Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Opening Round: No. 8 Dayton shot lights out in the second half to beat No. 9 Charlotte 81-63. The Flyers hit nearly 70 percent of their shots in the second half. Brian Roberts led Dayton with 24 points, including 17 in the second half. The Flyers advance to the quarterfinals against No. 1 Xavier, which beat Dayton twice during the regular season.
No. 5 Fordham needed a clutch play by Marcus Stout in the final minute to win against No. 12 Richmond 63-61. By surviving the opening round, Fordham extended its winning streak to five games and earned a spot in the quarterfinals against No. 4 Rhode Island. Sebastian Greene led the Rams with 21 points, but Stout was the hero of the day, hitting a layup with 30 seconds to go and drawing the foul. He then converted the free throw to give the Rams a one-point lead. Richmond missed a couple of opportunities to win the game in the closing seconds.
No. 7 St. Louis played excellent defense in the closing minutes to beat No. 10 Duquesne 78-77. The Billikens got the go-ahead layup from Tommie Liddell with about two minutes to go, and the team’s defense preserved the lead. Duquesne had an opportunity to win the game in the closing seconds, but Kevin Lisch prevented Aaron Jackson from even attempting a shot at the buzzer. St. Louis will play No. 2 Massachusetts in the quarterfinals.
No. 6 Saint Joseph’s won a tight game against No. 11 Temple 66-62 to earn a trip into the quarterfinals, where the Hawks will play No. 3 George Washington. Ahmad Nivins led Saint Joseph’s with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks’ victory gave Saint Joseph’s a 3-for-3 sweep of Temple this season. [3/07/07]
