Robert Morris Wins NEC Championship

(Robert Morris University - 2009 NEC Tournament Champions)

Madness. Sheer Madness. March Madness. This is why they call it such, right? The Robert Morris Colonials are going dancing.

What started out as a game became an event. On Wednesday night, just as I did six days ago, I headed out to my alma mater for some NEC Tournament basketball. This time the stakes were much higher. A trip to the NCAA Tournament was on the line. Robert Morris was set to battle Mount Saint Mary's for the NEC Championship. The contest was to be televised nationally on ESPN 2. The sun was setting and air was solidly crisp. It felt like fall. This had to be a good sign.

("Bobby Mo" at Sunset)

A few more good signs: 1) I didn't lock my keys in the car this time, 2) The main parking lot was full when I got there an hour early...this was not going to be a sparsely attended event like last week's game, & 3) Did I mention this was going to be a nationally televised game? Good stuff. I was joined once again by fellow Robert Morris alums Chris H. and his dad (Magic Mark). Ticket prices were up from 10 dollars (for last week's game) to 20 dollars. I gotta give RMU credit, they know how to be opportunists. Our quorum also included John and CJS...both honorary Bobby Mo apologists on this night. Upon entering the Sewall Center, we received white NEC Tournament towels and became part of a crowd that would become a school-record 3,227 people. This was going to be good.

But it wouldn't become good for awhile. Both teams appeared to have a debilitating case of "the nerves", as play was poor, sloppy, and dysfunctional (at best) in the first half. The record crowd was at least double what these teams were used to. The pressure of the television cameras couldn't have helped either. The half-time score was 19-19. Yes...you read that correctly and No...this wasn't a high school game. This was the third time this season that Robert Morris and Mount Saint Mary's played one another (with RMU sweeping the first two). It was like each team knew what the other team was going to do before they did it. I would not classify the game as a defensive struggle. On the contrary, it was more of an offensive struggle...in that both teams struggled to produce offense. At least RMU wasn't losing at half-time. Somebody MUST hit the 40 point mark in the second half...the Colonials were playing at home...it might as well be them.

The second half was better...but only slightly. Points were still at a premium. Ticky-tacky fouls were being called left and right. The crowd, to their credit, was very into it...berating the refs at every call going against RMU, and breaking out into spontaneous eruptions at just the right moment when the home team needed a pick-me-up. After scoring just 2 points in the first half, NEC Player of the Year Jeremy Chappell started to find his shot in the second, hitting two early three-pointers to keep Robert Morris close. The offensively deficient slug-fest continued and Mount Saint Mary's led 42-37 with 4:22 to play. At the time, 5 points seemed like an insurmountable lead. But things would change.

Jimmy Langhurst nailed a three to cut the lead to 2...and although Jeremy Goode of Mt. St. Mary's countered with a two-point jumper at the other end...we could sense that Robert Morris was getting the momentum back. After a free throw, a defensive rebound, and a layup...the Colonials had cut the lead to a single point. It was time for someone to step up. And as he's done all season for Robert Morris...Jeremy Chappell was the guy to take the shot. Off a Rob Robinson assist, Chappell stepped into a three and buried it to give Robert Morris the lead 46-44. The crowd went crazy. For the first time all game, it felt like RMU was going to win this thing. Every section was standing and cheering. Hope was alive for the record-setting crowd in Moon Township!

However...the refs weren't done leaving their imprint on this game. It was only fitting that Mount Saint Mary's tied the game up at 46 by hitting two free throws. 1:17 remained until someone was headed to the Big Dance. Tick, Tick, Tick. Robert Morris possession...clank! Mount Saint Mary's ensuing possession...clank! This is tense! 46-46...Robert Morris ball...27 seconds left on the clock. Both teams take 30 second timeouts to strategize. That was the situation when the following happened. I was lucky enough to be sitting on the side of the floor where Robert Morris was to take the last shot. This is my Zapruder'esque footage of what took place.

Jeremy Chappell drives the lane and gets the ball knocked away...it bounces right into the hands of Dallas Green, who goes straight up with the shot that sends Robert Morris University to the NCAA Tournament! Bedlam at the Sewall Center! Final Score: Robert Morris 48, Mount Saint Mary's 46! I know that video clip will probably give many of you seizures, and make the rest of you nauseous...but it captures the mayhem of that moment better than anything I can put up here myself. Once your motion sickness is gone and your heart stops pounding...please watch the proper highlights of RMU's historic victory.

The fans stormed the court in a cathartic outburst that instantaneously washed away all the disappointment of the last few seasons. Their Robert Morris Colonials were going to the Big Dance. Jeremy Chappell scored 13 points in the second-half (including 3 three-pointers) and was named MVP of the NEC Tournament. It was time to celebrate. It was time for trophy presentations. It was time to cut down the nets.

Being that this was the Northeast Conference and a gym that fit 3,227 people...I found the situation to be quite accessible. Walking down the bleachers, right onto the court, I was able to get some photos of the players as they cut down the net in celebration of their triumph.

(Cutting Down The Net)

(Tournament MVP and Captain Jeremy Chappell Gets The Rest of the Nylon)

(Hoop on which the game-winning shot was taken, now without net)

(NEC Player of the Year & NEC Tournament MVP Jeremy Chappell with the cut-down net and some idiot)

After the game, I went with Chris H. and CJS to the Primanti Bros. in Moon Township to celebrate the victory with some drinks. Spirits were high. After the end of the Seton Hall vs. Syracuse game, ESPN led the late edition of Sports Center with the thrilling Robert Morris finish. Green's game-winning shot was their #6 top play of the day. Robert Morris University was getting national coverage. They were getting their 15 minutes of fame. Great times!

As we were in the bar area, we noticed a Robert Morris assistant coach who came to the same establishment for victory drinks. As trips to the bathroom were made...we realized the entire coaching staff and team had chosen Primanti Bros. as the place to celebrate the NEC title, and were all sitting in the room next to the bar. We overheard conversations that we already knew the content of, players rehashing how the team came back from five down...and how it was Dallas Green of all people that hit the Conference-winning shot. These guys were excited. These guys were going to be traveling somewhere next week for the NCAA Tournament. Their destination and opponent had not yet been chosen, but they didn't care. Tonight was a night to celebrate.

One final part to the story. As I was having a smoke with CJS in the Primanti Bros' parking lot, Robert Morris head coach Mike Rice came walking out to his car with wife and two kids. He also had the championship net in his hands. We congratulated him on the victory and wished him luck in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. "Thanks...it should be interesting!", he replied, as he and his family got into the automobile and drove off into the victorious night.

For the first time in 17 years my alma mater is going to the NCAA Tournament. It definitely should be interesting.

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