Providence fired its coach, Tim Welsh, yesterday after 10 years. This story by the Times' Pete Thamel -- he of Tommy-Amaker-investigation fame -- mentions Brown coach Craig Robinson as one of several logical successors. I'm not sure exactly what to make of it right now, but it's something to watch for in the papers over the next few weeks, especially if Brown makes the NIT or, more likely, the newly-formed CBI.
The Penn baseball team just wrapped up its Florida trip today with a 12-1 thrashing of NJIT. The week certainly had some very low points, most notably an 18-0 loss to UConn, as the Quakers finished up with a 3-4 record. However, the two starting pitchers that combined for Penn's three wins were excellent and might have emerged as a reliable one-two punch. Just look at today's doubleheader pitting the Quakers against Dominican and NJIT.
Todd Roth has picked up where he left off last season. The big right-hander -- who recorded a tremendous 1.98 ERA as a freshman last year and was named as a freshman All-American -- has mowed down the opposition over the past few weeks. Today against NJIT, he hurled seven strong and struck out nine. Against Maine earlier in the trip, he threw seven innings and fanned nine batters as well. It seems that the sky is the limit for this kid, and Penn is very lucky to have him.
And to balance out Roth, southpaw Tom Grandieri -- the only lefty on the staff -- is making a name for himself. After two successful appearances out of the pen, the sophomore transfer made his first start today against Dominican. He walked one and struck out five in 5.1 innings and also knocked in a run, guiding the Quakers to a 7-1 victory. In 8.2 innings this season, he's given up one hit and two earned runs.
This young, righty-lefty duo looks to be a very promising one for Penn going forward. Roth is obviously more experienced and tested as a starter, but Grandieri's successful outing in his first career start for the Red and the Blue after starting out in the bullpen is quite impressive. And the best part is that they're both just sophomores. The Quakers will be back in action against Temple on Wednesday, and the Ivy League season begins on March 29 at home against Yale.
As of 9:30 p.m. tonight, by my count, there are thirteen teams with tickets to the Tournament who have RPIs worse than Cornell. And there are a couple of close calls that can go either way. That means that the Big Red's chances of grabbing a 13-seed look good; they would need 13 teams to be placed below them.
Cornell's RPI is 65, better than Belmont, Austin Peay, Portland State, American, UMBC, San Diego, Winthrop and Mount Saint Mary's, all of whom are in.
The Coppin State-Morgan State winner, the Jackson State-Mississippi Valley State winner, the Boise State-New Mexico State winner and the Cal State Fullerton-UC Irvine winner (all decided in the next few hours) should also be seeded below Cornell, as will the winner of Texas-Arlington and Northwestern State, who play tomorrow at 1.
That's 13. Siena (67) and George Mason (62) are both close to Cornell and could concievably be ranked lower as well. The Big Red have an advantage with their perfect mark in the last 10 games, but a disadvantage in that the committee, every single year, overvalues conference tournaments. Even so, if I were a betting man, I would be pretty sure Cornell will hold on to the 13.
ATLANTIC CITY -- It's over, the Owls are dancing! The Temple fans streak onto the court and the players go berserk. Christmas rips his shirt off and runs to the sideline, and the bench streaks toward center court. I couldn't see who, but someone has grabbed Clark and is carrying him off the court. Olmos is flipping out as well. Christmas now is hugging a relative while holding back tears and shouting the whole time.
It was a great game, even though the very end wasn't down to the wire. Carr turned it on in the second half, and Nivins had a great game, but the collective effort of the Owls was too much, all the way in the second half.
FINAL: Temple 69, St. Joe's 64
Owls fans are getting ready to rush the court... They start the chant "The Hawk is dead" and Hawks fans claim again it "will never die."
0:06.1 2nd Half: Temple 68, St. Joe's 61
The Temple fans are sensing it happening. Carr cuts it to four with a drive, but Brooks hits two on the line.
Tyndale finally hits from the line and it is just about done.
0:20.3 2nd Half: Temple 64, St. Joe's 59
Calathes spins toward the hoop, and can't seem to go anywhere. He gets the ball back and misses a three.
Tyndale misses free throws, and Carr misses another three for the Hawks.
0:48.8 2nd Half: Temple 63, St. Joe's 59
Calathes drains a jumper over Tyndale, just after Tyndale missed two free throws.
Wow, Christmas strips Calathes going to the hoop, and Clark goes to the line for two.
2:27 2nd Half: Temple 63, St. Joe's 57
Nivins makes both free throws off of the offensive board, but Tyndale drives the lane and finds Brooks on the outside for a triple.
Finally. Calathes hits a three as Tyndale floated to far in help defense, and Carr capitalizes off of a Tyndale miss hard in the lane.
Clark drives, though, and finds Brooks for an easy two. Carr manhandles Brooks once again, though.
But Tyndale takes it into his own hands, again, stepping through for the and-1 to takes a six-point lead. Tyndale then goes back to beating Calathes, this time dishing to Christmas inside.
8:12 2nd Half: Temple 53, St. Joe's 46
The Hawks fans chant "airball" as Brooks misses from three, and the Owls fans come back with "scoreboard!" I really don't think "scoreboard" is a valid chant when you're up six. Brooks follows that up with an an-1 from 13 feet out, pumping his fist after. There have been a lot of fouls called, maybe a few too many.
9:41 2nd Half: Temple 49, St. Joe's 44
Calathes is sitcking to Clark, even on screens. Martelli really wants to keep the little man off his game, but it's not working - Allen hits again.
Christmas is money on a three on the pass from Clark, and the Hawks are in big trouble. Calathes hits a three of his own, though, and it's back to a 6-pt game.
Then, Allen's pass to Clark in the corner gets blocked, and the Hawks get the ball back to Nivins inside, and he makes two from the line.
The crowd for both teams is getting louder as the lead is four....
11:52 2nd Half: Temple 43, St. Joe's 37
Olmos and Nivins can't convert, and Christmas misses over two guys.
Allen scores inside, but Carr gets three of those points back with an and-1 layup. Calathes is guarding Clark, though it might just be for a possession. Nope, he's really guarding him.
As a result, Temple works the high-low, and Olmos scores and and-1. Tyndale clenches his fists. This has truly been a fantastic run for Temple, and an equally-amazing collapse for the Hawks. They have scored five points in eight minutes, and were on a five-minutes scoring drought.
It's a great atmosphere here, both fan groups have been loud, though it's been Temple producing the noise as of late.
14:53 2nd Half: Temple 39, St. Joe's 34
Allen dunks around Ferguson in a play that was a lot easier than it should have been. And after a nice skip pass from Tyndale, Christmas hits a well-contested three over Carr.
Nivins scores a nasty tip-in, but Christmas penetrates the lane effortlessly for a layup.
Clark has missed two threes from the corner, but both have been rebounded offensively. Olmos now gets fouled on that possession, and the Owls all of a sudden have a chance to take the lead.
And Clark does just that. And more.
He has the gravitas to attempt yet another corner three, and Clark drains it to take Temple's first lead of the game. Then Clark plucks Calathes' pocket and hangs in the air to avoid Carr's defense to take a five-point lead.
Stats: With Calathes playing only 13 minutes and taking four shots, Govens and Nivins are taking control of the game, scoring nine and 12 points, respectively. Like Govens, Christmas is 4-for-8, but the guard has netted 12 points. Allen has played well inside again for Temple, getting those two blocks as well as four rebounds.
St. Joe's has made almost twice as many shots as the Owls (13-of-30 to Temple's 7-of-25). The teams are equal in rebounding, but Temple has committed eight turnovers compared to only four assists.
Halftime: Temple 25, St. Joe's 32
Man, Clark just hit a huge three. He's so fast he was essentially guarded by no one after a jab step, and hits the trey.
Martelli deftly calls a timeout with 5.4 seconds remaining in the half. Unlike the second half, the clock keeps running, and it takes three ticks to inbound the ball, so the Hawks save a possession, but Ferguson misses a three.
0:30.4 1st Half: Temple 22, St. Joe's 32
Olmos finally slows Nivins down, forcing im to shoot a bad hook, but the next possession Nivins once again scores at will.
Brooks gets the ball over Nivins on the perimeter, but doesn't realize the shot clock is running down until it's too late.
Calathes is called for travel, or carry or something. I didn't see anything. Brooks airballs another shot, and Olmos barely gets a layup off before getting fouled.
Clark was just guarding Calathes, funniest thing ever, 14-inch difference. Well, not funny for the Owls. Calathes gets doubled because of it, and Ferguson is wide open for a three which he of course hits. He just might get one of my five votes for all-tourney team.
3:36 1st Half: Temple 21, St. Joe's 27
Nivins hits an elbow jumper, and Govens scores yet again on a drive. The Hawks always seem to have someone in double
Christmas makes it look easy, hitting another three over Williamson.
Thanks to a screen, Calathes gets by Tyndale and slaps the backboard for a layup, but Christmas is doing his best Darnell Harris impression, nailing a 25 footer. Williamson's long arms can do nothing about that.
7:46 1st Half: Temple 15, St. Joe's 21
My, how the tides have changed.
Christmas simply takes the ball from Arvydas Lidzius at midcourt, and scores. The Owls' 3/4 press doesn't work, but Lidzius misses from point-blank range.
Then Dionte pulls up from NBA range and sinks it in Williamson's eye, and as the lanky guard falls on him, it's a four-point play.
Calathes is back in the game, surprisingly, and misses a three. Govens helps out with another jumper.
Coming off playing the entire game yesterday, Allen throws Idris Hilliard's shot away, and then has another spectacular block on Nivins, but he's whistled for a foul on the rebound, and the Owls fans go ballistic.
11:49 1st Half: Temple 5, St. Joe's 15
Calathes picks up his second foul already, and is out of the game in favor of Garrett Williamson. That's about the only thing that's gone wrong for the Hawks.
Christmas misses two threes on one possession, Tyndale misses, gets his own rebound and then misses again. Even Chris Clark bricks a three. On the other end, Govens and company are draining everything.
15:46 1st Half: Temple 5, St. Joe's 8
The crowd is now almost full, the most packed I've ever seen this building, and definitely the loudest. The chants were tame before the game, but the Temple fans booed Phil Martelli when he walked out. That's just unnecessary.
Govens connects from the elbow, and as Martelli yells something to ref Joe DeMayo, and immediately Guzman is whistled for a carry. Olmos can't convert and neither can Allen on a jumper, but Calathes misses a three and Ferguson picks up a bad foul on a rebound.
Allen somehow forgets about Nivins, and he scores on a layup inside. Tyndale gets the ball, maybe for the first time of the game, and gets fouled by Calathes on a three. He hits all of the freebies.
Nivins just beasts Olmos inside, nastily dunking on him from the reverse angle. The teams trade layup, and then Carr drives into the lane and somehow finds Nivins on the other side of the paint, and he's fouled.
______
We've eliminated 10 teams, but the Big 5 rules the Atlantic 10 championship game. After demolishing Fordham and Richmond, the Hawks knocked off top-seeded Xavier to enter the title game, facing Temple for the third time this year. With an RPI of 42, the Hawks may get into the NCAA tournament regardless of what happens tonight. Temple has won six straight games and is undefeated in March. The Owls knocked off La Salle in the first round, and fairly easily took out Charlotte last night to reach the final.
The last time these two teams met it was a fantastic game, and even that didn't quite live up to what happened in the first meeting. With 3.9 seconds left, Calathes sank a three to put the Hawks up by one, but Mark Tyndale came storming down the court and got off a layup at the buzzer, but at the top of its arc, Nivins swatted it away, and the Hawks won. The second time around, the Hawks led by double-figures most of the game until Tyndale scored the game's final basket with 20 seconds left and the Owls won the rematch.
___
There is a half-hour until tipoff, and this game already has the feel of a Big 5 game. There aren't a huge number of fans present, but the student sections have already begun chanting at each other.
Starters:
St. Joe's: G Darrin Govens G Tasheed Carr F Pat Calathes F Rob Ferguson C Ahmad Nivins
Temple: G Luis Guzman G Dionte Christmas G Mark Tyndale F Lavoy Allen C Sergio Olmos
This happens every year. Every sore loser around comes out of the woodwork to say we should have it. I got an email from another do-gooder yesterday imploring me to investigate this glaring oversight.
So, new rule: No more talking about a postseason tournament for the Ivy League. It's not going to happen. Nor should it. Look at the Cornell squad that went 14-0 and might have a good chance of beating a four-seed and tell me you wouldn't want that team in the Dance 100 percent of the time.
I was disappointed to read the Harvard Crimson whining about this dead issue again a few days ago. I won't rehash the arguments except to say enough already. The Ivies don't have a tournament and the league is the better for it. No one sneaks into the postseason through the back door. If you want to get to the Tournament, try building a program, and no, cheating doesn't count.
I spent most of my time today reading up on the Elliot Spitzer dirt that I missed spending the past week in Mexico. Now I get my usual job back of depressing the mean quality of this blog.
I also missed the Penn-Cornell game while I was away, meaning I didn't see Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman play together this year and had to wait for the All-Ivy selections to confirm the obvious: They are becoming Cornell's version of Ibrahim Jaaber and Mark Zoller, and they're doing it earlier in their careers than Ibby and Mark did.
Dale became just the second player from Cornell and the second sophomore ever to win the award. Penn had no one on the first team for the first time since 1996-97, when now-Princeton coach Sydney Johnson won his second Player of the Year award with the Tigers. Brian Grandieri got a well-deserved second-team nod. Lastly, congratulations are in order for the outgoing seniors Damon Huffman and Mark McAndrew of Brown and John Baumann of Columbia, who rounded out the first team, although it came at the expense of the supporting cast-less Alex Barnett of Dartmouth.
I must say I'm a bit confused about the honorable mentions. Tyler Bernardini got the only one. There were five honorable mention selections last year, seven the year before that and six the year before that. Anyone know how only one player ends up with an honorable mention?
For the women's side, Cornell's track and field moonlighter Jaomi Maduka was the POY, marking the first time the men's and women's top players came from the same school since 1999-2000, when Michael Jordan and Dana Caraminico (her second of three straight) won the awards with Penn.
As always, leave a comment with your thoughts on any of the selections.
ATLANTIC CITY -- The Big 5 is in the Tournament. Temple faces St. Joe's in the A-10 final. The first two meetings were so amazing, the final of the Atlantic 10 Tournament has big shoes to fill. ESPN will also know it's going to get a big crowd tomorrow.
FINAL: Temple 60, Charlotte 45
What a performance from the Big 5 today, the 30-year streak is left intact.
Tyndale is called for a travel while fighting for possession, and he is less than pleased.
Gerrity airballs a three. The crowd chants "We want St. Joe's!" They know this one is done.
1:37 2nd Half: Temple 58, Charlotte 44
Tyndale double-dribbles, and Charlotte gets it back with 1:50 to go. Goldwire clanks another three, once again, and Charlotte's time is running out. The Big 5 is 1:37 away from getting a team in the Tourney for sure.
2:09 2nd Half: Temple 55, Charlotte 44
Allen fights for another box out, and goes to the line when someone goes over his back.
I just keep waiting for Goldwire to take over, but it just hasn't happened. Immediately following me typing that, he makes a lefty layup. But hey, the Hawks have to be happy it's that, not a three. He hits four of those per game, and a good amount come in the final minutes, as UMass found out last night.
2:44 2nd Half: Temple 51, Charlotte 39
I get shorted out from the connection again, but basically Charlotte scored a few quick hoops to get within five, but the Owls started draining as well, inluding a Tyndale three from the top of the key.
7:59 2nd Half: Temple 44, Charlotte 36
Allen signals the end of Mack's easy inside scoring with a big-time block off the glass.
Brooks drives, and somehow finds the space to fit in a layup from the baseline angle. Mack misses a three, hits two from the line and now comes out in favor of Goldwire.
Allen skies through the lane, but the rebound is off of him. Coley, now, does the coasting through the air, on his way to an and-1. Charlotte gets the ball back on the free throw, but Mack misses a three, and Tyndale gets into the lane for a deuce.
