Game of the Night
Saint Louis Billikens 65, George Washington 62
In the surprise of the night, Saint Louis knocked off highly regarded George Washington at home by a score of 65 to 62. The Colonials, who entered the contest at 12-2 and 1-0 in the A10, led nearly the entire game, but where stunned in the final minute. A go-ahead three from the Billikens’ Mike Crawford gave Saint Louis the lead with just 24 seconds remaining and GW’s Patricio Garino turned the ball over on the next possession, allowing Crawford to sink the game-clinching free throws following a Colonials foul.
In terms of the big picture, this is a bad loss for George Washington. The Colonials entered as one of the consensus best teams in the conference (number one in our Power Rankings earlier this week), and many believe they have what it takes to be an NCAA tournament team. This loss damages their resume, and on the other hand, doesn’t do much good for Saint Louis (6-8 on the season). While four players did score in double-figures, George Washington let this one slip away. They get their chance to recover when they take on Duquesne this Saturday.
Elsewhere in A10 action
Davidson Wildcats 77, Duquesne Dukes 66
Davidson put together a solid performance to notch their first win of the A10 season. Peyton Aldridge and Jack Gibbs both played all 40 minutes for the Wildcats and finished with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Gibbs also added a career-high 10 assists. The emergence of Aldridge as a primary scoring option is beginning to become an important asset in assistance to Gibbs, the A10’s leading scorer. As for the Dukes, despite an 18 point, 6 rebound performance from L.G. Gill, they drop this one and fall to 10-5 and 0-2 in the A10. Their hopes at competing for a conference title are already slipping away.
Dayton Flyers 93, UMass Minutemen 63
This game was dominated from start to finish by the Flyers. Charles Cooke had another solid game with 18 points, but it was Steve McElvene that really stepped up for Dayton. The 6-11 freshman finished with 13 points and 6 boards, owning the game for various stretches of time. There are few players in the conference that can match his size and athleticism. With George Washington’s loss, Dayton now looks alone atop this conference.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies 77, George Mason Patriots 58
We came in looking to see if the Bonnies’ Jaylen Brown could continue his dominance after a 30 point performance last week. Instead, we got another St. Bonaventure player doing the same thing. Marcus Posley dropped 30 of his own against the Patriots, marking a season-high for the senior. The Bonnies improve to 10-3 and 2-0 in the conference, and now sit just behind Dayton for the lead in the A10. They will try to keep it up against UMass this Saturday.
Fordham Rams 66, La Salle Explorers 61
This game was simply the Ryan Rhoomes show. The senior scored 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the Rams over La Salle in New York. It was a close game throughout, but then in the late second half Fordham went on a run where Rhoomes scored 10 of the team’s 11 points. The Rams then took the lead off of a free throw by Antwoine Anderson with 34 seconds remaining and held on for the win. Fordham gets their first win of the A10 season.
