newjerseynewsroom.com

BY KYLE FRANKO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT

ATLANTIC CITY — If you haven't seen Richmond play yet, this would be a good time to start watching. You know, before you fill out your March brackets.

Sure, the Spiders' 77-72 victory over a sub-.500 Massachusetts team in the final game of the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals at Boardwalk Hall doesn't scream pick us but Richmond led from the opening tip and you never got the feeling it could actually lose the game.

"They made a ton of shots," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. "That caused us to extend our defense and I don't think we were lulled to sleep, but they got more aggressive as the game went on with nothing to lose."

Maybe Mooney's squad got a little bit complacent with a lead as large as 17 and give credit to UMass for making a game of it but the Spiders have the type of team that can do damage in a weeks time.

They're experienced (seven upperclassmen), tested out of conference (wins over Florida, Mississippi State, Missouri and Old Dominion) and two prolific scorers in Kevin Anderson (17.8 ppg) and David Gonzalves (14.3 ppg).

Anderson is the league's Rookie of the Year. Gonzalves is the steady senior who's been through some tough times.

"It's really rewarding because we had seven freshmen and one senior captain my first year," said Gonzalvez who finished with a team-high 15 points. "An 8-22 season is tough. We had guys quit; one guy just left and played tennis instead. I almost left, but I decided to stick it out and it has all worked out."

Anderson had 13 for the Spiders (25-7, 13-3), who advance to Saturday's semifinal against Xavier.

Ricky Harris, who was one of the conference's most prolific scorers during his career, finished with 19 points for the Minutemen (12-20, 5-11), who were the only team with a losing record to reach the quarterfinal round.

Freshman Anthony Gurley led UMass with 24 points.

Day to Remember

• Rhode Island: The Rams had no choice but to beat St. Louis in a bubble elimination game. They did so with conviction in a 63-47 victory. Now head coach Jim Baron is hoping the NCAA selection committee took notice. URI was projected as one of the last four in or first four out in almost all mock brackets. This win moves the Rams closer to the field, but one more against Temple Saturday, a team they are 0-2 against, would sure look nice.
• Lavoy Allen: Temple's power forward is a double-double machine. It was just another ho-hum day for Allen against St. Bonaventure with his 14 points and 15 rebounds. His head coach Fran Dunphy said he's only getting better. Allen will get his chance to showcase his skills in the NCAA tournament, but he's good enough to bang in any league.
• Terrell Holloway/Jordan Crawford: The Xavier backcourt bailed it out of a 15-point second half deficit. They combined for 42 points (Holloway had 22 and Crawford 20) and took over down the stretch with their ability to get to the basket. Holloway was pesky enough to provoke Dayton's Rob Lowery (see below) into a technical foul with less than a minute to play and then knock down all six of his free throws with the game on the line. Holloway and Crawford are key to any run the Musketeers make in the NCAA Tournament.

Day to Forget

• Rob Lowery: The Dayton forward must be the sickest man in America right now. His technical foul for taking a swing at Xavier's Terrell Holloway with his team down four took his team out of the game.
• Rick Majerus: The St. Louis head coach looked and sounded like he was about to fall over after the Billikens' 63-47 loss to Rhode Island. His team was outplayed and Majerus didn't hide that in his post game press conference. He then refused to comment on his future and ripped the conference tournament system. But from the way he looked, Majerus' days on the sideline may be numbered.
• Busted Lips: Not only did Dayton lose to Xavier, two of its players left the game with bloody lips. In the first half, London Warren checked out with two minutes remaining to spit some blood into the waste receptacle. Paul Williams followed suit in the second half. But the busted lips were fitting for a game that was physical from the opening tip.

Game of the Day

Xavier 78, Dayton 73: This was an easy one. There's nothing like a little Buckeye State bad blood after dinner. This one was fast-paced and physical. The Flyers built a 15-point second half lead but couldn't hold it. They self-destructed in the final seven and a half minutes with poor decision making and missed shots. Xavier's tournament tough and tournament tested. It showed. Don't be surprised if the Musketeers are in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.

Honorable mention to Massachusetts for not packing it in after falling behind Richmond by double digits in the second half. The Minutemen came back and got as close as four with less than a minute to play before falling 77-72.

RELATED:

Dayton punched way out of Atlantic 10, NCAA Tournaments

Rhode Island routs St. Louis, 63-47, to keep NCAA hopes alive

Confident Temple rolls over St. Bonaventure at Atlantic-10 Tournament, 69-51