AP Photo

March 11, 2009 | AP Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Tasheed Carr scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead Saint Joseph’s to a 72-62 win over Charlotte on Wednesday in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Ahmad Nivins added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks (17-14, 10-7), who now face Temple on Thursday in a rematch of last year’s final. Garrett Williamson finished with 12 points for St. Joe’s, while Idris Hilliard had 10.

Lamont Mack had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the 49ers (11-20, 5-12), while Ian Andersen added 12 points and DiJuan Harris finished with 11 points and nine assists.

St. Joe’s trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and were down 30-23 at the break. But they opened the second half with an 11-2 run and were in command for the rest of the game.

March 9, 2009 | Atlantic 10 Website

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Saint Joseph’s senior forward Ahmad Nivins has been named the 2008-09 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference’s 14 head coaches.

The A-10 coaches also selected Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure as the Rookie of the Year, Duquesne’s Aaron Jackson as the Chris Daniels Award recipient as the league’s most improved player, Delroy James of Rhode Island as Sixth Man of the Year, Massachusetts’ Tony Gaffney as Defensive Player of the Year and Rhode Island’s Jim Baron as Coach of the Year. In addition, Kevin Lisch of Saint Louis was tabbed Student-Athlete of the Year in voting among the league’s sports information directors.

Ahmad Nivins – Saint Joseph’s Hawks (F)

Nivins enters this week’s Atlantic 10 Championship (Mar. 11-14) in Atlantic City tied with Temple’s Dionte Christmas for the scoring lead with an average of 19.2 ppg. A third-team selection a year ago, the 6-9 forward from Jersey City, N.J., leads the Conference in rebounding (11.7 rpg.), minutes (39.43 mpg.) and double-doubles (20), while his league-best .625 shooting percentage (193-of-309) puts him on pace to join former George Washington standout Alexander Koul (1995-97) as the only players in A-10 history to lead the league in field goal percentage three consecutive years. A member of the All-Defensive Team, Nivins is the fourth player in SJU annals to earn the league’s Player of the Year honor and first since sharpshooter Pat Carroll in 2004-05.

A five-time Player of the Week selection this season, Nivins is joined on the All- Conference first-team by Christmas, Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island, Aaron Jackson of Duquesne and Xavier’s B.J. Raymond. Christmas is vying to become the league’s first-ever three-time scoring champion, while James is the first Duquesne player to garner first-team distinction since Mike James in 1997-98. The All-Conference second-team consists of Gaffney, Richmond’s Kevin Anderson, Derrick Brown of Xavier, Rodney Green of La Salle and Dayton’s Chris Wright. The third-team includes Lisch, Lavoy Allen of Temple, Massachusetts’ Ricky Harris, Lamont Mack of Charlotte and Rhode Island’s Kahiem Seawright.

Xavier’s C.J. Anderson, David Gonzalvez of Richmond, Dayton’s Marcus Johnson, Chris Lowe of UMass, and Damian Saunders of Duquesne earned honorable mention acclaim.

A program-record six-time A-10 Rookie of the Week selection, Nicholson enters this week’s A-10 Championship as the top freshman nationally in both blocked shots (79) and field goal percentage (.607 – 150-of-246). The Mississauga, Ontario, native is tied for second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg.) and third in rebounding (6.0 rpg.) and scored in double figures in 20 of the Bonnies’ 29 contests. The 6-9 forward is the first SBU freshman to garner Rookie of the Year honors since Alvin Lott in 1983-84.

Nicholson is joined on the All-Rookie team by Melquan Bolding of Duquesne, Fordham’s Jio Fontan, Dayton’s Chris Johnson and Kwamain Mitchell of Saint Louis.

With 113 blocks and 59 steals entering Massachusetts’ opening round contest versus Duquesne on Mar. 11, Gaffney is the first player nationally since Shelden Williams (Duke, 2005-06) to register 100 blocks and 50 steals in a season. The senior forward leads the A-10 in blocks (3.90 bpg.), ranks second in rebounding (10.2 rpg.) and steals (2.03 spg.) and pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 18 of the Minutemen’s 29 games.