Clark throws up an airball and Goldwire answers with a huge three. All of a sudden, it's a five-point game.
11:40 2nd Half: Temple 40, Charlotte 32
Tyndale goes flying over Charles Dewhurst's back, and a foul is commited. I don't know how that is called, I thought the ball was out of bounds first on the top of the backboard.
Michael Gerrity blows an open layup, but Goldwire drains a three. Finally. Tyndale hustles to force another possession on a board, and Brooks scores inside.
Tyndale gets fouled, and then is warned by the referee quietly about shooting after the whistle. In soccer, that'd be a yellow card.
Mack scores inside again, Tyndale commits a hard charge and this game is getting close.
15:23 2nd Half: Temple 38, Charlotte 25
Christmas follows a Mack layin with a beautiful one himself, putting just enough english on it. Just as I write this, Tyndale goes to the hoop for a strong and-1.
Once again, Olmos is in foul trouble with his third. He has some work to go to pull off a third-straight game in double-figures.
But the focus is back onto Temple's self-proclaimed one-two punch. Christmas splashes in a three and the Owls are up 15.
Charlotte hits two free throws, and Mack draws an offensive foul. Wilderness now hits a big basket to get a withing striking distance of striking distance.
In transition, the Owls strike easily, as Christmas gets it to Tyndale, who sends the ball Brooks' way for a layin.
For some reason Olmos is standing up on the bench. I feel bad for the seven-feet-worth of fans sitting behind him. Halftime stats: The Owls lead by nine, and a major reason why is that the 49ers have gone 3-for-16 from three. Goldwire has two makes to eight misses. The defense has been great, and we'll see if they can keep it up.
Halftime: Temple 28, Charlotte 19
Clark gets all three from the stripe to fall, and Temple gets a little lead going again. Tyndale builds on it with an and-1 to go up 10, but only after a great block by Allen on Goldwire.
Christmas strips Coley, and the Owls get their star sophomore to the line with a backdoor cut.
The half ends with Mack expertly stripping Tyndale, and he is livid about that.
3:59 1st Half: Temple 22, Charlotte 14
Tyndale turns it over badly, but Charlotte misses yet another three. They live and die by that shot - the 49ers were down 34-19, I believe to UMass and came back to win.
Clark isn't scared to launch again after missing twice, and drains a triple.
Semaj Inge loses the ball, but Tyndale gets it back and finds Clark, who gets fouled on a three.
14:45 1st Half: Temple 19, Charlotte 14
Ian Anderson finally gets the Owls into double-figures, and Wilderness scores to cut the early lead to seven. He then scores again, and this is really a game once again.
Clark misses two threes by a bit, and Charlotte gets a chance to make it a one-possession game from the line.
9:15 1st Half: Temple 19, Charlotte 9
Chris Clark is in the game now for Temple after his big shooting night in the first half. He was peculiarly laying down on hisstomach before coming in. Maybe it was in order to stretch his back, but I don't think that was it. They didn't have enough chairs on the bench.
Christmas gets a hand out on a Goldwire three, and Clark buries it for Temple. It has been a long, long time since the 49ers scored. They have two threes, but that's about it, and they have attempted a whole lot more than two.
14:45 1st Half: Temple 16, Charlotte 8
Christmas misses some free throws, but Allen corrals the rebound. Tyndale has a great box out to get the rebound over a 49er, andthen drives for a layup.
Allen now gets his full hand on a shot, and Olmos finishes at the other wnd with a big dunk. Normally stoic, he is pumped, yelling "let's go!" while running down the court.
Goldwire finally sticks a three and Tyndale answers. Goldwire tries another and misses, while Tyndale beasts his way for an acrobatic offensive board and putback, then dives on the ground for a loose ball. He's willing to get his all-white shoes dirty today. Just due to his tenacity, he's probably the Big 5 Player of the Year in my book.
14:45 1st Half: Temple 7, Charlotte 5
Goldwire has missed two threes to start it off, but they've barely stayed out. He won the game for them last time, and is ready to do it again. He won't score right away, but draws a quick charge on Christmas.
Olmos is playing with a little passion, powering his way to the hoop. Meanwhile, Mack connects on his second shot, putting his team on the board with four minutes gone.
Guzman is left wide open, and he hits a three, only to be answered by Goldwire. Over Olmos. Impressive.
Starters:
Temple: G Luiz Guzman G Dionte Christmas G Mark Tyndale F Lavoy Allen C Sergio Olmos
Charlotte: G Leemire Goldwire G Dijuan Harris F Charlie Coley F Lamont Mack F An'Juan Wilderness
ATLANTIC CITY -- The Saint Joseph's Hawks have been on or around the bubble for over a month now, and it call comes down to tonight against a top-10 team.
FINAL: St. Joe's 61, Xavier 53
The crowd continues to chant, right before it just stopped it felt like a soccer game.
Carr points his index finger to the sky and Calathes and Nivins chest-bumped each other. When Lunardi throws a fist-pump toward a fan in the stands, you start to get the feeling they are in. If Temple can pull off the win over Charlotte (tipoff at 9:02 p.m.), the Big 5's 30-year streak of having a team in the Tournament will be intact.
0:16.4 2nd Half, St. Joe's 61, Xavier 53
Ferguson fouls out, but it won't matter. The Hawks start a chant "this is our house!" I don't think they're rich enough to own the Palestra, the Fieldhouse and a place on the shore as well.
