Two evening games in round two of the A10 Tournament. An offensive explosion and a second half implosion.
UMass 99 George Washington 88
Possessions: 78
Offensive efficiency: UMass 127, George Washington 113
Minutemen continue to play inspired ball since the announcement that coach Matt McCall will not be returning. Limiting turnovers (11% TO rate) while hitting an eFG percentage of 61% was the winning formula. UMass was 41%. from beyond the arc. Five Minutemen were in double figures with Noah Fernandes leading the way with 29 points, 7 assists, 7 steals and a world of hustle. In a ‘NASCAR’ tempo game, George Washington also placed five in double digits with Joe Basimile leading the way with 25 points. Colonials could not find the answer defensively as this game was not as close as the final score indicates.
Richmond 64 Rhode Island 59
Possessions: 71
Offensive efficiency: Richmond 90, Rhode Island 83
Richmond trailed by 14 at intermission. Spiders turned it around the final twenty minutes to end Rhode Island’s enigmatic 15-16 campaign. Chris Mooney’s Spiders showed an impressive 14% turnover rate while forcing the Rams into a 25% TO percentage. Once again poor free throw shooting reared its ugly head as Rhode Island shot 7 of 15 (47%) from the charity stripe. Malik Martin of Rhode Island led the way with a game-high 20 points and 9 rebounds. Grant Golden scored 19 for Richmond while Tyler Burton added 12 and a game high 11 rebounds.
UMass faces Dayton in the quarterfinals while Richmond takes on city rival VCU.
