Atlantic 10 Tournament: LaSalle Bows Out While UMass Advances In Brooklyn

UMASS advances with win over Rhode Island in A-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament. March 10, 2016 (Photo by Jeff Auger – Double G Media)

The night session of Thursday’s Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament featured two games but one game really became the game to watch for many around the tri-state area. After the firing of Rutgers basketball coach Eddie Jordan was announced early Thursday, the major name that came up as his replacement was Dan Hurley the head coach of Rhode Island. On Thursday Hurley’s Rhode Island Rams were set to take on UMass in a game that could prove to be an audition for Rutgers. Let’s look at how Thursday night’s games turned out.

UMass Minutemen vs. Rhode Island Rams

The Rams were plagued by early turnovers in the 7 vs. 10 matchup against UMass. In addition to the turnovers, Rhode Island was not able to hit a basket early in the game which is a no-no when UMass is making most of their shots. Jabarie Hinds led the Minutemen with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and UMass shot 58 percent from the field. While the rebounding battle was won by Rhode Island in the first half, UMass held the Rams to just 37 percent shooting from the field and 16 percent from three-point land. Four McGlynn led Rhode Island with nine points in the first half but the Rams was down 37-27 at intermission.

Early in the second half, Rhode Island cut the UMass lead to under ten and UMass coach Derek Kellogg inserted 6’11”. 335-pound center Rashaan Holloway. Holloway proceeded to score six quick points and clog up the middle of the paint where Rhode Island was scoring points with ease. With the paint being closed off, UMass was forced to shoot long range shots, which they struggled with in the first half and the early stages of the second half. The Rams started to put the pressure on UMass by turning up the offensive tempo and dropping the same outside shots that were alluding them during the game.

Rhode Island finally took their first lead of the game at the 1:34 mark of the second half after a three by Jared Terrell gave the Rams a 59-58 edge. After two UMass free throws gave the Minutemen a 60-59 lead, Trey Davis gave UMass a four-point lead after a three-pointer with 29.7 seconds left. That lead held up and UMass advanced to a matchup against VCU on Friday with a 67-62 victory. Hinds finished with 21 points and Davis scored 14 of his 20 points in the second to lead the Minutemen. Earl Watson had a double-double for Rhode Island with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Davidson Wildcats vs. LaSalle Explorers

Midway through the first half of the No. 6 vs. No. 14 matchup, both teams were evenly matched. Both Davison and LaSalle had trouble hitting shots as both teams shot in the 30 percent range during the half. The slow start for the Explorers could have been contributed to playing on back-to-back nights but the Davidson defense deserved some of the credit for LaSalle’s early struggles. As the half continued on however, LaSalle began to show the why they advanced on Wednesday. Jordan Price, fresh off his 36-point performance a night before, began to get his shot as his three-pointer pulled the Explorers to within two points.

Davidson ended the first half on a 14-4 run to give the Wildcats 42-30 as LaSalle was unable to stop Davidson’s three-pointer shooting in the final minutes. Davidson ended the half shooting 6-for-14 from the three while LaSalle finished the half shooting just 39 percent. Peyton Aldridge led the Wildcats with 17 points while Washington led LaSalle with 12 points.

Davidson began the second half by missing their first nine shots and turning the ball over three times inside the first six minutes. But even with those miscues, LaSalle was unable to capitalize as they were only able to cut the Davison lead down to as little as eight. The cold shooting for Davidson would not last as the Wildcats were able to build their lead up to as much as 18 from high percentage shots and forcing LaSalle turnovers. The last few minutes was garbage time has Davidson had put the game out of reach and the Wildcats won by the score of 78-63.

Davidson was led by Peyton Aldridge who scored a game high 27 points while Nathan Ekwu notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. LaSalle was led by Jordan Price who finished with 23 points but only shot 5-for-22 from the field.

Friday’s Atlantic 10 Championship features four more games on the docket as the top four conference teams make their first appearance this week. Here is the schedule for the Friday’s games from Barclays’s Center:

12 p.m.: No. 1 Dayton Flyers vs No. 9 Richmond Spiders

2:30 p.m.: No. 4 Saint Joseph’s Hawks vs. No. 5 George Washington Colonials

6:30 p.m.: No. 3 St. Bonaventure Bonnies vs. No. 6 Davidson Wildcats

9 p.m.: No. 2 VCU Rams vs. No. 10 UMass Minutemen