The All-Defensive team is comprised of Gaffney, Allen, Nivins, Dayton’s London Warren and Garrett Williamson of Saint Joseph’s.

Jackson was tabbed the Atlantic 10’s Chris Daniels Award, presented to the Conference’s most improved player. A year ago, the Hartford, Conn., resident averaged nine points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. This season, the senior guard has blossomed into one of the most complete players in the Conference, ranking in the top five of the league in scoring (third – 18.3 ppg.), assists (third – 5.79 apg.), field goal percentage (fourth – .543) and steals (fifth – 1.72 spg.). The versatile James has provided a spark off the bench for the Rams as a junior, averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in just 24.2 minutes per game. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native ranks third on the team in assists (65) and has a pair of 20-point performances to his credit.

A two-time Academic All-Conference selection, Lisch is averaging a team-leading 14.2 points and also leads the Billikens in three-pointers (69) and steals (37) en route to earning All-Conference honors for the second consecutive year. In the classroom, the Belleville, Ill., resident boasts a 3.48 grade point average while majoring in Business Administration. He was named to the 2008-09 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-America third-team.

Joining Lisch on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team is Baron, Massachusetts’ Luke Bonner, Jason Duty of Duquesne and La Salle’s Yves Mekongo Mbala.

Selected by the league’s head coaches and media to finish ninth in the A-10 preseason poll, Baron led Rhode Island to an 11-5 league mark and 22-9 overall record. URI enters the Championship as the second seed and boasts the league’s highest scoring offense, averaging 80.1 ppg. The only coach in league history to earn A-10 Coach of the Year honors at two different schools, Baron was tabbed as the Conference’s Coach of the Year in 1995 while at St. Bonaventure and at Rhode Island in both 2003 and 2007. In eight seasons at URI, Baron is 130-116 (.528) and 336-318 overall (.514).

2008-09 ATLANTIC 10 MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS First-Team School Cl. Pos. Ht. Hometown PPG RPG Asts Stls Blks

First-Team

Jimmy Baron Rhode Island Sr. G. 6-3 East Grennwich, R.I. 16.8 2.7 60 22 2
Dionte Christmas Temple Sr. G 6-5 Philadelphia, Pa. 19.2 6.1 88 41 5
Aaron Jackson Duquesne Sr. G 6-4 Hartford, Conn. 18.3 5.7 168 50 3
Ahmad Nivins Saint Joseph’s Sr. F 6-9 Jersey City, N.J.     19.2 11.7 32 19 55
B.J. Raymond Xavier Sr. G/F 6-6 Toledo, Ohio 13.8 4.2 46 17 12 

Second-Team

Kevin Anderson Richmond So. G 5-11 Duluth, Ga. 16.2 2.9 82 44 2
Derrick Brown Xavier Jr. F 6-8 Dayton, Ohio 13.8 6.1 61 21 28
Tony Gaffney Massachusetts Sr. F 6-8 Berkley, Mass. 11.5 10.2 49 59 113
Rodney Green La Salle Jr. G 6-5 Philadelphia, Pa. 17.6 4.9 105 56 5
Chris Wright Dayton So. F 6-8 Trotwood, Ohio 13.1 6.5 29 28 37  

Third-Team

Lavoy Allen Temple So. F 6-9 Morrisville, Pa. 11.1 8.6 62 13 48
Ricky Harris Massachusetts Jr. G 6-2 Baltimore, Md. 18.2 2.9 44 37 5
Kevin Lisch Saint Louis Sr. G 6-2 Belleville, Ill. 14.2 3.4 75 37 1
Lamont Mack Charlotte Sr. F 6-7 Chicago, Ill. 15.1 5.6 27 24 10
Kahiem Seawright Rhode Island Sr. F 6-8 Uniondale, N.Y. 13.8 7.4 68 25 31

