Temple 71 Virgina Tech 52

Once again, Virginia Tech got off to a quick start. Hitting their first three shots, the Hokies opened up an 8-3 lead. Tech played a zone most of the first half, and Temple’s offense was stagnant. But as the half unfolded, Temple stepped up their game on both ends of the court and began to bang in NBA threes. For the half, Temple made 7 of 15 threes. Converting steals into lay-ups, the Owls enjoyed a 36-22 halftime lead. Mark Karcher led Temple with 11 while Brian Chase had 11 for the Hokies. Chase started the second half with a NBA-range three of his own, but Tech was unable to convert on numerous Temple turnovers and missed shots in the first 3 minutes of the half. Russ Wheeler and Rolan Roberts picked up their fourth and third fouls before Temple stopped the bleeding with a pair of Quincy Wadley free throws, a Sanchez three, and a Kevin Lyde three-point play to extend the lead to 44-27 at the first media timeout. From there Temple cruised.

In 18 years in the Atlantic 10, Temple has now made the semifinals 18 times. Temple now moves on to face UMass in the semifinals Friday, a team they have beaten twice by double digits. UMass will need a strong shooting game from Shannon Crooks and Monty Mack to avoid a similar fate tomorrow. Virginia Tech finishes 16-15 and hopes for a call from the NIT.

UMass 86 George Washington 68

In what seems to be a developing trend where teams start games hot or cold, UMass again opened with a flurry. Behind Shannon Crooks and Monty Mack, UMass jumped out to an 18-9 lead. SirValiant Brown knocked down a couple of long threes, including one he converted into a four-point play, and after a conventional 3-point play by Brown, the Colonials closed the lead to 29-28 at the final media timeout of the half. UMass closed the half on a run, leading 41-32.

SirValiant tried to get the Colonials back into the game in the second half but seemed to continually miss shots and commit turnovers. SirValiant is a very good talent, and if he works on his game might be a lottery pick, but right now when he dominates the offense he can take GW right out of a game. Brown finished with 33 points and 6 rebounds, but shot just 8 of 26 from the floor with 0 assists and 4 turnovers.

UMass improves to 17-14, nailing down at least a bid to the NIT. GW finishes 15-15 and hopes the NIT will consider their record with Mike King in the lineup when completing their field.

Dayton 67 St Joes 64

In a game eerily similar to their first meeting, the Flyers once again prevailed over the Hawks. Neither team was able to get more than a two-possession lead in the first meeting and this one followed the same script. The Flyers held the largest lead of the night at 38-33. The game got off to a slow start for the Flyers, just as the it had for the two afternoon teams with a bye. Dayton connected on just 3 of their first 9 shots despite numerous open looks. But the Flyers hung close and held several early leads by limiting the Hawks to one shot and giving them few good looks at the basket. With a 23-20 lead, Dayton had several opportunities to open leads, but poor free throw shooting, lane violations, and questionable shot selection enabled St Joes to hang close. St Joes took a 24-23 lead on a turnover against the press, before Tony Stanley connected on his first basket of the half. After missing his first five shots, Tony’s three gave the Flyers a 26-24 lead, and a second Tony three tied the game at 29 at the half.

The second half was more of the same, but Stanley continued to convert from the outside and had several huge offensive rebounds. The lead continually changed hands with St Joes holding a 4-point edge with around 6 minutes remaining. David Morris hit several late shot-clock shots to keep Dayton close, while Stanley converted a couple of drives and a pull-up jumper. Marvin O’Connor, who was held scoreless in the first half did the same for St Joes. A late 9-2 run gave Dayton a three point edge, but the Flyers were unable to close the game at the free throw line. For the game Dayton made just 17 of 28 free throws. The Flyers’ inability to make free throws down the stretch almost let the Hawks pull the game out. First, Mark Ashman — who had 14 points and 10 rebounds — made just 1 of 2, after Edwin Young made 2, David Morris made 1 of 2, Stanley made 1 of 2, before Ashman missed 2 with 5 seconds left and a 2-point lead. But in the key play of the game, Stanley rebounded Ashman’s miss and was fouled with 2.3 seconds remaining. But following the script, Tony converted just the second free throw after badly missing the first, giving the Hawks a last-gasp chance to tie. Brooks Hall stole the inbound pass at midcourt, ending the game. The most important stat of the game was 4: the number of offensive rebounds gathered in by St Joes. The Flyers outrebounded the Hawks 37-24, a significant reversal from poor board work against Duquesne and Virginia Tech.

Stanley led the Flyers in scoring with 19 and added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and just a single turnover, undoubtedly his best game in Philadelphia. Ashman added 14 and David Morris 16. Na’im Crenshaw, Bill Phillips, and Marvin O’Connor each had 13 for St Joes.

With the victory, the Flyers sewed up their first NCAA bid in 10 years barring a complete disaster in other conference tournaments and are probably headed to the dance with a 7 to 9 seed. The win also put Dayton in the semifinals for the first time in their 5-year A10 tenure. They will meet St Bonaventure, who kept their tourney hopes alive with a win in the nightcap.

St Bonaventure 72 Xavier 69

The Bonnies advance to face Dayton in a semifinal after their quarterfinal victory. Dayton won the earlier matchup at the UD Arena as Brooks Hall sank a late three. If Temple beats UMass tomorrow, the Bonnies may have wrapped up an NCAA bid with both Villanova and Notre Dame losing in the Big East quarterfinals.
Leading 35-31 at the half, Xavier opened up a working margin in the second half and Muskie fans began to dream of the run their team needed to return to the NCAAs. But the Bonnies responded with a run of their own to gain a 63-54 lead. After a Maurice McAfee (27pts) trey cut the lead to six, Cyrus banged a dunk off the back rim. Xavier responded by scoring the next six points to cut the lead to 63-62.

But much like the regular season, poor decision making down the stretch doomed Xavier. Lloyd Price rushed a couple of questionable shots and after a Xavier turnover and a Cyrus tip in and dunk, the Bonnies got the lead back to 5. The Bonnies made just enough free throws to have a 3 point lead with 10 seconds remaining. With a chance to tie and nearly 5 seconds left, McAfee elected to take an open 30 foot shot rather than look for a better shot. Needless to say the ball banged off the backboard and front rim and the Bonnies moved on.

The recipe for Dayton getting to the A10 finals is much the same as every other game this year. Mark Ashman and Yuanta Holland will need to defend Caswell Cyrus and Peter Van Passen, both of whom had solid offensive games at the Arena. Edwin Young and David Morris must deny penetration by Tim Winn. Tony Stanley and Brooks Hall must close out on David Messiah-Capers, Patrico Prato, and JR Bremer on the wings to limit three-point attempts. And like a broken record, the Flyers need to control their defensive glass and limit turnovers.