0:31.0 2nd Half, St. Joe's 61, Xavier 51
Jackson is whistled for the block, and Calathes shoots two from the line. Wow, he's money on the first, but misses the second, and it's tipped all the way out to Williamson, and Calathes is fouled again.
He makes numero uno this time, hitting the second, and the crowd erupts. The Muskies miss a three, and Ferguson corrals the board. Calathes throws his arms up in celebration, this one is over!
0:54.7 2nd Half, St. Joe's 56, Xavier 51
Calathes takes the inbounds pass down the sideline for a dunk. Burrell tries to foul Calathes on his way there telling the ref exactly that: "I tried to foul him!"
Raymond makes two free throws, and this time the Musketeers trap Calathes once he crosses the midcourt line, and he has to burn a timeout.
1:12 2nd Half, St. Joe's 54, Xavier 47
It's electric, the whole crowd is standing and chanting now. Nivins fouls Duncan though, and the St. Joe's contingency gets quiet. Nivins has fouled out, and the Hawk faithful applaud his effort.
Duncan connects on both, so it's down to five. Xavier defends St. Joe's well on the inbounds pass, and after getting trapped, Carr calls timeout. The Hawks have two left, Xavier has none.
1:33 2nd Half, St. Joe's 54, Xavier 47
The Xavier band plays the song "I'm a believer," and it may have helped - Carr throws an atrocious pass that Burrell takes coast-to-coast, and Ferguson misses. St. Joe's tournament hopes lie in these final 93 seconds. While I'm not sure they're a better team than Temple, the Hawks couldn't be left out after winning two against Xavier, especially with all of the bubble teams that have lost.
2:32 2nd Half, St. Joe's 54, Xavier 45
Love grabs an offensive rebound after a miss by, who else, Duncan, and puts it in for two. Nivins has to be careful - he's got four fouls. He gets hit, though, and heads to the line as both teams are now in the double-bonus and are shooting two.
Williamson and Lidzius are the defensive subs for the Hawks, with Ferguson and Govens as the offensive counterparts.
Xavier needs some plays, and fast, but after Burrell barely misses a three, Duncan cleans up.
3:49 2nd Half, St. Joe's 53, Xavier 41
Xavier continues to throw up bricks, this is shocking. Williamson just barely misses a dagger with a corner three, but Love, the Abington Friends product (he played along with Penn's Aron Cohen in the Philly suburban Quaker school), loses it out of bounds.
Nivins is called for a walk, and Xavier takes over. Lidzius is still in for the Hawks, he's played alright so far.
5:09 2nd Half, St. Joe's 53, Xavier 41
Brown throws down a monstrous dunk, but his team is still down by nine. He and Duncan miss threes, and Calathes and Nivins widen the lead by hitting 3-of-4 on 1-and-1s.
Duncan has Nivins in his grill, and can't finish the bank.
7:44 2nd Half, St. Joe's 51, Xavier 39
My apologies, the internet decided to stop working for the moment. The Hawks had built up a 15-point lead on a 15-0 run that started before the half, but the Musketeers are clawing back slowly.
Halftime, St. Joe's 27, Xavier 20
Williamson misses a tough layup to beat the shot clock. Duncan continues to struggle mightily, missing an open three. He forces Nivins into a a bad shot, though.
After Xavier patiently turns it over, Calathes makes a textbook left-handed and-1 layup, and the Hawks are on a 7-0 run.
The Muskies lose control, get it back, but commit a shot-clock violation, and the Hawks call timeout with 13.7 left in the half. On the final play, the Musketeers go zone, but Calathes punishes them with a three from the corner, and the Hawks go up 10 at the half.
2:41 1st Half, St. Joe's 24, Xavier 20
Carr dribbles around for a while, but then finds Lidzius for a layup. In response, Burrell tosses a nice alley-oop to Brown. It's kind of ugly, but it's been an exciting game so far.
Calathes finally hits an open three, and Josh Duncan, the leading scorer for the Musketeers, airballs a double-clutch layup. Calathes then gets whistled for his second foul, and it looks like a bad call. He agrees.
Carr dribbles it off of someone's leg, and Xavier ties it up in transition. He then draws a reach-in, and Ferguson takes back the lead with a jumper. Carr now almost loses it, but finds Ferguson for a tough layup. The crowd is now real loud, and nearly erupts as Carr's three goes halfway down, but then out.
Duncan misses an easy shot, and Calathes bricks a long, but wide-open three. The crowd keeps getting bigger - the stadium is about two-thirds full. It also looks more empty than it is because there are a few sections of seats that are a good 20 feet behind the basket, but still parallel to the benches. I'm not sure if they even sell tickets to those sections.
7:50 1st Half, St. Joe's 15, Xavier 14
The Hawks are running at Xavier on the perimeter, forcing it to put up mid-range jumpers. Meanwhile, the Hawks continue to brick jumpers, as Govens' three goes in-and-out.
Bad news for St. Joe's - Nivins picks up his second foul (team's second), and Arvydas Lidzius, who has played alright, comes in.
The Hawks are missing just about everything now, but Williamson gets to the line, trying to maintain the lead. He makes two and once again the Musketeers throw it away.
Calathes is getting nothing done on the offensive end, and he now fouls Love for an and-1 that pulls Xavier to within one.
Lavender makes perhaps his first good play of the game, hitting a bank over Williamson. The teams trade turnovers, and the low-scoring game continues.
