Game of the Night
St. Bonaventure Bonnies 98, St. Joseph’s Hawks 90
In one of the most dominating performances put on in A-10 history, St. Bonaventure’s Marcus Posley exploded for 47 points, the most by any NCAA Division 1 player this entire season, leading the Bonnies to a 98-90 win over St. Joseph’s. Going 15-19 from the field and 6-7 from beyond the arc, Posley was nothing short of spectacular, putting up the A-10’s best scoring game since Xavier’s David West scored 47 in 2003. Dion Wright was St. Bonaventure’s second leading scorer with 22 points of his own as his team led from the 11:15 minute mark in the second half on.
This is a win when the Bonnies needed it the most.
St. Bona (21-7, 13-4 A-10), while previously right on the bubble, is now on the right side of the tourney push. They improve to a combined 4-1 against St. Joe’s, Dayton and George Washington this season, a stat that the Selection Committee will not miss. The Bonnies now have six wins over KenPom top-100 teams this season, which is three more than they had all of last year. It has become clear that Mark Schmidt has something special going on with his guys.
While SBU still has to play Saint Louis to close out the season, fans of the team can take a deep sign of relief. Congrats, Bonnies fans. It looks like your team is going dancing!
Hey @BonniesMBB, get your dancing shoes ready!
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) March 3, 2016
Elsewhere in A-10 Action
VCU Rams 70, Davidson Wildcats 60
For VCU seniors Melvin Johnson and Korey Billbury, their final night at the Siegel Center couldn’t have gone any better. Johnson scored 16 and Billbury added 9 of his own as the Rams took care of business against Davidson while retaking the outright lead in the A-10. VCU never trailed the entire game.
This game is big for the Rams as it inches them closer to an NCAA tournament spot. They sit right on the bubble right now, but if I had to hedge a bet, it looks like they’re in. It’s very difficult to imagine the regular season champs of the A-10 not making the Big Dance and the Rams are in a great position to run away with the title. They do, however, face Dayton this weekend in a showdown between two of the best teams in the conference. With a win, VCU would not only punch their ticket, but could boost themselves to around an 8/9 seed in the tourney. Regardless, this night was one to remember.
This says it all right here. #LetsGoVCU pic.twitter.com/PYi582rz9Z
— VCU Basketball (@VCU_Hoops) March 3, 2016
Fordham Rams 78, Duquesne Dukes 69
Ryan Rhoomes scored 15 points and added 17 rebounds as Fordham took down Duquesne in Pittsburgh. The Rams were hot from three all game, going 13-25 (52.0%) from beyond the arc and took the lead for good with 4:03 remaining in the game. Micah Mason led the Dukes with 19 points and 8 assists. This drops Duquesne to 15-15 on the season with one final chance to finish above .500 when they take on St. Joe’s this weekend.
La Salle Explorers 76, Saint Louis Billikens 68
Led by a stellar shooting performance from Cleon Roberts (23 points on 6-9 from three), La Salle took down SLU, boosting them into a tie for last place in the conference with George Mason. Roberts, along with Jordan Price, played all 40 minutes for the Explorers. La Salle led the entire second half and never let the game get within more than six points. They close out the season at UMass this Saturday.
