Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Recaps

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Treveon Graham scored 22 points and No. 23 VCU pulled away for a 74-55 win over George Washington on Saturday to earn a trip to the final of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Briante Weber added 16 points for the second-seeded Rams (26-7), who will face Saint Joseph’s on Sunday at Barclays Center.

Isaiah Armwood scored 15 points to lead third-seeded George Washington (24-8), Nemanja Mikic had 12 and Kevin Larsen chipped in 10.

Larsen was blocked by Mo Alie-Cox, setting up a Graham’s NBA-range 3-pointer at the other end to cap a 7-1 VCU burst that gave the Rams a 60-51 lead with under six minutes to play.

The advantage reached 11 points moments later on Alie-Cox’s tip-in and VCU coasted down the stretch.

George Washington coach Mike Lonergan said — win or lose against VCU — Sunday was still going to be a great day in his life.

The Colonials are expected to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re getting in the tournament unless everybody’s wrong,” said Lonergan. “So I’ll be happy, I’ll be happy for our team and I’ll be happy for our fans.”

The Rams, who have won six straight, played most of the game without Melvin Johnson after the sophomore guard twisted his left leg going to the floor for a loose ball in the first half.

Johnson returned to the bench later with a cast on the leg.

“I thought our guys kept fighting and played with great aggressiveness,” said VCU coach Shaka Smart. “When Mel went down, that was a hit to our team because he’s one of the guys that everyone on the team absolutely adores, including the coaches, and he’s a very, very good player.

“But at that point, you’ve just got to keep playing. I told the guys, ‘Hey, let’s win this game for Mel.'”

Saint Joseph’s beat VCU 69-62 at home on Feb. 8 in the only meeting between the teams during the regular season.

Game Notes

The Rams had a 33-31 lead at halftime … VCU shot 46.4 percent for the game and out-rebounded the Colonials 37-28 … George Washington shot 41.7 percent … The Colonials had a four-game winning streak snapped … VCU beat Richmond 71-53 in the quarterfinals and George Washington topped Massachusetts 85-77.

Final Score: Saint Joseph’s 67, St. Bonaventure 48

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Halil Kanacevic racked up 26 points and 17 rebounds and Saint Joseph’s pulled away in the second half on Saturday to beat St. Bonaventure 67-48 and earn a trip to the Atlantic 10 Tournament final.

Kanacevic scored 16 of his points in the first half to counter a slow start by the Hawks (23-9), who outscored the Bonnies 38-19 after the break to set up a meeting with VCU in Sunday’s final.

Langston Galloway added 18 points and Ronald Roberts Jr. scored 12 for the fourth-seeded Hawks, who advanced to the A-10 final for the first time since 2008, when they lost to Temple.

They still earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament that year — their only trip since the 2003-04 team that went unbeaten in the regular season and made a run to the Elite Eight.

The wins over Dayton and St. Bonaventure should earn them a berth this year no matter what happens on Sunday. They beat VCU 69-62 at home on Feb. 8 in the only meeting between the teams during the regular season.

Charlon Kloof scored 10 points to lead the ninth-seeded Bonnies (18-15) and Jordan Gathers — who hit the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to topple top-seeded Saint Louis on Friday — added nine.

Saint Joe’s beat Dayton in Friday’s quarterfinals after Galloway hit a three down for the lead. The Hawks seem to be back on track after a two-game losing streak at the end of the regular season put the stops on an 8-1 stretch that earned them votes in the Associated Press poll.

The Hawks haven’t won the A-10 tournament since 1997, when they made a run to the Sweet 16.

The Bonnies were chasing another tournament title after winning their first in 2012 as a No. 4 seed. They held the Hawks scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes in the first half between 3-pointers by Kanacevic and Chris Wilson and built a 19-10 lead.

But Saint Joe’s, behind an 11-2 run, came back to tie the score at 29-29 going into the break and scored seven straight points during an early stretch in the second half to take the lead for good.

The Bonnies had just four points in the first nine-plus minutes of the half as the Hawks built a 13-point lead.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball