Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament: It wasn’t a good day to be one of the top seeds at the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
No. 9 Temple started the day by bursting someone’s bubble, as the Owls scored 18 unanswered points including the last 13 of the first half and never trailed again en route to a 68-53 quarterfinal win over No. 1 George Washington. A 9-2 run by the Colonials (26-2) followed to get them within six, but they would get no closer the rest of the way as they shot 32 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers, which Temple (17-13) turned into 25 points. Antywane Robinson led Temple with 19 points.
The Owls will play a city rival, No. 5 Saint Joseph’s, as the Hawks ran away with a 56-37 win over No. 4 Saint Louis. Saint Joseph’s (17-12) got 17 points and a career-high nine rebounds from Chet Stachitas and held the Billkens (16-13) to 31 percent shooting. Ian Vouyoukas led Saint Louis with 15 points and ten rebounds.
The night session began exactly the way the afternoon session went – with the lower seed winning. No. 10 Xavier ended the game on a 9-1 run, including four free throws in the final 63 seconds for a 59-55 victory over No. 2 Charlotte. The game featured eight ties and 13 lead changes, with Xavier (19-10) holding Charlotte to 31 percent shooting. Justin Doellman led three Musketeers in double figures with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Leemire Goldwire had 19 points to lead Charlotte (18-12).
The Musketeers will take on No. 6 Fordham in the semifinals, as the Rams completed the day of upsets by hanging on for a 64-62 win over No. 3 La Salle. Fordham looked to have the game in hand when they led 59-47 with a little over seven minutes left, but the Explorers (18-10) stormed back with a 13-2 run. The Rams (16-15) then made just enough free throws, and two Explorer attempts in the final seconds missed. Bryant Dunston led Fordham with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Darnell Harris had 17 to lead La Salle. [3/09/06]