Honorable Mention

C.J. Anderson Xavier Sr. G/F 6-6 Cincinnati, Ohio 10.2 5.6 68 19 17
David Gonzalvez Richmond Jr. G 6-4 Marietta, Ga. 15.6 4.6 59 39 14
Marcus Johnson Dayton Jr. G 6-3 Cleveland, Ohio 12.1 3.2 50 26 15
Chris Lowe Massachusetts Sr. G 6-0 Mount Vernon, N.Y. 12.1 3.0 190 22 2
Damian Saunders Duquesne So. F 6-7 Waterbury, Conn. 13.3 7.9 66 66 66 

Rookie Team

Melquan Bolding Duquesne Fr. G/F 6-4 Mount Vernon, N.Y. 9.0 4.1 34 28 6
Jio Fontan Fordham Fr. G 5-11 Patterson, N.J. 15.3 2.7 132 33 3
Chris Johnson Dayton Fr. G/F 6-5 Columbus, Ohio 6.5 5.4 18 17 5
Kwamain Mitchell Saint Louis Fr. G 5-10 Milwaukee, Wis. 10.0 3.2 106 35 1
Andrew Nicholson St. Bonaventure Fr. F 6-9 Mississauga, Ontario 12.5 6.0 7 79 16 

Defensive Team

Lavoy Allen Temple So. F 6-9 Morrisville, Pa. 11.1 8.6 62 13 48
Tony Gaffney Massachusetts Sr. F 6-8 Berkley, Mass. 11.5 10.2 49 59 113
Ahmad Nivins Saint Joseph’s Sr. F 6-9 Jersey City, N.J.     19.2 11.7 32 19 55
London Warren Dayton Jr. G 6-0 Jacksonville, Fla. 4.2 2.7 126 48 4
Garrett Williamson Saint Joseph’s Jr. G 6-5 Lower Merion, Pa. 5.9 3.7 135 43 36

Academic Team

Jimmy Baron Rhode Island Sr. G 6-3 East Greenwich, R.I. Communication Studies
Luke Bonner Massachusetts Gr. C 7-1 Concord, N.H. Sports Management
Jason Duty Duquesne Jr. G 6-1 Cranberry Township, Pa. Accounting
Kevin Lisch Saint Louis Sr. G 6-2 Belleville, Ill. Business Administration
Yves Mekongo Mbala La Salle Jr. F 6-7 Elizabeth, N.J. Integrated Science & Business Technology

Player of the Year: Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph’s

Rookie of the Year: Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure

Defensive Player of the Year: Tony Gaffney, Massachusetts

Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the Year: Aaron Jackson, Duquesne

Sixth Man of the Year: Delroy James, Rhode Island

Student-Athlete of the Year: Kevin Lisch, Saint Louis

Coach of the Year: Jim Baron, Rhode Island

March 7, 2009 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Chris Matthews scored a game-high 22 points as St. Bonaventure defeated Charlotte, 74-68, Saturday to clinch a berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Andrew Nicholson added 15 points and 10 rebounds for St. Bonaventure (15-14, 6-10), while Tyler Benson scored a season-high 12 points in his final regular-season game as a Bonnie.

For the 49ers (11-19, 5-11), DiJuan Harris led the way with 16 points. Charlie Coley III scored 13 points for Charlotte while AnJuan Wilderness, Lamont Mack and Ian Anderson had 10 each.

The Bonnies never trailed as they jumped to an 8-0 lead to start the game. The Bonnies led by as much as 22 points with 16:29 left in the game when Charlotte kicked off a 17-4 run and eventually cut the lead to four with 4:03 left to play. The 49ers looked to complete the comeback, but a big block from Nicholson iced the game for the Bonnies.

March 3, 2009 by Jordan Keyser | A10CollegeHoops

CHARLOTTE, NC — Richmond’s Kevin Anderson sliced down the lane and hit a contorting lay-up with 8 seconds to play to win the game for the Spiders, 64-62.

Lamont Mack had a career night for the 49ers, with a career high 32 points, as well as a career high 14 rebounds. Despite his stellar performance, Mack was obviously not satisfied with the outcome. Mack had a chance at a game winning three-pointer, but the shot rimmed out at the buzzer.

“I definitely had a good look. It just didn’t go in.” Mack said dejectedly. “It hurts. Me and Charlie wanted to go out on a win on senior night and we really wanted to get coach his 200th win (at Charlotte.)”

The game once again pitted two of the A-10’s best point guards against each other, with Richmond’s Anderson and Charlotte’s Dijuan Harris. In a reversal of Charlotte’s last game against Fordham, Harris was the one who was outplayed on both sides of the ball this time. Harris, who was 4th in the country in assists coming into this game, managed only 4 the entire game, as well as only 4 points. Anderson led the way for Richmond with 24 points and tacked on 6 rebounds.

According to 49er head coach Bobby Lutz, Anderson was the difference.

“We had no answer for Anderson tonight, that’s what it came down to. No matter what we did, no matter what adjustments we made, we couldn’t stop him. He was the difference tonight.”

Despite Anderson’s great guard play, it was a poor ball-handling night for both teams, with both squads having more turnovers than assists. In spite of the loss, Charlotte managed one of their best rebounding games of the season, with +14 ratio over Richmond, as well as a +10 ratio on the offensive boards.

With the loss, Charlotte falls to 11-18 overall and 5-10 in the conference. Their loss puts a trip to Atlantic City for the A-10 Conference Tournament in jeopardy. Their final game of the season is at St. Bonaventure on Saturday. Their postseason hopes, as well as St. Bonaventure’s, most likely will be determined by the outcome of the game.

Richmond closes their season out at home against 18th ranked Xavier on Saturday.

AP Photo

February 25, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Damian Hollis scored seven of his 25 points in overtime and George Washington defeated Charlotte 92-88 on Wednesday night.

Hollis opened the overtime period with five straight points to give George Washington (9-16, 3-10 Atlantic 10 Conference) an 84-79 lead with 2:21 left in the game.

Hollis also sent the game into overtime, tying the game at 79 on two free throws with 21 seconds left in regulation. The 49ers (10-17, 4-9) led 78-72, before Hollis hit a 3-pointer to bring the Colonials’ deficit to 78-75 with 45 seconds to go in regulation.

Rob Diggs added 22 points, Wynton Witherspoon scored 14 and Tony Taylor had 10 for George Washington.

Charlotte was led by Rashad Coleman with 22 points. DiJuan Harris scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds, Phil Jones added 12 points and Ian Anderson and Lamont Mack tallied 10 each for the 49ers.

Charlie Coley's electrifying dunks were not enough.

February 5, 2009 by Jordan Keyser | A10CollegeHoops

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With their postseason hopes possibly hanging in the balance, The Rhode Island Rams pulled together late and toppled the Charlotte 49ers, 71-64.

The Rams (16-7, 5-3 A-10) came into the game with an RPI ranking of 63: right on the cusp of being a bubble team. Despite trailing early and often, the Rams rallied behind star Jimmy Baron, who scored all of his 19 points in the second half. Despite controlling the tempo for most of the game, Charlotte (7-14, 1-6 A-10) simply could not stop Baron when it mattered the most.

Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron couldn’t agree more.

“Jimmy really did a great job in the 2^nd half of attacking the bucket. He kept moving off screens and really stepped up. I’m really proud.” Coach Baron said of his son’s performance.

49er’s head coach Bobby Lutz sang his praises as well.

“Baron really stepped it up in the 2^nd half. I thought we played him very well defensively, but he hit the big shots. The credit goes to him.”

The 49ers lead by as much as 11 late in the first half, but an 8-0 run by the Rams to close out the half stopped the bleeding.

“After (the 8-0 run) I thought we were in great shape,” said Coach Baron.

The Rams came out of the locker room firing early and silenced the crowd. A rim-rattling, 2-handed tomahawk dunk by Charlotte’s Charlie Coley quickly changed that. Despite adding several other jams that energized the home crowd throughout the second half, the biggest play Coley was involved in was a possible no-call on a dunk attempt with under a minute to go.

