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This Week In the A-10
By Christian Marge | November 18, 2008
The season has officially begun. Below, a brief team-by-team look at the week that was, and the week ahead for the A-10…
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CHARLOTTE: The 49ers opened their season with a well-earned 77-59 triumph over UNC Greensboro. Lamont Mack led the ‘Niner attack with his first career double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds). Three other 49ers also registered double-figures: An’Juan Wilderness (15 points), Rashad Coleman (14 points) and Phil Jones (11 points). The Charlotte defense also proved difficult for UNCG to handle as the ‘Niners forced 23 turnovers.
In their second tilt against Old Dominion, Charlotte fell a buzzer-beater short of victory, falling 69-68 to the CAA’s Monarchs. Coach Lutz found this one tough to swallow, as his team rallied from a 36-28 deficit to assume a seven-point advantage with just over four minutes to play. Senior Charlie Coley led the way in a losing effort with 14 points, while Phil Jones anchored the defensive end with six blocks.
Charlotte has two contests on tap for this week. They travel first to Boone, North Carolina to take on Appalachian State on the 19th. On the 22nd, the ‘Niners return home for a big one versus ACC foe Clemson at Halton Arena. This will be a welcomed change of venue for the Niners, as most of their contests against ACC opponents have been played in larger arenas than Halton, their on-campus facility. The smaller Halton should energize the ‘Niner fans, who look to give Lamont Mack and Co. something to feed off.
DAYTON: Dayton’s one-two punch of Marcus Johnson and Chris Wright proved to be just enough to knock off Southern Conference opponent Wofford in the home opener for the Flyers, 52-49. Each player contributed 17 points, shooting a combined 14-of-23 from the floor. The game was neck-and-neck throughout, but Dayton managed to deliver the last blow, capped by a steal and coast-to-coast dunk by Johnson late in the second half. The 12,000-plus fans in UD Arena breathed a collective sigh of relief and will gladly take a win given the Flyers less than stellar performance.
Coming up this week, the Flyers have contests against Delaware State on the 19th, and Bethune Cookman on the 23rd. Both games will be played in the Flyers backyard at UD Arena. The match-up against Bethune Cookman is part of the initial round of play in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
DUQUESNE: Ron Everhart’s boys started the season on a positive note with a solid 84-55 win over the High Point Panthers. Damian Saunders led the way for the Dukes with a career high in points (21) and steals (6). Duquesne won this one primarily with stifling defense, turning the Panthers over seventeen times in the first-half and building themselves a 43-15 lead by intermission. In addition to the strong “D”, the Dukes managed to shoot it at a 52.6% clip for the game, helping their offensive cause.
This week the Dukes travel to St. Francis (PA) on the 20th and return to the Palumbo Center to take on the Furman Paladins on the 23rd. St. Francis will be looking for their first victory of the year after losses to Texas Tech and American University. For Furman, the Dukes will be their first I-A opponent of the season.
FORDHAM: Dereck Whittenburg had to be a bit disappointed in his Rams’ start to the season, a loss at home to Columbia, 65-62. The young Rams were simply dominated on the glass, as Columbia out-rebounded the home team 52-27. Fordham was equally dismal from the foul line, connecting on just eight of twenty-three attempts. Despite the lackluster numbers, the Rams were within striking distance to the end, due in large part to the performance of freshman Trey Blue, who netted 24 points, setting a Fordham record for most points scored by a freshman in his debut.
After a 107-68 shellacking at the hands of preseason Wooden Award nominee Scottie Reynolds and the Villanova Wildcats last night, Fordham returns home to the friendly confines of Rose Hill to face New York City rival, Manhattan, on the 22nd.
GEORGE WASHINGTON: After a tough 2007-08 campaign, the Colonials began 2008-09 on the right note, notching a hard fought 63-58 overtime win over Boston University on the road. Wynton Witherspoon led the way for the Colonials with 13 points, while Rob Diggs chipped what is becoming a customary for him; another double-double (12 points, 14 rebounds). Interestingly, GW started and ended the game on 12-2 runs.
GW opens at the Smith Center on 19th versus Binghamton, where they seek to avenge an ugly loss from last season. On the 22nd, the Colonials travel to Alabama to face off against SEC opponent, Auburn. Karl Hobbs’ team will be the first of three A-10 schools that Auburn will play this year, as the Tigers also have dates with Dayton and Xavier.
