January 31, 2009 by John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops

PHILADELPHIA – Semaj Inge scored 19 points for Temple as the Owls defeated the visiting Richmond Spiders 74-65 in an unusual contest on Saturday Night.

The game was a tale of two halves for the Owls (12-8, 4-2 A10) and Spiders (11-10, 3-3). The first 20 minutes looked more like a grade-school CYO game than a Division I match-up. The second half saw both teams set new Liacouras Center records for offensive proficiency.

The first half was an exercise in futility for both squads as they put up some rather inauspicious stats. Richmond took a 4-0 lead at the 16:47 mark but did not score another basket until there was 4:40 left in the half. The Spiders missed a total of 11 shots during that stretch.

Both teams combined to shoot just a hair over 22 percent for the half. Richmond was 1-of-10 from three-point land while Temple was 2-of-8. The teams also committed 15 turnovers through the first 20 minutes.

Temple took a 16-13 lead into the locker room at the half. The 29 points was the lowest combined scoring output by two teams in the history of the Liacouras Center.

So what did Temple Coach Fran Dunphy say to the Owls during the intermission?

“He said it was going to be a low-possession game so every possession is going to be crucial so we can’t have empty possessions,” said Inge of Dunphy’s halftime speech. “Our offense is going to dictate our defense so if we come down and take a bad shot they probably going to get a run-out and get a good shot so we just have to take care of the ball and take good shots.”

The Owls heeded Dunphy’s advice as they only turned the ball over five times in the final 20 minutes. They scored the second half’s first eight points. And the Owls showed some resolve when the Spiders took the lead at 25-24 thanks to a 12-0 run.

Inge was instrumental in keeping the Owls in the game as he scored 17 of his career-high 19 points in the second half. He seemed determined to drive to the basket every time he touched the ball and, as a result, put several Spiders in foul trouble.

“It’s  really good to see, he’s a good man and I root for him like crazy,” said Dunphy of Inge. “But he is inconsistent, that’s just who Semaj is. And we kind of have to live with that, we’re going to have to live with that over the next 10 games. Hopefully there is some arriving by Semaj even this late in his career that he won’t be as inconsistent as he has been.”

Inge did not do it all by himself as four other Owls scored in double figures. Lavoy Allen scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his seventh career double-double, Ryan Brooks scored 13, Dionte Christmas scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and Juan Fernandez scored a career-best 15 points off the bench.

The second half looked more like the match-up featuring the A-10’s leading scorer, Christmas, and the highest scoring guard combination, David Conzalvez and Kevin Anderson.

The Owls scored 58 points in the second half, which was the most they have scored this season. They also made 38 free-throws, the most ever by a Temple Owls team. They took 33 foul shots in the final 10 minutes of the contest.

The Spiders committed a total of 33 personal fouls and three of their players, Anderson, Francis-Cedric Martel and Kevin Smith, fouled out of the contest.

Gonzalvez, the A-10’s seventh leading scorer entering the contest, dropped 36 points on the Owls. His total was the most by an opposing player in Liacouras Center history and tied for fifth all-time with for Temple great David Hawkins.

The game also saw Craig Williams return to action after sitting out Thursday night’s 67-59 loss at Rhode Island due a knee injury. The forward played 9 minutes off the bench. He did not look to be 100 percent as he was often trailing the play and picked up two quick fouls during his only run of the first half.

His replacement in the starting lineup, Sergio Olmos, was not much more effective as he had an empty stat sheet in 15 minutes of playing time. Due to the lack of production from big men not named Allen, Dunphy switched to a four guard offense for much of the second half.

The Owls will have tomorrow off before preparing to head to Cincinnati on Thursday night to take on the Xavier Musketeers before a national audience on ESPN2.

Post Game Audio: (right click and save as… if you have trouble heading audio)
Semaj Inge and Juan Fernandez Post Game Audio
Fran Dunphy Post Game Press Conference

John Lamb can be contacted at johnlamb@a10collegehoops.com

January 31, 2009 | AP Press

KINGSTON, R.I. — Kahiem Seawright had 25 points and eight rebounds, while Delroy James added 22 points to pace Rhode Island to a 98-88 overtime win over La Salle on Saturday.

