Massachusetts Daily Collegian

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A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Bonnies capture A-10 title, clinch NCAA tournament bid

Jeff Bernstein/Collegian

For the first time in 12 years, St. Bonaventure is going dancing.

Behind a monster game from conference player of the year Andrew Nicholson, who posted a near triple-double with 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks, the fourth-seeded Bonnies beat third-seeded Xavier, 67-56, to win their first-ever Atlantic 10 tournament championship.

It’s the first time SBU will earn a trip to the big dance since 2000 and only the sixth time in program history. It will enter in as the No. 14 seed and face off against Florida State, which recently defeated North Carolina and Duke.

The Musketeers, who entered this weekend’s tournament on the NCAA tournament bubble, made the tournament and will face Notre Dame in the opening round.

The Bonnies opened up a sizable advantage early in the first half behind some hot 3-point shooting. SBU made five of its first six 3-pointers and commanded a 37-24 edge going into the halftime break.

But Xavier didn’t fold. After the Bonnies scored the first four points of the second half, the Musketeers went on an 11-0 run to cut a once 17-point deficit to six with 13 minutes, six seconds remaining in the game.

SBU responded well, however. Xavier cut it to five with 8:02 remaining, but that’s as close as it would get. Nicholson took over and hit all of his free throws (10-for-10 for the game) down the stretch to preserve the victory.

Guard Tu Holloway led the Musketeers with 17 points, but went 5-for-13 shooting from the field. As a team, Xavier shot 33.9 percent from the field and made two of its 13 attempts from downtown.

Billikens bounced

After top-seeded Temple was upset in the quarterfinals by Massachusetts on Friday, some thought second-seeded Saint Louis would be the favorite to claim the championship.

But that would prove to be wishful thinking, as the Billikens fell in the semifinals, 71-64, to Xavier on Saturday afternoon.

The Musketeers took a 29-23 lead into halftime and never looked back. SLU made it a one-point deficit after a Dwayne Evans tip-shot with 7:33 to go, but couldn’t climb over the hump, as the Musketeers held off the Billikens in the closing minutes, making key defensive stops and making free throws to advance to Sunday’s championship game.

Holloway led all scorers with 21 points, while Dezmine Wells added 18 and Mark Lyons put in 14 for Xavier.

Brian Conklin scored a team-high 14 points for SLU, which, despite the loss, still managed to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament and will play Memphis.

Philly failures

With three teams advancing, Philadelphia was easily the most represented city at the A-10 tournament in Atlantic City, N.J., this weekend.

But that didn’t last long, as each of those teams – Temple, Saint Joseph’s and La Salle – were all eliminated in the first day of action on Friday.

The Owls were knocked off by UMass in the first game of the day, which started the domino effect of Philadelphia schools sent home packing.

In the second game of the day, the fifth-seeded Hawks were beaten by the Bonnies, 71-68, in a game where the lead changed 24 times and neither team led by more than six.

Halil Kanacevic tied the game at 68 on a layup with 2:09 remaining, but fouled Andrew Nicholson on the Bonnies’ ensuing possession. He made one of two shots from the line to give SBU a one-point lead.

With 24 seconds left, Langston Galloway was whistled for a charge that ended SJU’s hopes at reaching the NCAA tournament. The Hawks were considered a bubble team heading into this weekend, but were ultimately selected to play in the NIT against the University of Northern Iowa.

That left the seventh-seeded Explorers as the only remaining team from Philadelphia, but they couldn’t reverse the city’s misfortunes. The Billikens bounced La Salle from the tournament with a 78-71 victory.

Jerell Wright’s dunk with 4:39 to go brought the deficit to one for the Explorers, but they wouldn’t get any closer, as SLU held on.

Temple, which entered the weekend already considered a lock for the NCAA tournament, made it to the Big Dance as a No. 5seed and will face a No. 12 seed, which will be the winner of California and South Florida.

Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Hewitt.

 

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