LASALLE: It may not have been pretty, but the Explorers managed to secure a win in their first game of the season, 64-61 over Morgan State at Tom Gola Arena. Rodney Green and Kimmani Barrett accounted for nearly half of LaSalle’s points, scoring 15 each. Sophomore Jerrell Williams also played a big role in the win, registering a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), the ninth of his young LaSalle career.
The level of competition will certainly increase this week for the Explorers. First, they host the Florida State Seminoles at Tom Gola Arena on the 18th. Bringing the ‘Noles to Philly should excite the student body and fans. After taking on the FSU, the Explorers travel to the Virgin Islands to take part in the Paradise Jam. When they arrive, they will be greeted on the 21st by No. 2 ranked UConn, their first-round opponent.
MASSACHUSETTS: The Derek Kellogg-led UMass Minutemen kicked off the season for the A-10 by earning a solid 90-71 victory over Arkansas-Monticello in the first game of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches versus Cancer. UMass looked like they hand’t lost a beat on the offensive end, as junior Ricky Harris poured in 22, while both Chris Lowe (18 points, 11 assists) and Tony Gaffney (16 points, 13 rebounds) earned double-doubles in the season opener.
In their second contest, the Minutemen fell to the host team, the Southern Illinois Salukis, 80-73. UMass raced to a fast start, taking a 39-28 halftime lead. A sluggish second-half saw the home team rally for the win, courtesy of twelve-point run which turned a two-point deficit into a ten-point lead late in the contest. Ricky Harris again led the offensive charge for the Minutemen with 24 points. Wake Forest transfer Anthony Gurley added 15 points, and Tony Gaffney recorded a nice individual defensive effort, tallying seven blocks.
The Minutemen will be working overtime on the 18th, as they face the No. 12 ranked Memphis Tigers at FedEx Forum in Memphis. This game will be starting unusually late (midnight EST), as it kicks off ESPN’s 23 hours of basketball coverage. It will also be a homecoming of sorts for UMass coach Derek Kellogg, who left his post as an assistant with the Tigers to lead UMass. A new-look Memphis team awaits, much different from the roster just seconds away from capturing the National Championship last year. UMass looks to catch this youthful squad off-guard and pick up a nice win for the A-10.
(In progress at time of publishing)
RHODE ISLAND: After a slow first half, the Rams managed to jumpstart their offense, scoring 47 in the second frame and putting away a stubborn Brown team, 76-74. Jimmy Baron scored 17 points (all coming after the break) and the Rams rallied for the win. Keith Cothran (16 points) and Kaheim Seawright (15 points) also gave the Rams some offensive punch.
In their second contest, the Rams played in the best college basketball game to date, giving No. 5 ranked Duke all they could handle at Cameron Indoor, before ultimately falling the the Blue Devils, 82-79. Rhody led most of the way, as Delroy James scored 21 points of his own and Jimmy Baron provided a shooting clinic, hitting seven second-half three pointers on his way to 24 points. URI led with seconds to play before Duke snared the lead, and victory, at the charity stripe as the game wound down.
Coming up, the Rams will take part in the Philly Classic. Their first opponent: Monmouth, with the game to be played at Monmouth on the 20th. Later in the month, the final rounds will be played at the Palestra in Philadelphia. After the Rams tangle with Monmouth, they return to the Ryan Center on the 22nd to butt horns with the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, the CAA preseason favorite and also the residence of Eric Maynor, Preseason CAA Player of the Year.
RICHMOND: Richmond will kick off its 2008-2009 campaign in style, as they will head to Syracuse on the 18th to take on the Orange as part of the CBE Classic. The game will be televised on ESPN.
The Spiders will have only played one regular season game prior to the tilt with the Big East power, but UR received impressive efforts in their win over Randolph-Macon from several players, including Kevin Anderson and redshirt freshman, Josh Duinker. Chris Mooney will need a total team effort from his Spiders to fill the void of big-man Dan Geriot, particularly against the likes of Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson dow low for the Orange.
ST. BONAVENTURE: The Bonnies first four contests of the season will be part of the Garden State Tip Off Challenge. St. Bonaventure began the Tip Off in fine form, winning 72-62 over 2007-08 NIT participant Robert Morris at the Reilly Center. Jonathan Hall led the offensive charge for the Bonnies, netting 19 points. Chris Matthews added 18 points on a career high five three-pointers. St. Bonaventure started the game on a 16-0 run, but had to hold off a late surge from Robert Morris to secure the victory.
