MOON TWP. — For the first time since the 2005-06 season, Robert Morris won’t be starting the Northeast Conference tournament on its home floor.

For this year’s Colonials, though, that just might be a good thing.

Eighth-seeded Robert Morris, who earned at least a four seed for nine-straight seasons before this year, will open play on the road against No. 1 seed Wagner on Wednesday. The path to back-to-back NEC tournament titles will be a tough one for a Colonials’ team that’s won consecutive games just twice this season. But the fact that the path won’t go through the Sewall Center might not be an issue.

Robert Morris ended the regular season with a 8-10 in the NEC. It finished 3-6 at home, but had a winning record (5-4) on the road.

“As a group, we just like playing on the road,” freshman Isaiah Still said after practice on Monday.

“Guys like playing away,” said junior point guard Kavon Stewart. “I don’t know why. ... It should be a humbling experience for us, playing away and not playing home. We have guys playing close to home, so it should be great.”

Wagner is located in New York City, and the Colonials have three players — Still and Stewart included — on their roster from New Jersey. While senior Rodney Pryor isn’t one of them, he still echoed his teammates’ preference for playing on the road, and said much of it has to do with opponents’ fans.

“Other teams’ crowds come out so there’s more energy in the gym versus here,” Pryor said. “There’s not as many people here and there’s not as much energy in the gym.”

Some of Robert Morris best games of the season have come away from the Sewall Center. Most impressively, the Colonials defeated No. 2 seed Fairleigh Dickinson 72-70 on Feb. 13 after falling 64-58 at home earlier in the year. They also picked up wins over sixth-seeded LIU Brooklyn and third-seeded Sacred Heart.

Coach Andy Toole has also noticed the difference in his team’s play on the road and at home — “It’s actually sad what our home record is, to be honest with you,” he said — but had different reasoning for the disparity. Mainly, his team’s maturity — or lack thereof.

“I think to be a good home team, you have to have some maturity about you,” Toole said. “On the road, there’s fewer fans, fewer distractions. You can concentrate on the scouting report, you can concentrate on your team.

“When you’re home, you’re in the dorms, you’re maybe trying to play well in front of certain people that are at games. People are going to know about it more. So, it’s like you don’t always play as loose and as free and I think some of that stems from just being a little immature.”

Whether Robert Morris’ preference for playing on the road translates to a victory, or an improbable run through the NEC tournament as the lowest seed, remains to be seen. Right now, the Colonials are focused on Wednesday’s matchup against a team they lost to at home in January and again on the road on Saturday.

Toole hopes that playing Wagner back-to-back means his team hasn’t forgotten the Seahawks’ tendencies that are more difficult to simulate in practice, like their pressure. But he sees the downside of the matchup as well.

“Sometimes it’s nice to have a different face, a different opponent, a different situation,” he said. “Obviously, not winning the game some people will say that can be motivating but at the same time, you also didn’t have success against them. So, that can be in the back of your mind.

“I don’t know anyone that likes to do it, win, lose or draw.”


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