Atlantic 10: Xavier stages furious rally to edge Dayton
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Terrell Holloway hit a go-ahead three-point play with 1:22 to play and No. 24 Xavier rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to defeat Dayton 78-73 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Friday night.
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The game between the longtime Ohio rivals had somewhat of a controversial ending when Rob Lowery was called for a technical foul with 33.6 seconds to play for taking a swipe at Holloway after the guard knocked the ball out of his hands following a timeout with Xavier ahead 70-68.
Holloway finished with 22 points to lead the second-seeded Musketeers (24-7), who closed the game with a 32-12 run. Marcus Johnson had 18 points and Chris Wright had 17 to lead Dayton (20-12). Full story
No. 17 Temple 69, St. Bonaventure 51
Juan Fernandez hit three 3-pointers and handed out three assists in a game-opening 24-8 run that led Temple to victory over St. Bonaventure.
Fernandez finished with 17 points and matched a career high with seven assists as the Owls (27-5) beat the Bonnies (15-16) for the 13th straight time.
Rhode Island 63, Saint Louis 47
Freshman Akeem Richmond hit four 3-pointers early and Rhode Island kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive with its best defensive effort of the season in a win over Saint Louis.
Richmond had 12 of his 13 points in the 16-1 spurt that gave the fifth-seeded Rams (23-8) the lead for good. Kwamain Mitchell had 18 points for fourth-seeded Saint Louis (20-11), which lost for the third time in 11 games.
Richmond 77, Massachusetts 72David Gonzalvez scored 15 points and the Spiders held off a frantic late rally by the Minutemen to post a victory.
Conference player of the year Kevin Anderson and Ryan Butler each hit two free throws in the final 31.2 seconds after the Minutemen twice cut a 17-point lead to four points.
Butler and Kevin Smith finished with 14 points and Anderson and Justin Harper had 13 as the third-seeded Spiders (25-7) advanced to a semifinal showdown against No. 24 Xavier on Saturday at Boardwalk Hall.
The second-seeded Musketeers rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Ohio rival Dayton 78-73. Xavier beat Richmond 78-76 in double overtime on Feb. 28.