Lamonte Ulmer finished with 19 points for Rhode Island. The Explorers were led by Rodney Green who hit 7 of 15 from the field for 22 points and five assists. Ruben Guillandeaux chipped in with 15 for La Salle.

Rhode Island (15-7, 4-3 Atlantic 10) led 46-35 at halftime.

La Salle’s (12-8, 3-3 A-10) Kimmani Barrett evened the score at 80-80 and sent the game into an extra session when he knocked down a three point shot with 22 seconds remaining in regulation. The Explorers went on a 13-2 run in a span of 2:44 to tie the game in regulation.

The Explorers shot 56.1 percent from the floor to the Rams 55.6 percent.

January 31, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – Derrick Brown matched his career high with 23 points Saturday, and No. 10 Xavier used its balance and free-throw shooting to hold on for an 82-80 victory over Massachusetts, its 10th straight win.

B.J. Raymond added 22 points and C.J. Anderson had 19 for the Musketeers (19-2, 7-0), who remained unbeaten atop the Atlantic 10. This one was in doubt down to the final rebound. Anderson got that off Chris Lowe’s purposely missed free throw with 3 seconds left.

UMass (7-12, 2-4) set a pedal-to-the-metal pace on offense and kept it a game by forcing Xavier into a season-high 23 turnovers, but couldn’t break through in the closing minutes. Ricky Harris led the Minutemen with 17 points.

The shot clock rarely came into play in a fast-paced game of catch the ball and shoot — a pace that suits UMass but not the Musketeers. Brown, Raymond and Anderson were a combined 24-for-32 from the field, and made the biggest plays in the closing minutes.

The Minutemen stayed in the game by exploiting Xavier’s biggest weakness — a propensity for sloppy passes. UMass scored three straight baskets off turnovers early in the second half. Harris had a driving layup and a 3-pointer, and Lowe had a steal and layup that tied it at 58 with 11 minutes left.

There were three ties and six lead changes down the stretch, with neither team ahead by more than three points until the final minute. Raymond’s 3 and Anderson’s putback put Xavier ahead to stay, 78-74 with 53 seconds left.

Harris responded with a 3-pointer, then missed another one with 10 seconds to go. Raymond got the rebound and made both free throws for an 80-77 lead. Brown added two free throws.

Rather than let Lowe try to take a 3-pointer that would tie it, Xavier fouled him with 3 seconds left. He made the first and, after a timeout, missed the second, hoping UMass could get a tying putback. The ball was slapped around and Anderson came down with it.

The points piled up fast in the first half. UMass hit nine of its first 13 shots, while Xavier went 9-of-14. It didn’t take either team long to find an open shot and make it.

Xavier’s player with the can’t-miss touch temporarily took over the game.

Brown had a game this season when he didn’t miss, going 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in a win over Saint Louis on Jan. 8. He made his first eight shots on Saturday, including a 3-pointer that started Xavier’s nine-point run in the first half.

His three-point play off a driving dunk made it 41-31 with 2:52 left in the half, the biggest lead of the game. Xavier shot 68 percent in the first half against one of the conference’s worst perimeter defenses.

January 29, 2009 by Ryan Pohle | A10CollegeHoops

Updated Weekly Every Thursday

Based on Games Played Through Wednesday, January 28th.

1 Seeds

UConn, Duke, UNC, Pittsburgh

2 Seeds

Louisville, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Xavier

3 Seeds

Arizona St., Illinois, Michigan St., Memphis

4 Seeds

Butler, Clemson, Marquette, Texas

5 Seeds

Georgetown, Kansas, Villanova, West Virginia

6 Seeds

UCLA, Gonzaga, Purdue, Washington

7 Seeds

Baylor, Florida, Missouri, Syracuse

8 Seeds

California, Davidson, Kentucky, Utah

9 Seeds

BYU, Ohio St., Oklahoma St., Tennessee

10 Seeds

Florida St., Minnesota, St. Mary’s, Wisconsin

11 Seeds

Miami Fl., UNLV, Utah St., Siena

12 Seeds

UAB, Dayton, South Carolina, Virginia Tech

13 Seeds

Illinois St., Miami Oh., Northeastern, Stephen F. Austin

14 Seeds

Cornell, North Dakota St., Portland St., Western Kentucky

15 Seeds

American, Austin Peay, East Tennessee St., Mount St. Mary’s

16 Seeds

Albany, Jackson St., Long Beach St., Morgan St., VMI

Last Four In:

Virginia Tech, UAB, South Carolina, Dayton

First Four Out:

Northwestern, USC, Temple, Texas A&M

Multiple Conference Bids

Big East – 8, ACC – 7, Big 12 – 6, Big Ten – 6, Pac 10 – 4, SEC – 4, Mountain West – 3, A10 – 2, Conference USA – 2, West Coast – 2.

