Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Opening Round: No. 8 Dayton’s NCAA Tournament hopes remained alive after the Flyers survived No. 9 Saint Louis’ upset bid. Dayton needed overtime to deliver a 63-62 win in which its leading scorer, senior guard Brian Roberts, was held to five points. Sophomore guard Marcus Johnson led the Flyers with 16 points. Dayton will play No. 1 Xavier in the quarterfinals.
No. 5 Saint Joseph’s cruised to an 80-62 victory against No. 12 Fordham to move into the quarterfinals against No. 4 Richmond. Senior forward Pat Calathes led the Hawks with 23 points and seven rebounds to keep Saint Joseph’s in play for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
No. 7 La Salle setup a Big Five quarterfinal battle with No. 2 Temple after beating No. 10 Duquesne 82-79. The Explorers trailed much of the game but got a late 9-2 run to take the lead in the final minutes. Sophomore guard Rodney Green led La Salle with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
No. 6 Charlotte escaped with a 75-73 win against No. 11 Rhode Island thanks to a controversial foul call with less than a second remaining. Tied 73-73, the officials called a foul on the Rams’ Keith Cothran, and sophomore guard Michael Gerrity hit two free throws to give the 49ers the win. Senior guard Leemire Goldwire led Charlotte with 23 points. The 49ers move on to play No. 3 Massachusetts in the quarterfinals. [3/12/08]
