Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Recaps

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Youssou Ndoye led a balanced St. Bonaventure attack with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Bonnies clipped La Salle, 82-72, to reach the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Marquise Simmons hit 7-of-8 from the field for 15 points and Charlon Kloof had 14 points with six assists for the Bonnies (17-14), who got at least seven points from all seven players that took the floor.

Jerrell Wright netted a game-high 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds for La Salle (15-16), which advanced to the Sweet 16 last season before losing to eventual West Region champion Wichita State. Tyreek Duren donated 15 points with Steve Zack contributing 11 points and 11 boards.

Ndoye and Simmons combined to lead St. Bonaventure to a 10-3 lead early on. The Bonnies led throughout the half and took a 42-34 advantage into the locker room.

La Salle trailed 53-46 when a pair of Duren layups highlighted a 6-0 surge to get back within one near the midpoint of the second half. Jordan Gathers then hit two free throws as the Bonnies responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own.

Kloof’s jam with just under two minutes to play made it 76-69, and St. Bonaventure got enough stops down the stretch to hang on.

St. Bonaventure will take on top-seeded Saint Louis in the quarterfinals.

Final Score: Dayton 87, Fordham 74

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Vee Sanford scored 23 points on perfect shooting off the bench as Dayton rolled past Fordham, 87-74, to reach the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Sanford hit 9-of-9 from the floor, all three of his 3-point attempts and 2- of-2 from the stripe in a reserve role for Dayton (23-9), which will take on fourth-seeded Saint Joseph’s on Friday in the quarters.

Devin Oliver had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Jordan Sibert scored 14 for the Flyers, winners in nine of 10.

Branden Frazier netted 30 points for Fordham (10-21), which edged George Mason, 70-67, in Wednesday’s play-in game to reach this point. Bryan Smith and Jon Severe contributed 15 points apiece.

Dayton led 50-31 after a dominant first half but tripped up early in the second, allowing the Rams to pull within five points on multiple occasions midway through the stanza.

Devon Scott’s jumper with 5 1/2 minutes to go restored a double-digit margin, and Dayton cruised the rest of the way.

Final Score: Richmond 76, Duquesne 64

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Terry Allen finished with 27 points and Kendall Anthony added 23 as the Richmond Spiders topped the Duquesne Dukes 76-64 in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at the Barclays Center.

Alonzo Nelson-Ododa tacked on 13 points for seventh-seed Richmond (19-13), which will battle second-seed VCU in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Ovie Soko posted 23 points and 13 rebounds for 10th-seed Duquesne (13-17). Dominique McKoy and L.G. Gill each chipped in 10 points.

At the end of the first half the Spiders led 32-26. They connected on only 38.5 percent from the floor in the period, but limited the Dukes to 37.9 percent shooting, while netting 5-of-12 from 3-point range and 7-of-7 at the free-throw line.

Richmond improved to 53.6 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes to pull away for the win. Duquesne also hit a better percentage from the floor (.457), but it wasn’t enough.

The Spiders enjoyed a 40-34 advantage on the glass. They also made more free- throws (18) than the Dukes attempted (eight).

Final Score: Massachusetts 65, Rhode Island 61

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Maxie Esho came off the bench to tally 15 points and grab seven rebounds as the Massachusetts Minutemen held on to defeat the Rhode Island Rams, 65-61, during the second round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament at Barclays Center.

Also scoring in double figures for sixth-seeded UMass (24-7) were Chaz Williams and Derrick Gordon with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Sampson Carter responded with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.

With the win, UMass now advances to the quarterfinals on Friday where it will contend against third-seeded George Washington in the late game.

Xavier Munford paced 11th-seeded URI (14-18) with a game-high 24 points, while Gilvydas Biruta and E.C. Matthews each dropped in 10 points in the setback.

UMass came out flat to start the game, shooting a dismal 27.6 percent from the field, including 1-of-7 behind the 3-point line. Over on the other side, the Rams made good on an impressive 60.9 percent from the floor in order to claim a 37-29 advantage at the break.

In the second half the Minutemen continued to have their issues from the field (.360), but at the same time brought URI down to 33.3 percent from the floor as well. In addition, the Rams made just one of seven tries on the perimeter and a woeful 5-of-14 at the free-throw line. UMass connected on 16-of-21 at the charity stripe to complete the comeback bid.

In addition to being outscored 28-11 at the free-throw line, the Rams also hurt themselves with 17 turnovers.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball