RMU Basketball: 3 takeaways from victory over Canisius Golden Griffins

It was a battle of two teams in opposite directions, as RMU Basketball had a 5-game win streak against Canisius, who was 0-7 entering the game. But they had a small halftime lead on the Colonials, who had another slow start offensively.

But as they've done in the last couple of weeks, they managed to go on a big run to retake the lead and hold on for the 72-64 win to move to 6-2 on the season. Here's a look at the takeaways from the game.

1. Amarion Dickerson's star performance

Ever since he started in the Urban-Bennett Invitational, Dickerson has taken a leading role on the team. At first, it was the defensive end for the elite shot-blocker, but his offense has grown as well late. He had 15 points in the win at Cornell and went for a season-high 19 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. 

In a game where Alvaro Folgueiras (10 points) didn’t have the greatest game, the Colonials could lean on Dickerson, whose underrated offensive impact is helping the team stay in the win column.

2. Defensive effort on Paul McMillan

While Canisius didn’t have a win, they did have a great individual scorer in McMillan, who averaged 21.0 ppg in the first seven games. But RMU limited him to just 10 points on 3/16 shooting, which was his worst performance of the season. Even when they struggled on offense, RMU’s defense, which has been good all year, kept them in the game early.

3. Ryan Prather’s shooting slump

One of the game's biggest shots was Prather’s three-pointer late to keep Canisius at arms-length in the win. The sophomore guard finished with nine points on 2/7 shooting from deep. He’s averaged around 10 ppg in the last five outings, but his red-hot shooting has since cooled off.

In the first three games, the Akron transfer shot 8/12 from deep. Prather is at just 5/23 from deep in the last five games, which is good for 22%. Once he returns to form, RMU Basketball will be even tougher to deal with.