Atlantic 10 First Round Recap

(W4) Xavier 90, (E5) St. Bonaventure 64
It was a career game for Xavier forward Anthony Myles as he scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down seven boards to help Xavier dominate the Bonnies in the first round action of the A-10 Tournament. Myles and fellow forward Justin Doellman scored the Musketeers first 13 points as Xavier jumped out to a 13-5 lead and never looked back.

“Our effort today was very good,” Xavier head coach Thad Motta said. “Getting off to a good start was extremely important for us today.”

Guard Lionel Chalmers added 14 points and five assists for Xavier.

Patrick Lottin led St. Bonaventure with 20 points. Senior guard Marques Green played his final college game and finished with 10 points, eight assists and six steals. Green was greeted with a standing ovation when he was taken out with just under a minute to play.

(E3) Rhode Island 55, (W6) LaSalle 42
Rhode Island controlled the tempo throughout the game as they took out LaSalle in one of the ugliest games in Atlantic 10 Tournament history. A record low of 29 field goals were made in the game and LaSalle hit just 12 shots, one off the record low set by Massachusetts.

The Explorers were held without a field goal for the last six minutes of the first half and the first three minutes of the second as the Rams were able to take control and grab a double digit lead they never relinquished.

Brian Woodward led the Rams with 11 points and eight boards, while David Bell had 15 points, including 11 from the charity stripe, to lead LaSalle.

(W5) Duquesne 79, (E4) UMass 76

In what was clearly the game of the night in the opening round game of the Atlantic-10 conference, the Dukes would hold a four point lead heading into the break. Duquesne was paced by Jimmy Tricco who had a trio of threes and 11 points before heading to the locker room. In the second, UMass cut the lead and eventually took it with less than 10 minutes left. The Dukes fought through it on the back of Jack Higgins who knocked down four three-pointers to finish with 14 points and the victory.

(W3) Richmond 67, (E6) Fordham 47

With many of the fans leaving from a tiring day of basketball, the nightcap was indeed what they would need after this one. Fordham kept it close in part because of Richmond turning the ball over 14 times within the game. After a first half with both teams combining for 53 points and Richmond finishing with a five point lead, the Spiders began to space themselves from the Rams. Reggie Brown hit four three-pointers for a game-high 15 points. Helping the Spiders was their good night at the free-throw line, going 12-14 for just under 86 percent.