The Xavier cheerleaders do the the thing where they run onto the court and spell out X-A-V-I-E-R while sliding on th ground. It's like Soulja Boy - cool the first couple times you see it but gets old fast.
11:45 1st Half, St. Joe's 11, Xavier 6
Lavender throws up what I believe was an alley-oop, but no one went for it, and it glances harmlessly off the basket. Then, the solid jump-shooting Ferguson nails a 16-footer. Burrell blows by Garrett Williamson, but nearly turns it over. He's one of six Musketeers averaging double-figures.
After an offensive foul, Nivins spins for a two, but Anderson answers in the lane. The Nivins-Ferguson duo inside is killing the top seed. Williamson grabs a steal, but his first dribble takes him out of bounds.
15:45 1st Half, St. Joe's 5, Xavier 2
I'm starting to feel a buzz about the place for the first time. The St. Joe's fans start their fake fight song, "O when the Hawk, goes marching in..."
The teams are out on the floor, and we're ready to go.
Nivins grabs the tip, and then seals Love beautifully, taking the lob from Govens in for two. The Hawks, switching on screens, force Lavender into an airball over Calathes and the crowd loves it. Nivins misses a shot, but throws a shot out of bounds
Lavender bricks a layup over Ferguson, but Anderson cuts to the hoop to put Xavier on the board. Neither team is hitting anything, as Calathes misses a three.
Calathes hits Nivins, and he beasts Dante Jackson for an and-1. Jackson forces Ferguson into a jump ball though, and after the whistle the forward nails a bank while sitting on his behind.
The crowd is as big as I have ever seen at Boardwalk Hall. That doesn't say much, but both these teams travel well, and it looks more than half full.
_____ Xavier had a bit of trouble with 9-seed Dayton, but the conference's top team and NCAA Tourney lock is going to be a really tough out. The Musketeers are 27-5, with two of those losses coming against the Big 5 - at Temple and at St. Joe's just over a week ago. The rubber match will be a good one - the Hawks have absolutely blown away their inferior opponents in 12-seed Fordham and 4th-seeded Richmond.
The fans are still filing in with eight minutes until tipoff, and it's only about a third full, though the Hawks' student section is pretty full
Neither team is on the floor with six minutes to go, so it's quiet. A fan yells to Joe Lunardi, the Hawks' radio analyst slash ESPN's bracketologist "Last four in!?" and Joe humors him by saying 'yes'. Hawks finally come back in with five minutes before tipoff, and the Muskeys follow with only 2:30 on the clock. The student section chants its coach's name as Phil Martelli finally comes onto the floor, giving the fans a little wave. The crowd is getting a little bigger now, Martelli promised it would be sold out...
Starters
Xavier: G Drew Lavender G Stanley Burrell G C.J. Anderson F Derrick Brown F Jason Love
St. Joe's: G Tasheed Carr G Darrin Govens F Pat Calathes F Rob Ferguson C Ahmad Nivins
ATLANTIC CITY -- The last time these two teams played, it was a joke. Temple was doubling up La Salle by halftime, and cruised to a 85-66 victory to win a share of the Big 5 title. To make matters worse, it was at La Salle and on Senior Day. The Explorers come into this game trying to make the A-10 semifinals and get some revenge while they're at it.
FINAL: Temple 84, La Salle 75
Mekongo Mbala airballs a three on the next possession, and the Explorers are in trouble.
Clark misses the first foul shot, makes the second, putting
La Salle all but turns it over in order to get the ball to Harris, who attempts an absolutely absurd three that is halfway down, but barely bounces out.
Temple is up by seven, and now in control.Temple employs the Red and Blue Crew's "Hey Song," and La Salle runs out the clock.
Harris gives Clark a hug after the game, and Tyndale then embraces the La Salle senior, and has some comforting words for him.
1:35 2nd Half: Temple 77, La Salle 75
Mekongo Mbala hits one from the line, and cut the lead to one with a very nice reverse layup over Olmos.
That is what he does. Harris takes the lead with a monumental three with just over two minutes to go.
Just a few seconds later, Olmos hits an and-1, and the game is tied with his missed FT. Harris pumps Clark, and goes up for a long three that just barely hits the back iron. Harris then makes the mistake of fouling Clark on the long rebound.
3:40 2nd Half: Temple 73, La Salle 69
Harris makes two on the one-and-one, and after a stop Mekongo Mbala picks up Lavoy Allen's fourth.
4:37 2nd Half: Temple 71, La Salle 67
Guillandeaux, who loves to seal a smaller man an receive a lob, can't hang on and the ball goes to the Owls, where Allen grabs a strong o-reb and makes one from the line.
Christmas drives baseline and finds Brooks for a three from the corner. Tyndale tries to raise the lead to six, but Guillandeaux draws a charge, and his fourth foul.
Green was on the bench with four fouls, but he's back in now, and misses a three. I don't have stats, but he's been great tonight.
6:46 2nd Half: Temple 67, La Salle 65
I don't know what the 5-8 Clark was thinking by shooting over two La Salle forwards in the paint, but he makes up for it by hitting a three from the corner.
Barrett scores inside to take the lead, followed by Christmas getting wet on a three to take the advantage back in Temple's favor.
8:29 2nd Half: Temple 61, La Salle 63
Hello... Harris comes off a screen and buries a long three.
Green makes Temple pay for putting a forward on him and the game is tied for the first time tonight. Christmas comes back by getting to the line, but Barrett swings the ball to Green, who was wide open due to the double-team on Harris.
