Saturday’s game in the Atlantic 10 had a little bit of everything. A few “chalk” games, and a few upsets. The standings are now beginning to take shape, with quite a few surprises, not the least of which is Richmond, at 5-0, who now sits alone in first place.
Dayton Holds Off Duquesne
After leading by 13 points at the half, Duquesne came out firing in the second half drawing to within six points with 16:30 left. But after that 10-2 run, Dayton was able to keep the Dukes at arm’s length for the remainder of the game, ultimately pulling away late for a 76-67 win. The Flyers drained eight threes and made an astounding 18 free throws.
Charles Cooke lead the Flyers with 19 points with four assists, while freshman Xeyrius Williams had 18 points. Dayton has a difficult game ahead of them on Thursday as they’ll host 5-0 Richmond before hosting Saint Louis on Sunday. Duquesne has some challenging games this week as well, playing at George Washington on Wednesday and hosting Rhode Island on Saturday.
Richmond Remains Unbeaten
The story so far of conference play has been the Spiders. Thanks to the win over Saint Joseph’s and VCU’s loss to Davidson, Richmond now sits alone atop the conference standings. It was a hard fought, if sloppy game throughout, as a combined 36 turnovers were committed. Despite the fact the Hawks out-rebounded Richmond 41-34, the Spiders actually led throughout the entire game, and by as many as 18 points. Saint Joseph’s made a late rally, but fell just short, as the Spiders held on to win 70-66.
ShawnDre’ Jones lead all scorers with 21 points, while T.J. Cline was so to a triple-double, with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Richmond will have a tough week ahead of them as they’ll travel to play at Dayton on Thursday, before hosting George Mason on Sunday. Saint Joseph’s will play just one A-10 game this week, as they’ll play at UMass on Wednesday before hosting Big 5 foe Penn on Saturday.
Davidson Upsets VCU
Behind 30 points from Jack Gibbs, Davidson snapped VCU’s eight game win streak, defeating the Rams 69-63. It was a back and forth game full of runs throughout, but the Wildcats lead for the majority. VCU briefly took a 51-50 lead with 6:38 remaining, before being outscored 18-13 in the remaining time. Peyton Aldridge added 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, while Ahmed Hamdy lead the Rams with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Davidson will have just one game this week, as they’ll travel to play at La Salle on Thursday. VCU will look to get back on the horse Wednesday as they’ll play at Fordham, before hosting La Salle on Sunday.
Saint Louis Gets First Win
The Bilikens closed the game on an 11-2 run, as they held on to win their first conference game this season, defeating George Mason 63-56. Saint Louis flew out of the gates, leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, and took a 13 point lead into halftime. But the Patriots responded with a 24-11 run over the course of the first 10 minutes of the second half. Aaron Hines drained a three for Saint Louis with 2:35 remaining, to give the Bilikens a 57-54 lead: a lead they would not again surrender.
Jalen Johnson lead Saint Louis with 17 points along with 10 rebounds. The Bilikens have a tough week ahead of them, as they’ll host Saint Bonaventure on Tuesday before playing at Dayton on Sunday.
Bonnies Handle Fordham
After leading by just six points at halftime, Saint Bonaventure pulled away in the second half, to coast to a 73-53 win over Fordham. The Bonnies shot 53% from the field, and went 5/10 from three, while hitting 26 of 29 free throws; an absolute coach’s dream from a statistical standpoint. Despite being without leading scorers Jaylen Adams from the second consecutive game, the Bonnies offense showed no sign of decay. Matt Mobley lead Saint Bonaventure with 25 points, while Denzel Gregg added 21.
The Bonnies will play just one game this week, as they’ll host Saint Louis on Tuesday. Fordham, on the other hand has a brutal week, as they’ll face VCU on Wednesday before playing at UMass on Saturday.
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