AP Photo

March 11, 2009 | AP Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Melquan Bolding had 23 points to lead five Duquesne players in double figures in the Dukes’ 91-81 victory over Massachusetts in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament Wednesday night.

Aaron Jackson added 18 points and seven assists for the Dukes (19-11), who advanced past the first round for just the second time in their last 13 trips to the A-10 tournament. Bolding contributed a career-high 13 rebounds.

No. 7 seed Duquesne will play second-seeded Rhode Island at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in a quarterfinal game.

Chris Lowe had 23 points and Anthony Gurley scored 22 for UMass (12-18), which has lost eight straight A-10 tournament games. Ricky Harris added 17 and Tony Gaffney had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Minutemen.

Duquesne, which led by as many as 19 points in the first half, broke open a tight game in the second half with an 11-2 run that was capped by Eric Evans’ four-point play that gave the Dukes a 73-66 lead with 5:22 left.

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

AP Photo

March 4, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, Mass — Ricky Harris had 19 points and Tony Gaffney added 11 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots as Massachusetts edged George Washington, 77-62, on Wednesday. The win clinched the Minutemen (11-17, 6-9 Atlantic 10) a berth in next week’s conference tournament in Atlantic City. UMass is guaranteed the No. 11 seed in the field and will play a first round game against the No. 6 seed.

George Washington (10-17, 4-11) needs to beat Temple on Saturday and for Charlotte to beat St. Bonaventure to get in.

The Colonials led 36-33 at halftime and after an early second half surge by the Minutemen, took the lead again 50-48 on a dunk by Rob Diggs, who led George Washington with 22 points and nine rebounds.

But a 3-pointer by freshman David Gibbs’ started a 7-0 Minuteman run that gave UMass the lead to stay.

Damian Hollis added 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists for George Washington.

February 22, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA — Chris Lowe hit two free throws with two seconds remaining, and Tony Gaffney had 17 points and 10 rebounds, as Massachusetts nipped Saint Joseph’s 70-69 on Sunday.

Lowe scored 13 points and added seven assists to become the school’s all-time leader with 640, passing Carl Smith. Ricky Harris contributed 11 points for the Minutemen (10-15, 5-7 Atlantic 10), who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Tasheed Carr connected on a pair of free throws to give the Hawks a 69-68 lead with 6.4 seconds left.

Lowe took control of the ball at halfcourt, drove to the basket and was fouled by Ahmad Nivins.

Nivins had 21 points and 11 rebounds, his 18th double-double, Idris Hilliard added 12 points and 11 rebounds, Carr contributed 12 points and Garrett Williamson had 10 for Saint Joseph’s (14-12, 7-5).

The Hawks have dropped four in a row for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Saint Joseph’s was 0-for-7 from 3-point territory, snapping a streak of 495 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made. The streak began at the start of the 1993-94 season.

The last time the Hawks went without a 3-pointer came in a 56-34 loss at Southwest Missouri State in the first round of the NIT Tournament on March 18, 1993.

February 14, 2009 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Maurice Thomas scored 18 points and had seven rebounds to lead St. Bonaventure over Massachusetts, 83-75, Saturday in Atlantic 10 conference play.

Chris Matthews also scored 18 points for St. Bonaventure (13-11, 4-7). Jonathan Hall scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds while Malcolm Eleby turned in 12 points and seven assists.

For Massachusetts (9-14, 4-6), Tony Gaffney scored a game-high 21 points and Ricky Harris scored 19. Chris Lowe and Luke Bonner added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

With Massachusetts leading 17-12, St. Bonaventure kicked off a 9-2 run with 13:06 left in the half to tie the game at 21. The contest stayed neck-and-neck until 2:24 remained in the game, when Matthews hit a 3-pointer to give the Bonnies a 75-73 lead. Andrew Nicholson followed up Matthews shot with a slam dunk that effectively put the game away for St. Bonaventure .

February 11, 2009 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY – Tony Gaffney and Ricky Harris each scored 19 points and Massachusetts routed Fordham 91-68 on Wednesday.

Chris Lowe added 10 points for and a game-high seven assists for the Minutemen (9-13, 4-5 Atlantic 10).

Mike Moore led the Rams (3-18, 1-8) with 21 points. Fordham has lost three straight games, each by at least 23 points. Jio Fontan added 19 points for the Rams, and Jacob Green and Herb Tanner each scored 10.

Gaffney scored Massachusetts’s first five points, leading the Minutemen to a 9-0 lead.

Luke Bonner had a pair of 3-pointers in a 12-0 run that made it 34-13 with 8:46 of the first half. Then UMass ended the half on a 7-0 run to lead 57-28 at the break.

The Minutemen shot 51 percent from the field.

February 8, 2009 by Chris Maza | A10CollegeHoops

AMHERST, Mass. – When it comes to the top teams in the Atlantic 10 conference, Massachusetts knows how to put a scare into them.

Two games after taking 10^th-ranked Xavier to the brink, the Minutemen again played a classic against one of the A-10’s best, but couldn’t put it away, falling to St. Joseph’s 68-64 at the Mullins Center Sunday afternoon.

“I think we’ve been involved in as many close games as anybody in the country right now,” UMass head coach Derek Kellogg said. “I give St. Joe’s credit. They’ve been in about as many or maybe even more close ones and they’ve done a good job of figuring out ways to win down the stretch, something that’s eluded us as a team right now.”

The Minutemen grabbed the lead just over 2:30 into the game and held it most of the way, but the Hawks posted a late rally, finally taking the lead for good with 2:28 remaining in the game on Ahmad Nivins’ 18-footer.

