

– The Colonials were picked third in the 2014 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, the ninth consecutive year RMU has been selected to finish in the top three in the league. Senior forward Lucky Jones was named to the 2014 Preseason All-NEC Team.

– From 2007-08 through the 2013-14 campaign, Robert Morris compiled an overall record of 163-81 (.668), with the 163 victories tied for seventh with Akron among mid-major programs in the seven-year span.

– Robert Morris continues a three-game road trip after taking on the Red Flash Monday, traveling to Staten Island, N.Y., Thursday, Jan. 8, for a 9:00 p.m. tip against Wagner at the Spiro Sports Center in a game that will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.

Mount St. Mary’s Tidbits – The 25-point victory over Mount St. Mary’s marked RMU’s largest margin of victory in a Northeast Conference opener. The previous record came exactly 24 years earlier, when Robert Morris posted a 23-point win over St. Francis Brooklyn (1/3/91) at the Charles L. Sewall Center, earning an 82-59 victory … The 45 points the Colonials allowed to the Mount are a season low by an opponent … Mount St. Mary’s also established season lows by an RMU opponent for field goals (13) and field goal percentage (.250) … Robert Morris has won seven straight over the Mount in the regular season … Junior guard Rodney Pryor established a career high with five steals against the Mount and became the first Colonial to register five thefts in a game since former forward Russell Johnson (2008-13) posted five @ Providence (3/25/13), a span of 48 games … RMU’s 13 steals against Mount St. Mary’s established a season high.

On The Frontline – Junior forward Aaron Tate is the only player to have started each of RMU’s last five games, a stretch in which the Colonials are 3-2 (.600). During that stretch, Tate is averaging 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting an even 50 percent (12-for-24) from the field. Twice in the last five games Tate has tied a career high in points with eight, which came in a 75-59 victory over Duquesne (12/13/14) as well as a 70-45 win over Mount St. Mary’s (1/3/15).

Glass City – RMU was able to garner its third consecutive victory at the Charles L. Sewall Center by outrebounding Mount St. Mary’s (1/3/15), 35-31. The 70-45 win over the Mount improved the Colonials to 4-0 this season when outrebounding their opponent. Dating back to last season, Robert Morris has won 18 straight games when posting more caroms than its opponent. In five seasons under head coach Andrew Toole, RMU owns a mark of 64-13 (.831) when outrebounding its opponent.

Combos – Looking for RMU’s best combination as the Colonials enter Northeast Conference action, head coach Andrew Toolehasn’t been afraid to shuffle his lineup. Toole employed his seventh different starting lineup in the last nine games in RMU’s 70-45 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (1/3/15), as sophomore guard Kavon Stewart and freshman guard Marcquise Reed both returned to the starting lineup. Toole has used eight different starting lineups through 13 games this season and in five years at the helm of the program has used a total of 41 different starting combinations.

Point Break – One could say RMU’s success so far this season has been in direct correlation with the way sophomore guardKavon Stewart has directed the offense at the point. In the four victories Stewart has played this year, he owns 28 assists (7.00 per game) compared to just nine turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.00. Stewart helped lead Robert Morris to a 70-45 win over Mount St. Mary’s (1/3/15) in its 2014-15 Northeast Conference opener by registering a game-high seven assists while suffering just two turnovers. He also added four points, four rebounds and three steals in the win.

Drop The Leash – Freshman guard Marcquise Reed continued his hot shooting in a 70-45 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (1/3/15) in RMU’s 2014-15 Northeast Conference season opener, contributing 12 points in the win. Reed enters Monday’s game @ Saint Francis U. averaging 16.5 points and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 59.7 percent (37-for-62) from the field over the last six games. Reed ranks 10th in the Northeast Conference in scoring at 13.2 points per game while also placing second in the circuit in steals at 1.92 thefts per contest and fifth in field goal percentage (.508).

Reserve Clause – The Robert Morris bench has the spot of instant offense for the Colonials so far this season. RMU enters Monday’s game @ Saint Francis U. receiving an average of 27.5 points per game from the bench. The leading scorer for Robert Morris has come from the bench in seven of 13 games this season, and the reserves have outscored their opponents by a margin of +7.2. The group is shooting 43.9 percent (122-for-278) from the field, including 35.6 percent (36-for-101) from beyond the arc, and 69.6 percent (78-for-112) at the free-throw line.