Last evening, SBU dismantled Marist in Poughkeepsie behind 21 points from Matthews, who once again dropped-in five from beyond the arc. Hall added 13 points of his own, while Andrew Nicholson - a freshman big fella who many around the program are high on - scored 13 points and swatted 5 Red Fox shot attempts. Mark Schmidt’s team will finish off the Garden State Challenge later this week with games against Delaware on the 21st and Rutgers on the 23rd. These remaining two games of the Challenge will be played at Rutgers’ home floor.
SAINT JOSEPH’S: As it appears will be the case quite often this season, Ahmad Nivins led the Hawks in their first game of the season, a 69-57 win over Rider at the Wachovia Center. Nivins tallied a double-double with 25 points and a career high 13 rebounds to pace the Hawks. Darrin Govens aided in the cause with 17 points of his own. The Hawks played their first game ever at the Wachovia Center due to the renovations underway at Alumni Fieldhouse. In fact, the Hawks will play their 13 remaining home games at the Palestra for the same reason.
In their second contest, the Hawks found themselves on the wrong end of a 73-69 overtime final against Holy Cross in Worcester, Massacusetts. Again, Nivins recorded a double-double (17 pts, 12 rbs), but it was not enough to slip the Hawks past the Crusaders.
All is quiet this week, but on the horizon Saint Joseph’s will be traveling to the Aloha State to take part in the EA Sports Maui Invitational starting on the November 24th. Their first round opponent will be the Longhorns from Texas.
SAINT LOUIS: Death, taxes, and grind-’em-out games for Saint Louis. The Billikens opened up their 2008-2009 campaign with a 48-33 win over University of Missouri-Saint Louis. The win pushed Billikens coach Rick Majerus’ record in season openers to 21-1 for his career. Freshman Kwamain Mitchell was the leading scorer for the SLU with 16 points. Tommie Liddell scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds of his own. Saint Louis managed to hold UMSL to just 34.1% shooting from the field for the game, despite the fact that it was a UMSL player (Jason Black) that christened the rims at Chaifetz Arena - the new state-of-the-art home of the Billikens - with its first hoop.
Saint Louis looks to continue their winning ways this week, with contests against Kent State on the 19th, and ACC foe Boston College on the 22nd. Both games will be played at Chaifetz Arena.
TEMPLE: The Owls kicked-off some early tournament action last week by taking part in the Charleston (SC) Classic down in the low country. In their first game of the tourney, the Owls crushed East Tennessee State, 79-65. All-Atlantic 10 performer Dionte Christmas was the star of the game, as he poured in 26 points, tied his career high by pulling down 11 boards and, for good measure, dished out 6 assists. Rising A-10 star Lavoy Allen also got into the mix with a double double (14 points, 15 rebounds).
In game two of the Classic, the Owls again found themselves victorious, this time defeating the home team, College of Charleston, 70-65. Temple received a balanced offensive attack, as five players scored in double figures, but it was Christmas (26 points) again who was the offensive catalyst for the Owls. Junior Ryan Brooks once against flourished in his role as a starter, scoring 11 for the Cherry and White. The Owls dominated the glass against Charleston, out-rebounding them 47-27.
In the title game of the Classic, the Owls suffered their first defeat of the 2008-09 season, dropping a 76-72 decision to ACC opponent, Clemson. Ryan Brooks led all scorers in the game with 19 points, but the Owls fell just shy. Christmas finished with 14 points in the game; all of his scoring coming in the second-half. Redshirt freshman Ramone Moore scored in double-figures (13 points) for the third time in his first three contests for Fran Dunphy’s squad.
The Cherry and White have just one game this week, home against Lafayette on the 21st.
XAVIER: The A-10’s predicted champion Musketeers got off to a start worthy of their accolades, as they pasted IPFW 71-43 in what was the opening game for both schools. Senior C.J. Anderson led the scoring with 15 points, but it was freshman standout Kenny Frease that had everyone talking at the end of this one, netting 12 points and ripping down 7 boards. Transfer Jamel McLean also gave the Muskies some added scoring and rebounding, recording a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in his debut for Coach Miller.
Last night XU defeated Toledo, 81-65, after cruising to a 36-19 lead at the break. The Musketeers shot 50% from the field, 54% from three-point range and 71% from the line in systematically picking apart Toledo, much to the dismay of Rocky the Rocket.
B.J. Raymond led the way with 18 points, while Dante Jackson and Derrick Brown scored fourteen each. Next, the Musketeers head off-shore to take part in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Their one known opponent will be Big 12 member Missouri on the 20th. From there, they face either Fairfield or Virginia Tech the following day, with a third game scheduled for the 23rd.
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