“There are a lot of guys that play this game today that think take shots, but they don’t think make shots,” St. Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli said. “The jumpers Ahmad took early, he was just taking them. The jumper he took to give us the lead, that was to make.”

The win was St. Joseph’s second straight and its ninth over its last 10 games. The Hawks’ only blemish over that stretch was a road loss to Dayton, who fell to Charlotte earlier in the day. The combination of the Hawks’ win and the Flyers’ loss moves St. Joseph’s into second place behind Xavier in the conference with a 7-1 record. They are 14-8 overall.

Massachusetts (8-13, 3-5 A-10) has now dropped four out of its last five. Three of those losses have been by five points or fewer.

St. Joseph’s played chase throughout the game, never letting it get too far away, but until the final moments, every time the Hawks got close, someone came through for the Minutemen with a big shot.

Down 53-52 with 6:58 left in the game, Idris Hilliard had a chance to tie the game up for the first time since the clock read 17:29 in the first half with a possible three point play, but missed the free throw. Garrett Williamson picked him up, though, with a layup on the Hawks’ next possession to give them their first lead since the opening minutes of the game at 54-53.

Luke Bonner took the lead right back for the Minutemen with a three-pointer, but Nivins asserted himself inside on the ensuing Hawks possession, drew a foul and sunk both shots to knot the game up at 56.

One minute later, Nivins hit a jumper from the foul line to stake the Hawks to a lead they would not relinquish.

“Ahmad has really improved because of how much work he’s put in in his face-up game,” Martelli said. “It was the end of the shot clock. It was a terrific confidence shot. I label that a confidence shot and I’m ok with that.”

In fact, Nivins’ four points in that span sparked an 11-2 run that opened up the Hawks’ largest lead of the game at nine points, 67-58, in the last minute of the game.

“It’s good to know that we can play good basketball for 38 minutes,” UMass forward Tony Gaffney said. “But if you don’t play for those last two minutes, then there’s no point in playing at all.”

Nivins completed his ninth straight double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, despite facing constant double teams and copious attention from Gaffney, one of the conference’s top defensive players.

“What we have found over the last several games is people are not going to let him get the ball close to the basket,” Martelli said. “I’d like to put (Nivins) in the lane and throw him the ball and say, ‘Ok, go get 20 and 10 every night,’ but that’s not real against that kind of defense.”

Tasheed Carr was cold from the floor, hitting just 4-of-13 shots for 14 points and Darren Govens chipped in with 10 for the Hawks.

Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley scored 18 apiece for the Minutemen, who failed to get major offensive contributions from Tony Gaffney (eight points) or Chris Lowe (seven points).

“We did not want to push up on them. I thought (UMass) did a fabulous job against Xavier exploiting Xavier’s overexuberence. Xavier was chasing them and Chris Lowe was penetrating the lane,” Martelli said. “We tried to back up and just keep that ball in front of us.”

Massachusetts continued to battle and Harris hit a desperation three from the top of the key with three seconds remaining to bring the score to 67-64, but Govens hit one of two free throws to make it a two possession game and put it out of reach.

The Minutemen rode a 13-3 run with threes from Gurley and Harris and an emphatic two-handed dunk by Gaffney to jump out to a 15-7 edge early in the contest.

St. Joseph’s closed the gap to two, 30-28 late in the first on a 9-4 run before the Minutemen extended their advantage back to six points with 44 seconds left on a run capped by two free throws by Harris.

A last-second three-pointer by Carr brought the Hawks back within three heading into the locker room, 37-34.

“I knew St. Joe’s was going to make a run at some point,” Harris said. “That shot gave them momentum I guess. We knew they were a battle-tested team and we knew that this game was going to be a war. They just made more plays than we did at the end.”

UMass used its speed to ignite its offense through the transition game, scoring 13 points off the break to St. Joseph’s zero in the first half. But the Hawks neutralized that in the second half, allowing just three points off the break the rest of the way.

“It’s hard to play the way I want them to play. It’s hard to pick up 94 feet, pressure the ball, be off with the ball, pass it and push it in transition,” Kellogg said. “You have to be in unbelievable shape and you have to have the desire to do that.” 

February 4, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, MA — Ricky Harris scored a game-high 24 points as Massachusetts came on strong in the second half Wednesday for an 80-71 win over Richmond.

Harris was 7-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-8 on 3-pointers, as UMass (8-12, 3-4 Atlantic 10) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Richmond (11-11, 3-4 Atlantic 10) was led by David Gonzalvez and Kevin Anderson, both with 18 points.

The Minutemen led the entire second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Anthony Gurley and Harris got UMass ahead 71-59 with a little more than four minutes to play.

Chris Lowe added 13 points for UMass, bringing his career total to 1,012, and 10 assists. Tony Gaffney had 12 points.

UMass used a 10-0 run to take a 25-19 lead in the first half. The lead changed hands seven times, but a 3-pointer by Luke Bonner and a free throw by Lowe brought UMass to a 32-32 tie at intermisson.

January 24, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, Mass. — Rodney Green scored 22 points and made clutch contributions in the second half to help La Salle to a 62-54 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.

The Explorers (11-7, 2-2 Atlantic 10 Conference) were clinging to a 51-50 lead when Green made back-to-back baskets to preserve the victory. Kimmani Barrett, with 11 points, was the only other double-figure scorer for La Salle.

La Salle led 34-28 at halftime.

UMass (7-ll, 2-3 A-10) was in front only three times, the last at 10-9 in the early minutes.

Tony Gaffney led the Minutemen with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Lowe added 10 points and three assists.

La Salle dominated the first half, leading by as many as 13 points (33-20) near the intermission.

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.