Thoughts

Xavier – Most people have this team as a three, but we think their resume is strong enough for a two seed.  At 18-2 (6-0 A10), X is playing outstanding defense and has a top 5 RPI.  They have a handful of good wins: Missouri, Va. Tech, Memphis, @ LSU, @ Cincy, and @ URI.  Their toughest test here on out is @ Dayton and they might finish conference at 15-1 or 16-0.

Dayton – Dayton hangs in the bracket but not by a huge margin.  The good news is that UD is 19-2 (5-1 A10) and has an impressive win over Marquette.  On the flip side, their offense has really been lacking and they’ve yet to hit the rough part of their A10 schedule.  How much love will they get on Selection Sunday considering the played a weak non-conference schedule?

Temple – The bad news for Temple is that their record isn’t very impressive at 11-8 (3-2 A10) for an at-large team.  The good news is that they played a tough non-conference schedule and have wins @ Penn St. and over Tennessee.  The schedule lightens up for them at the end so they will have a shot to play their way in, especially if they can win @ Dayton.

Memphis – Memphis may look a little high as a three seed, but they are 17-3 (6-0 CUSA) with a top 12 RPI.  Their losses are reasonable and recently picked up a nice win @ Tennessee.  If the end up winning the Conference USA Tourney, it’s hard to imagine them with a four seed or worse.

UAB – UAB seems to be going under the radar, but they have a reasonable RPI (45) for an at-large bid.  Plus, the committee loves teams that play tough non-conference schedules and the Conference USA is good enough to be a two bid league this season.  They need to beat Memphis at home in late February.  There are definitely some BCS conference teams with better resumes, but you have to cut off their # of bids at 35.

January 29, 2009 | AP Press

DAYTON, OH — Marcus Johnson’s dunk off an alleyoop pass from Rob Lowery with 1:06 to play gave Dayton a 47-46 victory Thursday night in a defense-dominant struggle with Saint Louis.

Chris Wright had 16 points for Dayton (19-2, 5-1 Atlantic 10), and Charles Little had 14.

Kwamain Mitchell led the Billikens (11-9, 2-4) with 15 points, but his 8-foot jumper with 4 seconds left fell off the rim.

Dayton trailed 28-27 at the half en route to a record 15th straight victory in UD Arena. The Flyers are 8-0 this season in games decided by five points or less, and this one included five ties and 11 lead changes.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Jio Fontan scored a career-high 25 points to lead Fordham over St. Bonaventure 67-65 Wednesday in an Atlantic 10 nail-biter.

Chris Bethel recorded 15 points and seven rebounds for the Rams, and Trey Blue added 12 points.

For the Bonnies, Andrew Nicholson and Jonathan Hall scored 16 points apiece. Chris Matthews scored 12 points, and Maurice Thomas contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The game was neck-and-neck from start to finish, featuring seven lead changes and seven ties.

The teams had the score knotted at 65 when Blue scored with 55.2 remaining. Hall missed his shot at the other end, and the Bonnies didn’t score again.

Bonnies guard Malcolm Eleby had a chance to tie the game at 67 but missed a wide-open layup opportunity and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, both with under 5 seconds to play.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

KINGSTON, R.I. — Kahiem Seawright scored 17 points to lead Rhode Island to a 67-59 victory over Temple on Wednesday night.

It was the first time this season Rhode Island (14-7, 3-3 Atlantic 10) won while scoring fewer than 70 points.

Temple’s Dionte Christmas led all scorers with 27 points, but scored just five in the final nine minutes.

Temple (11-8, 3-2 A-10) managed to slow the fast-paced Rhode Island offense, holding the Rams to four fast-break points, but the Rams executed well in the half-court, connecting on 51 percent of their shots, 26-for-51.

Point guard Marquis Jones directed an efficient offense, doling out six assists and turning the ball over once. He scored nine points and Jimmy Baron added 13. URI held Temple to one field goal and six points in the final nine minutes of play.

