Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarterfinal Notes
by Ray Floriani
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Day two of the Atlantic 10 Tournament gave us the quarterfinals and a new locale for this event.
The first news of the day was provided on the boardwalk heading into the arena, Anthony Solomon was released by St. Bonaventure. It was not a surprise, but as A-10 officiating coordinator and former Bonnie coach Jim Satalin said, “Anthony is a great guy, but he just came into an extremely difficult situation.”
Quarterfinal scores:
Xavier 72, Dayton 51
Rhode Island 73, Fordham 69
St.Louis 74, UMass 71 (OT)
George Washington 58, Saint Joseph’s 48
The opening game saw Xavier fall behind by seven points early. The top seeded Musketeers never panicked, but instead regrouped and went on to a double-digit win.
“We have a group of seniors that just played in their sixteenth post season game,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said.
Xavier’s experience and balance was too much. Dayton, a young club, battled but received significant contributions only from junior guard Brian Roberts (22 points) and sophomore forward Charles Little (11 points, four rebounds). Junior floor leader Drew Lavender, a rock solid point guard for Xavier had another vintage line: 13 points, nine assists, one turnover for 33 minutes.
The “Battle of Rams” gave us a thriller. Adversity was the theme. Rhode Island entered the contest with a three-game losing streak, including a home loss to quarterfinal opposition Fordham. The Rams of the Bronx, Fordham, fell behind by double digits. Fordham regrouped and took a 6-point lead.
In the stretch, juniors Bryant Dunston and Marcus Stout fouled out. In waning moments, freshman Brenton Butler committed a turnover with 2 seconds left and Fordham down two. “He (Butler) shouldn’t have been put in that position,” coach Dereck Whiitenburg said. “We had two veterans fouled out and we finished with mostly freshmen.”
To his credit the sharp-shooting Butler buried six threes, had a game-high 22 points and was a major reason Fordham had a shot in the stretch.
For a minute, forget the Xs and Os. “No excuses,” UMass coach Travis Ford said following their overtime loss. “Saint Louis just out-played us in every phase.”
UMass jumped out early and had an eight-point lead at the half. In the all-important first four minutes of the second half, St. Louis went on a run to get right back in the game. The second-seeded Minutemen simply allowed St. Louis to stay around too long. As the game wore on, the Billikens’ conference increased. A-10 Player of the Year Stephane Lasne struggled against a double team and had only eight points for UMass. Point guard Tommie Liddell of St. Louis led all scorers with 24 points. Seven-foot junior Bryce Husak, an improving player as of late, came off the bench and aided the Billikens with a 10-point, 6-rebound effort.
George Washington got out to a fast double-digit lead and basically stayed in control. Saint Joseph’s challenged but never took the lead. The Hawks suffered through a 24 percent shooting night and committed 21 turnovers. The backcourt of Carl Elliott (15) and Maureece Rice (16) backcourt combined for 31 of the Colonial points.
Notes
- There are fans of St. Louis who maintain skepticism of the school’s Atlantic 10 affiliation. Coach Brad Soderberg does not share their opinion. In fact he’s one of the A-10’s biggest backers.
“We are in the heart of Missouri Valley Conference country and took a long look at that conference when we decided to move,” Soderberg said. “We looked at the most recent ten-year period and saw the Atlantic 10 had 32 at-large (NCAA) bids while the Missouri Valley had 16. In the short run, the Missouri Valley has been outstanding as of late. But I think we have every bit as good a league. All our coaches and ADs should aim to make the Atlantic 10 the best non-BCS conference in the nation.”
Soderberg also called his point guard Tommie Liddell “the most talented guard I’ve coached in 23 years of coaching.” Soderberg’s stint included several years in the Big Ten on Dick Bennett’s Wisconsin staff. - Good to see Danny Nee at the tournament. The former Duquesne coach still makes his home in Pittsburgh and is a scout for the Utah Jazz. “(Scouting) has been great,” Nee said. “I’m getting to see the game from another perspective.”