“I definitely felt like it was a foul; I definitely felt a push in the back, but that’s how it goes,” said Coley. “(The game) was really physical. A lot of trash talking and scrapping.”

One of Coley’s other electrifying dunks was an alley-oop from Harris that brought the Niners within 1-point, with only 2 minutes left to play. But like all big-time players do, Baron stepped up in crunch time and stole a lazy pass for an easy lay-up, which put the Rams up for good. He added a runner down the lane only seconds later, which proved to be the final dagger.

DiJuan Harris played all 40 minutes and netted his second straight double-double for the 49ers, with 10 points and 10 assists. It was his third double-double of the season.

Coley finished with 13 points and 7 boards in the losing effort, while Lamont Mack contributed 17 points and 7 boards, nearly identically matching his averages for A-10 play (17.8 ppg 7.0 rpg).

Kahiem Seawright’s 14 points and 9 rebounds complimented Baron’s 19 second-half points for the Rams.

URI heads to Philadelphia on Sunday to face Temple and possible A-10 POY candidate Dionte Christmas. Charlotte faces Dayton and Chris “Top Flight” Wright on Sunday at home.

January 31, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ian Andersen scored 19 and LaMont Mack added 18 to lead Charlotte to a 70-53 victory against Winthrop on Saturday night.

DiJuan Harris added 14 points and 10 assists for Charlotte (7-13), which had lost seven of eight coming into the game.

Charlotte took control with a 30-10 first-half run, and shot 65 percent in the second half to seal the win.

The 49ers had lost two straight Atlantic 10 road games by 20 points or more before tonight’s home contest.

Andre Jones and Charles Corbin scored 13 apiece for Winthrop, which connected on its first five 3-point attempts, then closed the first half by missing seven of eight from long range.

The Eagles (6-14), who opened the season 1-11, had won four of five before the loss. Reggie Middleton added 10 for Winthrop.

PHILADELPHIA – For the second game in a row the Temple Owls showed that they do not need their senior All-America candidate to be on top of his game for them to win.

The Owls (11-7, 3-1 A10) cruised to an 80-53 victory over the visiting Charlotte 49ers (6-12, 1-4) on Saturday night thanks to 19 points from senior guard Semaj Inge. He tied a career high that was set earlier this season at Penn State.

Inge was efficient from the floor as he shot 8-for-12. He also hit a career-high three three-pointers. The guard credited freshman Juan Fernandez for his success.

“The first Juan came over and played with us I just thought he was an outstanding passer so I just knew if I found those spots that I could get myself the ball I knew he would get it to me,” said Inge, who came into the night averaging just 6.5 points per game.

Dionte Christmas, who scored only eight points before being pulled from Temple’s 65-40 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens due to a cut over his eye, was not his normal self. He scored 12 points but missed five of his seven three-pointers and eight shots overall.

Still, it was evident from the outset that the 49ers were focusing their defensive efforts towards Christmas and Ryan Brooks. This allowed Inge to step up and deliver a big-time effort for the Owls.

“It looked like they were trying to hedge their defense towards Dionte and Ryan Brooks and it left Semaj open and he certainly knocked it out,” said Fran Dunphy, who guided the Owls to the 1,700th win in the program’s history.

Sophomore forward Lavoy Allen had another complete game for the Cherry and White. He put together the fifth double-double of the season – and the sixth of his young career – with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Allen also tied a career high with four blocks.

Fernandez once again drew oohs and aahs from the 5,700 in attendance. He dished out four assists but also committed three turnovers. To his defense, two of them were passes that should have been pulled in by his teammates. Dunphy, however, would like Fernandez to make plays without trying to impress everybody.

“I’d like him to get rid of the ’style point’ idea,” said Dunphy. “As coach Chaney and I have discussed, Pepe [Sanchez] did the same thing when he first got in there and Coach Chaney said he had to cure him of it so I’ll try my best to cure Juan of it. The spectacular will come when your as solid as you can possibly be.”

