NEC Player of the Week: Nneka Ezeigbo, RMU

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NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NNEKA EZEIGBO, ROBERTY MORRIS
Sr., C, 6-2, Ewing, NJ/Notre Dame HS
Week 15 Stats: 2 starts, 21.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 spg, .727 FG pct., 0.76 point per minute
Ezeigbo’s two-way post play helped Robert Morris remain undefeated against NEC opponents. Leading the Colonials in scoring, the senior center shot 72.7 percent from the field while tallying 42 points over a pair of victories that bumped RMU’s league record to 14-0. Going up against Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Francis U, Ezeigbo, who paces the circuit in field goal percentage (.500) this season, averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per victory last week. The Garden State product put forth an eye-popping performance on Senior Day at RMU. Accounting for nearly half of the team’s scoring, Ezeigbo poured in a season-high 26 points to go along with seven boards, three steals and one block in a 53-35 triumph over FDU. Two days later, the 6-foot-2 post player scored a game-high 16 points in a 66-57 road win over Keystone State rival Saint Francis U. Ezeigbo accounted for 0.76 point per minute during the two-win week.
 

NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
SONIA SMITH, SACRED HEART
Fr., G, 5-7, Hyattsville, MD/National Christian
Week 15 Stats: 1 appearance, 23 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 571 FG pct., 1.000 3FG pct.
Smith carried the scoring load for the Pioneers’ injury-plagued rotation in the team’s lone game of the week. The freshman guard netted 23 points in 32 minutes during a last-second setback at Long Island U. Smith shot 57.1 percent from the field, including a 4-for-4 clip from beyond the arc. She also made all three of her free throw attempts. In addition to reaching the 20-point plateau for the first time in her collegiate career, Smith logged two assists, two rebounds and one steal in the 66-63 road loss. The Marylander was one of five NEC scorers to exceed the 20-point mark in a game last week.
 
 
PRIME PERFORMERS (Week 15)
Nneka Ezeigbo, RMU
Sydney Holloway, BRY
Sonia Smith, SHU
Kendall Bresee, MSM
Ryan Weise, LIU
Nevena Dimitrijevic, SFBK


TWEET SHEET
@BCT_AChiappazzi
(Feb 17) Bella Posset and the Robert Morris women’s team just keep winning.

@PCmor7
(Feb 17) Final: Robert Morris 66, St. Francis 57. Swogger leads Flash with 17 points, while Allen has nine, and Benzel and Mastellone each tally eight. Ezeigbo scores 16 for Bobby Mo.

@PCmor7
(Feb 17) Colonials have been doing a very effective job hedging on screens up top and keeping Swogger from getting into a good position to initiate St. Francis’ offense.

@PohlAdam
(Feb 17) Five of the six consecutive victories have been on the road! Longest win streak in six years for @Mount_WBB!

@CraigCD13
(Feb 17) 10 NEC wins by Merrimack, equals what Bryant did a decade ago in their first season playing a full league schedule.

@CraigCD13
(Feb 15) Two big threes by Jayme DeCesare late in the game to help Merrimack pick up the big win this afternoon..

@lparker6
(Feb 18) Ryan Weise made 5 of 7 3-point field goal attempts including a shot just beyond mid-court as time expired — LIU defeated Sacred Heart, 66-63. The Allentown High grad scored 17 points. Kudos. Watched the final play 50 times since her dad Rich texted last night. Top 10 ESPN video!

@NelCastNY
(Feb 17) OMG!!! What a finish in the #LIUWBB game. Ryan Weise with the GW 3 off glass at the buzzer! What a shot!

@debbieantonelli
(Feb 16) More undefeated wbb teams in conference play besides those listed in previous tweet
JacksonStateU, SWAC 12-0
Robert Morris, NEC 13-0

@HisPlacePGH
(Feb 17) We love basketball! Thanks to our partnership with Blessed Be Educators and Mary Ann Hvizdos, we were able to take several of our kiddos to watch the Robert Morris University Women’s Basketball team for a second year in a row. We had a blast!

@HaleyMHolloway
(Feb 17) Sissy so proud of you! ?? so sad your time balling is almost over but honestly the best 4 years of my life has been watching you be the BEST at your craft. @SydneyHollowayy



COLONIALS INCH CLOSER
It didn’t come by a double-digit margin, as the previous 10 victories had, but Robert Morris posted a road win over its Keystone State rival and remained on the path to perfection as a result.

The 66-57 win over Saint Francis U bumped the Colonials’ conference record to 14-0, meaning the Colonials are four victories away from a perfect NEC regular season.

“It was a good moment for us because we started off sluggish,” said RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia. “Give (Saint Francis U) a lot of credit, they came ready to play and played at a very good pace. We had to respond at a tough moment like going down 7-0, and take each possession as its own and dig in there.”

Robert Morris helped itself immensely by committing only five turnovers, matching its single-game season low. The RMU defense came up with 22 takeaways from the Red Flash.

These two programs have met in the NEC Championship Game each of the past two years with each side winning once.

RMU’s latest victory is the program’s fourth straight over SFU, marking the longest win streak in the series in more than a decade.

Robert Morris is vying to become the NEC’s first 18-0 team since Quinnipiac accomplished the feat in 2013.

For the third consecutive season, Robert Morris broke the program record for its best conference start.

Year – Started – Finished
2020 – 14-0 – TBD
2019 – 11-0 – 16-2
2018 – 9-0 – 16-2
 

COLLISION COURSE
Can they repeat the feat?

Robert Morris was 11-0 in league games until Mount St. Mary’s halted that streak last February.

Fast-forward to February 2020 and Robert Morris will again put a perfect NEC record on the line against Mount St. Mary’s.

Saturday’s meeting between the two long-time rivals will be a battle between the top-two teams in the conference standings.

While Robert Morris is still chasing perfection, Mount St. Mary’s is enjoying its best season this millennium. Third-year head coach Maria Marchesano’s Mountaineers  have won 11 of their first 13 league contests and are averaging a league-high 69.8 points per NEC game.

While Mount owns the conference’s top field goal percentage (.409) heading into Saturday’s showdown, Robert Morris limits its opponent to a league-low .354 field goal percentage.

RMU has won 26 of the last 30 meetings with the Mount dating back to 2005.