Atlantic 10 Round Up

Day one of the Atlantic 10's conference season was a good one. So good, in fact, that they didn't even let the start of league play stop them from knocking off another ACC school. Charlotte went into Clemson and whipped the Tigers 82-72 to even their record against the conference to 2-2 on the season. While that's a good thing for the A-10 and the Niners, it's a bad thing for those of us who wrote that Charlotte's inconsistency has made them a little disappointing this season. At least we saved ourselves by pointing out Leemire Goldwire's skills. He had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the upset.

On the league front, there was a dandy of an opener in Dayton where the #22 Flyers played host to #20 Rhode Island in a thriller. The Rams cut a 13-point Dayton lead to four with 90 seconds to play but Marcus Johnson nailed a three on the next trip downcourt and the home team escaped 92-83. Brian Roberts was also huge down the stretch for Dayton. Despite the full attention of the Ram defense that forced him into seven turnovers, Roberts scored nine points in the final two and a half minutes to keep his team in front.

That defense was a key for Rhode Island all night. They forced 18 turnovers overall but it came with a downside.

Will Daniels picked up his fourth foul with just under six to play. That forced him to the bench in the midst of a dominant second half when Daniels picked up 15 of his 25 points. Jimmy Baron added 26 to keep the pressure on but if Daniels was in the game the result may have been quite different.

Dayton didn't take advantage of their 28 trips to the line, making just 19 free throws. That's been a problem all season for the Flyers and kept the game close in spite of their 62% shooting from the floor and 11 three pointers. If they can't take advantage of those chances, they'll lose one of these tight games and hurt their chances at the conference crown.

St. Joseph's 98, UMass 92 - I may have gotten a bit of comeuppance from Charlotte but the Hawks made me look quite prescient indeed. My dark horse got monster games from Ahmed Nivins and Pat Calathes to pull off a statement road win in their first conference outing. Nivins had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Calathes scored 21 and grabbed 15 caroms and the Hawks held on after blowing most of a 17-point edge.

Xavier 83, St. Bonaventure 68 - The Musketeers are lucky they saved an uneven outing for a game against one of the lower-tier teams in the A-10. Their offense seemed out of sync all night, only two players scored in double figures and Sean Miller lambasted them after the game for their lack of focus. Still, B.J. Raymond hit five threes and C.J. Anderson joined him with 21 points to give Xavier enough to get by on Wednesday.

Duquesne 74, Fordham 62 - The Dukes overcame the long arm of Bryant Dunston to open league play with a victory. Dunston blocked eight shots but Shawn James still found enough interior space to score 14 while Reggie Jackson hit three threes to take care of perimeter scoring.