Somehow, La Salle has taken the lead. Green gets fouled, and will get to build on that.
11:26 2nd Half: Temple 59, La Salle 54
Another post here got deleted, but La Salle has begun to creep back into it. Green scores on the inside, and then dishes to Mekongo Mbala for a dunk. Then, the big man is left alone for a three, which he hits with no problem, and Guillandeaux connects on a trey as well.
Barrett scores, but then Allen dunks it home over him.
15:05 2nd Half: Temple 53, La Salle 41
Sergio Olmos has exploded this half. He starts it off with an 18-footer that he looked like he didn't really want to take, but since they leave him alone he hits it anyway. Then, Tyndale hits the big Spaniard for a layup, and Olmos scores yet again to up the lead to 14.
Olmos gets to the hoop yet again, prompting another "ole!" chant. Barrett temporarily silences the crowd with a very strong layup.
Halftime: Temple 41, La Salle 35
Green's fantastic half continues as he feeds Mekongo Mbala on the backdoor cut. After a Harris turnover, Clark lets the clock run down, and gets it to Brooks, but the three at the buzzer won't go.
It was a great beginning for Temple, but La Salle has proved that it belongs in this game. The Owls lead, but this game is heating up and you never know what will happen with these two teams.
1:11 1st Half: Temple 43, La Salle 33
Harris sinks all three, and it's a five-point game. Olmos comes back with a nice post move.
Ohhhhhhh man, Harris is starting to feel it, he splashes a three over Clark. Christmas makes a tough shot himself over Guillandeaux to make it a seven-point game, and Brooks gets the lead to eight with a three of his own.
Tyndale passes the ball, but is called with a charge.
3:56 1st Half: Temple 33, La Salle 25
Harris gets pinned on the backboard by Olmos, but it's called a goaltend. That may have been his first basket of the game, he's been blanketed by Guzman and company. I really think that was a bad call.
Terrell Williams fouls Olmos, and the La Salle fans chant "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" The freshmen twins have accounted for half of the Explorers' eight fouls so far.Harris comes off of a screen and misses the three, but he's fouled and will go to the line for three.
5:28 1st Half: Temple 31, La Salle 20
La Salle is getting an offensive rebound every other minute. Unfortunately for them, the Explorers are also fouling often too. Johnson puts Christmas on the line for the 1-and-1, and the junior star hits two. Temple is getting whistled for a lot of soft fouls, these aren't bad calls, but could go either way.
Green makes a backdoor cut, and finishes with a flush. He airballs a three though, and Tyndale swiftly goes in for a baseline layin.
7:28 1st Half: Temple 25, La Salle 17
Barrett scores inside, and then off of a steal, Harris shows off his hops with a nice two-handed dunk.
Tyndale comes back with a three, the teams trade misses from deep and then Christmas takes it to the hoop for a hoop and the harm.
Chris Clark, the smallest player in Boardwalk Hall strips Mekongo Mbala, but the ball goes to Green, who drains a three from the corner. He's got either eight or 10 of La Salle's 17 points.
11:26 1st Half: Temple 19, La Salle 9
Christmas gives Harris a little nudge, he falls, and then Christmas hits a three. Green gets a put-back to go for La Salle.
They are trapping Harris when possible, but he dishes to Green for an and-1. The next possession, Green gets trapped in the same place, but gets it to Kimmani Barrett, who spins and then passes to Terrell Williams, who spins twice and scores on an and-1. His twin is out with two fouls, but he can get it done.
La Salle heads to a 1-2-2 zone for one possession, and it forces the Owls into a turnover
Tyndale makes a pass to Christmas on a beautiful backdoor cut to the basket.
15:17 1st Half: Temple 11, La Salle 2
Christmas gets fouled on a three, and Dr. John Giannini is pissed. Christmas only hits one, but his team is up 9-0. Mekongo Mbala misses a three. Nothing is hitting for the Explorers, and when that happens, this team is hard to watch.
After about every player had bricked, Mekongo Mbala scores off of a put-back. Guzman gives the Explorer Entourage nothing to celebrate about by making a real tough Williams is whistled for an offensive foul, and that's his second.
17:41 1st Half: Temple 8, La Salle 0
Allen gets inside and scores from point blank to score first for Temple, and Tyndale makes it 4-0.
The game starts off scrappy, a couple fouls called on La Salle. Olmos is bleeding after Williams hit him, and Olmos is complaining to the ref about it as he has to go to the bench to get cleaned up. The La Salle fans mock the common Temple chant by cheering "Ole, ole ole, ole!" The crowd is still a little sparse, but filling out now. It's pretty loud for how small it is.
_____ La Salle, the 7-seed, knocked off Duquesne last night in an absolute thriller. The Dukes led by three with a minute to go before Darnell Harris nailed a 27-footer to tie it up, and guards Rodney Green and Ruben Guilandeaux hit three free throws to win the game. Second-seeded Temple earned the first-round bye. With an RPI of 61, the Owls need to at least get to the finals in order to make the NCAA Tournament.
In front of me, La Salle is practicing defense, both team and one-the-ball defending. The Temple student section is on this side as well, and after Darnell Harris finishes a drill, a fan yells at him "Harris, you can't play defense!" (a true statement), then saying that he's going to be stopped from hitting threes. Harris lets his sense of humor show, amiably saying something back to the fans while grinning.
With two minutes before tipoff, there aren't too many fans, but the ones that are here are fairly loud.