Ryan Brooks scored 12 points for the Owls.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – B.J. Raymond scored 23 points, Kenny Frease added 17 points and No. 10 Xavier beat Charlotte 69-47 on Wednesday night for its ninth straight win.

C.J. Anderson had 10 points for Xavier (18-2, 6-0 A-10), which limited the 49ers to just four field goals in the first half. The Musketeers outrebounded Charlotte 48-28.

Xavier improved to 6-0 all-time against Charlotte. The Musketeers have not lost since Dec. 23 when No. 13 Butler beat them 75-64 at Cintas Center.

Charlotte (6-13, 1-5 A-10) was led by senior Charlie Coley who scored 12 points.

It was a rough 24 hours for Charlotte, who had its initial flight into Cincinnati canceled due to Tuesday’s winter storm. The 49ers flew to Dayton late Tuesday, then endured a two-hour bus ride Wednesday on icy roads before arriving at Cintas Center just before their shoot-a-round. Under normal conditions, the drive to Cincinnati would take 45 minutes.

Charlotte missed its first six shots as the Musketeers raced to a 7-0 lead.

The 49ers attempted to rally behind senior Lamont Mack, who scored the 49ers’ first seven points.

Mack, who matched his season high of 23 points in three of the past four games, had three of Charlotte’s four field goals in the first half. He finished with 11 points.

Raymond and Dante Jackson hit consecutive 3-pointers to put Xavier ahead 18-7 with six minutes remaining in the first half.

Five straight points from Frease, including a one-handed dunk off a pass from Terrell Holloway, gave the Musketeers a 26-11 lead.

Xavier’s defense limited Charlotte to just 16.7 percent shooting (4-for-24) and forced eight turnovers in the first half.

Frease, playing his first game since being named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, matched Raymond’s 10 points lifting the Musketeers to a 31-13 halftime lead.

A 3-point play by Frease gave Xavier its largest lead, 34-14 early in the second half.

Raymond’s fourth 3-pointer put the Musketeers ahead 44-23 with 13:08 remaining.

Charlotte forward An’Juan Wilderness, who was listed as questionable Wednesday after missing five of the past six games with a stress fracture in his foot, did not play.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA — Tasheed Carr score 21 points to lead Saint Joseph’s in a 68-58 win over Richmond on Wednesday night to stay undefeated in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Ahmad Nivins notched a double-double for the Hawks (12-7, 5-0), scoring 15 and grabbing 14 rebounds. It was his 12th double-double of the season, and his 30th straight game in double-digit scoring. Idris Hilliard added 11 points.

David Gonzalvez led the Spiders (11-9, 3-2) with 19 points. Kevin Anderson added 13 points and Kevin Smith had 10.

Richmond jumped out with a 12-5 run, but a 9-0 run midway through the opening half helped Saint Joseph’s to a seven-point lead at the break. After staying ahead for the entire second half, the Hawks hit 10 free throws in the final minute — five by Carr — to seal the win.

The Hawks have won seven straight games — a season-high.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Yves Mekongo Mbala scored 22 of his career-high 26 points in the first half, Rodney Green had 20 points and eight assists, and La Salle won its third straight game, 76-66 over George Washington on Wednesday night.

Ruben Guillandeaux scored 14 points, Paul Johnson had 13 and Vernon Goodridge grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds for the Explorers (12-7, 3-2 Atlantic 10).

Mbala’s 22 points at halftime is the most by a La Salle player since Steve Smith scored 23 in the first half of an 84-63 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 22, 2004. Smith finished that game with 35 points.

Noel Wilmore scored 16 points, Rob Diggs 11 and Travis King 10 for the Colonials (6-12, 0-6), who lost their 10th in a row. George Washington hasn’t won since Dec. 23, a 59-47 victory at Sacramento State.

George Washington also matched its longest losing streak since the 2001-02 season and remains the only team without a victory in the 14-team conference.

La Salle trailed 58-57 after a 3-pointer by Wilmore with 5:57 remaining. But the Explorers went on a 7-0 run — 3-pointers by Guillandeaux and Green and a free throw by Goodridge — to take a 64-58 lead with 3:34 left.

George Washington never got closer than four points the rest of the way.