Brooks added 11 points and six rebounds. Senior co-captain Sergio Olmos played his best game since the Owls upset of Tennessee in December. He scored six points and picked up an assist in just 13 minutes on the floor.

The 49ers looked unmotivated from the start, which was surprising considering they came into the game on a high note after an impressive 69-64 overtime victory against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen on Wednesday night. Their only lead of the night came when DiJuan Harris hit a free throw to make it 1-0 with 17:50 left in the first half.

The Owls outscored Charlotte 43-16 from that point on to take a 26 point lead into the locker room at the half. Dunphy was impressed with the way his defense played the first 20 minutes of the game.

“We talk about that a lot as a group how we have to hang out hat on our defensive play because some nights you are going to come out and knock it out like we did on Thursday and we weren’t shooting it very well tonight,” said Dunphy. “I thought we had some decent looks but the ball didn’t go down. I was pleased about how we guarded, especially in the first half.”

Lamont Mack had an off night for Charlotte as he scored 12 points on just 3-of-15 shooting. He did pull down a team-high nine rebounds. Phil Jones led the 49ers in scoring with 14 points, one point under the career high mark he set against Tulsa earlier this season.

This game had some extra meaning for the Owls as the legendary John Chaney, who collected 516 wins and 17 NCAA appearances in his 24 years patrolling the sidelines on North Broad Street, was inducted into the Temple Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the game.

His successor on the sidelines had nothing book good things to say about Chaney after the game.

“He has an aura about the city of Philadelphia,” said Dunphy. “I went over the the receptions earlier today and listened to other people talk about him whether it was Governor Rendell or Peter Liacouras. He is revered around here and should be. For him to be inducted into the Temple Hall of Fame – it probably would’ve come long before this if he would’ve accepted it but knowing him he probably didn’t want to hear about it. He is a great man and as I have said to a couple of different people he has done so much for so many that you are never going to hear about and I think that is the quality of his person.

Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday as Charlotte will travel to Cincinnati to take on Xavier and the Owls will head north play the University of Rhode Island.

POSTGAME AUDIO: (right click and save as… if you have trouble opening files)
Ryan Brooks and Semaj Inge Post Game Audio
Fran Dunphy Post Game Press Conference

John Lamb can be reached at johnlamb@a10collegehoops.com

January 21, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lamont Mack scored 23 points and Charlotte won its first Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season in a 69-64 overtime win against Massachusetts on Wednesday night.

Ian Andersen scored 13 for Charlotte (6-11, 1-3), including a 3-pointer that tied the game with 33.3 seconds left in regulation. He also hit four foul shots in overtime.

Ricky Harris scored 19 and Luke Bonner had 15 for Massachusetts, which saw its eight-point lead disappear in the final 5:30 of regulation. Anthony Gurley scored 10 for Massachusetts (7-10, 2-2).

Massachusetts regained control with a 18-0 run midway through the second half, taking the lead on David Gibbs’ drive at 43-42. Charlotte’s skid at the end of the second half began with a foul on Mack after a missed dunk by Tony Gaffney and a technical foul on coach Bobby Lutz.

 January 19,  2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Ahmad Nivins had 25 points and 10 rebounds, going 13-for-13 from the free-throw line in the second half, to lead Saint Joseph’s to a 78-69 victory over Charlotte on Sunday.

Tasheed Carr added 17 and Darrin Govens had 11 for the Hawks (9-7, 3-0 Atlantic-10), who won their season-best fourth in a row.

Nivins finished 13-of-15 from the free throw line as Saint Joseph’s hit its final 19 free throw attempts and finished 22-of-26.

Lamont Mack scored 23 points and Charlie Coley added 12 for Charlotte (5-11, 0-3), which dropped its fifth straight. Ian Andersen had 11 and DiJuan Harris contributed a career-high 11 assists.

A three-point play by Nivins gave Saint Josephs a 66-55 lead with 6:17 remaining. The 49ers responded with a 9-2 run — with four points from RaShad Coleman — to close within 68-64. They got within 70-66 on a dunk by Coley with 2:32 left, but the Hawks scored the next eight points to seal the win.