Robert Morris Tournament Game #1 - A Breakdown

I attended my first ever Robert Morris basketball game last night, as the Colonials squared-off against St. Francis (NY) in the first round of the Northeast Conference Tournament. There's nothing like March basketball in suburban Pittsburgh! I met up with my friend Chris H., his dad, and his dad's friend for the game...all four of us were Robert Morris graduates. I figured this had to be good karma. It's been said that bullet points are a crutch used by sub-par writers who cannot construct a proper narrative. With that conventional wisdom out there...here are some bullet points to help describe my Robert Morris basketball experience. In (semi) chronological order:

• Arrive at the Sewall Center 45 minutes early as I conquered rush hour traffic...much like I'm in the process of Conquering The 2009 NCAA Tournament. Took the "short cut" route I used to take back in my days as a commuter student. This brought back some memories...mainly of commuting to school. I must have been overly excited about Robert Morris hoops because I locked my keys in the car for only the second time in my life. I really thought I was above this by now. I was angry, but not shaken. It was getting closer to game time after all.
• I randomly meet a guy in the parking lot who turns out to be the uncle of Jeremy Chappell (Robert Morris guard and NEC player of the year). We both have a cigarette and talk about Jeremy's potential to play basketball in Europe next year. We also wonder if the gym will be half full tonight. This is as close to a college basketball personality I'll interact with all evening.
• Time for the game to start. I meet up with the Robert Morris alumni crew and we end up sitting a few rows behind St. Francis' bench. There were maybe 15 St. Francis students sitting directly behind the bench cheering on their team. Chris H. and I wondered if they were able to take the charter bus out with the team or if they had to provide their own transportation from Brooklyn. I hope, for their sake, they didn't have to drive.
• Robert Morris comes out firing on all cylinders, taking a 23-9 lead. Most of the points on both sides are being scored beyond the 3-point arc or at the foul line. There's no inside game to speak of on either side. Play is often sloppy. There are turnovers. On at least three occasions, the ball hits the floor before it is "rebounded". This is such a different product than Big East basketball.
• I know I'm old when college cheerleaders start looking young. I mean REALLY young.
• Speaking of cheerleaders...there were 3 older men sitting in front of us during the game who always had something funny/mildly sexual/creepy to say about the cheer girls whenever they took the floor for a routine. Growing old has it's perks. Say comments like that when you're over 65 and it's the amusing dirty-old-man thing. Say comments like that when you're 39 and people inch away while calling the cops.
• I found it interesting that the gym had an open area behind one of the baskets where one could get food (from a guy wearing a chefs hat), then sit down at tables with paper/plastic tablecloths and enjoy the game. It was like the court and bleachers were too small for the size of the room. Let me just say that there were great seats still available.
• Robert Morris head coach Mike Rice had all of the mannerisms of someone who will be coaching a big time college program someday. He's already perfected the Jamie Dixon "squat at the top of the coaches box, two feet onto the court while yelling at your team at the opposite end of the floor" thing down perfectly.
• There was a game too. Robert Morris was up by 10 or more for the majority of the game. Jeremy Chappelle had 19 to lead the team. The Colonials got lazy in the second half and were perhaps looking forward to the semi-finals. But in the end...as the scoreboard at the top of this post shows...Robert Morris defeated St. Francis (NY) by a score of 73-60.
• Campus police helped unlock the car door of my 1994 Chevy Lumina after the game so I could be reacquainted with my keys (and my cigarettes). I asked the cop if he wanted some registration/proof of ownership to show the car was mine. He then gave me this look that said, "Are you kidding me? If this isn't actually your car and you brought me down here to help you steal a '94 Lumina...you deserve the piece of shit". Thank you sir!
• Next up for Robert Morris...a date in the NEC semi-finals against fifth-seeded Quinnipiac. Tip time is 2 pm on Sunday. Two more wins until a NCAA Tournament birth!

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