- A tough quarterfinal loss still kept Whittenburg hopeful of an NIT bid. Fordham is 18-12. “I think it (NIT) would be great, “Whittenburg said. “We played in the Pre-Season NIT and played a great schedule. We faced Tennessee, Texas A&M and Maryland out of conference. You never know the selection process, but I think we merit consideration.”
- Jim Baron was extremely pleased with the defense of Parfait Bitee. The 6’2″ Rhode Island junior guard did a great job of making Marcus Stout work for everything. Stout scored 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting. “Parfait just played great defense,” Baron said. “In my opinion (Parfait) is the best defensive guard in the league. He just did a great job on Marcus Stout all afternoon.”
- Lasme of UMass, as noted, was voted Player of the Year. Will Daniels, Rhode Island’s 6’8″ junior forward, was impressive as any player here. Daniels led the Rams with 21 points, six boards and a number of crucial plays down the stretch.
- The venue here in Atlantic City is excellent. The Boardwalk Hall AKA Convention Hall seats around 8 or 9,000. It’s located right on the Boardwalk next to Trump Hotel and Casino and walking distance from a number of other similar establishments. You can park underneath the facility for $10 all day.
- Walking through the lobby and into the Hall with a huge stage on one end, you are reminded of the old Atlantic City – the one decades ago when this was the resort and Miss America Pageant was held annually. The current AC is present in the spruced up halls, concession stands that offer barbecued ribs and Heineken and a well-lit facility with a portable floor. The sight lines are great for fans and after the game you have plenty of options available. The A-10 Tournament will return here next year, and I wouldn’t mind if it stayed here even longer.
- As indulgent as this area can allow you to get, the media room had another ‘sinful’ amenity: a make your own ice cream sundae bar.
Courtside
Our press row assignments were just one row behind one of the team benches. It gave a very interesting perspective on how one of the coaching staffs, each game, handled situations as they arose.
- Xavier’s Sean Miller never drew a play. Miller was always in a teaching mode, especially with players out for a rest or getting ready to get in. He spoke briefly with officials and was concerned more on his team’s execution.
- Jim Baron was a little more intense and utilizing the clipboard every time out. It was interesting to see him during a time out diagram the play for the winning shot, a baseline curl and perimeter screen that freed son Jimmy Baron for a move to the basket.
- Travis Ford was also intense. Not a big diagram man (on the bench), Ford continuously emphasized his team’s shot selection and defense. The latter ultimately did his team in.
- Saint Joseph’s Phil Martelli paced with arms folded and was more in an observing mode as his team fell behind early. As the Hawks got back and the game progressed, the St. Joe’s mentor, who did use the clip board during timeouts, was more intense on the sidelines.
The courtside seating put the fans just behind us. For the noon Xavier-Dayton game, we were treated to a group of the “Xavier Nation” as it said on the T-shirts. Two young ladies, senior Mandy Cashman and sophomore Monica Baytos, were relentless in their cheering and getting on Dayton. They constantly asked if the decibel levels were rendering us deaf, but we actually found them quite imaginative, especially the late-game cheer “Wright State’s dancing”. That was a reference to Dayton’s neighbor, who won the Horizon League and is headed to the Big Dance.
In the excitement of a late game trey, a Rhody student accidentally spilled beer (a little, thankfully) on yours truly and colleague George Rodecker. They quickly apologized and brought napkins. Then one lamented that a refill of the imported brew would set him back another seven dollars. Have to love the enthusiasm.
On the Baseline
- Hotel accommodations were an issue for several cheer squads and bands. Fordham cheer coach Jen McCarthy said the school’s administration forbade them from staying at any gaming (casino) hotel.
- The St. Louis cheer squad, with students mostly from the Midwest, just found the sights and sounds of the area interesting. “A number of us never went to a boardwalk,” said junior Allie McLaughlin of Moline, Illinois. “Just walking on the boardwalk, visiting a few shops and seeing everything is great.”
- Special mention goes to the Rhode Island cheerleaders who, without complaint, went outside on a brisk afternoon to pose for a squad picture on the boardwalk. Oh well, winning does give you a warm feeling.