Starters:
La Salle: G Darnell Harris G Rodney Green F Paul Johnson F Jerrell Williams F Yves Mekongo Mbala
Temple: G Luiz Guzman G Dionte Christmas G Mark Tyndale F Lavoy Allen C Sergio Olmos
ATLANTIC CITY --The internet is a little spotty here, but it's finally back working as 5-seed Saint Joseph's goes up against 4-seed Richmond in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
0:17.7 2nd Half, St. Joe's 61, Richmond 45
Sylla hits a transition jumper, and it is now a 13-point game. If Richmond had hit some threes, this would be a legit game.
Carr hits with the shot clock winding down. This is becoming real commonplace.
3:34 2nd Half, St. Joe's 54, Richmond 37
There's no shot clock today for the Hawks, just a timer for seconds until they will score. Govens shoots a three in Harper's eye as the clock winds down, and the Hawks lead by 17. Richmond isn't hitting anything. The Spiders may be getting looks outside, but they are being absolutely shut down in the paint. Govens blocks a guard inside so hard that he forces a jump ball.
Williamson absolutely rejects Sylla, but to his dismay, the play was a little too violent for the refs' liking. Nivins now comes flying through the air for a block, but it's called a goaltend. He was a good 11 feet in the air, a la the Mark Tyndale block early this year.
I have to take this time to complain about the Richmond mascot. The Spider, which started the game as a normal-person type of costume and is now blown up with air, has only four limbs! If I didn't know Richmond's nickname I'd have thought they were the bugs.
7:35 2nd Half, St. Joe's 47, Richmond 33
Just lost my last post due to flickering internet, but the Hawks are still keeping Richmond at a distance. Ferguson leaves Anderson open for a three though, and he gets Richmond to within nine.
Calathes gets the Hawks right back to a double-digit lead with a three after Carr cleared out the space for him.
Calathes now blocks Geriot from behind rather impressively, without drawing a foul. He's got three blocks now, I believe.
As Nivins powers his way for two, St. Joe's has opened up a nice lead. If you would have asked me, I'd say St. Joe's was the favorite, but perhaps not by this much.
14:58 2nd Half, St. Joe's 35, Richmond 26
Anderson ends the Hawks' 8-0 run, and his team gets the ball right back with a turnover.
Calathes gets off a nasty block and is able to keep the ball inbounds as well. Ferguson is left for another three - he still hasn't missed a shot.
The Spiders can't seem to muscle anything inside, but Geriot drives to the hoop for an and-1, and is real pumped about it.
A guy sits down next to me that I've never seen before and just starts talking to me immediately, about how he swears he saw this guy, the St. Peter's coach while he was walking around. I at first think he just believes I'm someone I'm not, but he's been looking at me for a good minute. Finally, he realizes that I'm not the person he thinks I am, and is in the wrong seat, about 15 feet from where he actually is. I guess white guys with black hair aren't uncommon.
______ Stats: Ferguson is 4-for-4 from the field, and unlike last game, Nivins has started 3-of-3, leading the team with 10 and seven points, respectively. No one has made more than two shots for the Spiders, though they are shooting a respectable 40.9 percent from the floor.
Halftime, St. Joe's 30, Richmond 22
Calathes, who has great vision on his passes, calmly finds Ferguson in the corner for a three with the first-half clock winding down. The Hawks' lead was down to two, but they score the final six points of the half to lead a barnburner, 30-22.
0:45.3 1st Half, St. Joe's 27, Richmond 22
Carr misses one of his patented driving bank shots, and Harper gets to the line, slicing the Hawks lead to five.
Williamson helps on the drive, and Anderson drains a wide open three from the corner, but Richmond forgets about Calathes on the other end, and it's back to a two-possession game.
3:36 1st Half, St. Joe's 16, Richmond 24
Ferguson, believe it or not, is already in double-figures thanks to a nice eight-foot jumper.
Kevin Smith throws a kickout pass out of bounds. You'd hope it was some kind of a miscommunication. Justin Harper then misses a three, and the Hawks arereally controlling. Nivins gets a monster rebound and puts it back for a two.
Richmond's Kevin Anderson finally ends the drought, but the Spiders' early lead is long gone. Anderson is semi-trapped by Carr and Nivins, and carries to turn it over. He makes a great pass for a deuce, but David Gonzalvez (no, according to the media guide that's not a typo) compensates with another bad turnover.
7:41 1st Half, St. Joe's 17, Richmond 12
Calathes makes a nice feed inside to Nivins for two, and then Ferguson hits a jumper to take the lead. He's almost in double-figures already.
After a Williamson offensive foul, Ouar Sylla for the Spiders eyes up a wide open three, feels like
Calathes has the ball at the top of the key with the shot clock winding down and gives the ball up to Arvydas Lidzius off the bench, and the senior calmly connects on the finger roll to cap an 8-0 run by the Hawks.
The Hawks fans have actually showed up, unlike last night, and are ticked off at a turnover called on Darrin Govens. Phil Martelli's assistants spend the media timeout arguing with two officials, while the third official has a min-conference with the Richmond coaching staff.
11:12 1st Half, St. Joe's 9, Richmond 12
Gerit then hits Ryan Butler on a backdoor cut. Richmond's 10 points have all come off of wide open baskets.
Pat Calathes, on the other hand gets ridden down the baseline and gives it up. Nivins now gets called on a travel.
Ferguson nails a Spider on a screen that had to be illegal, and then turns around and hits a three. Calathes is known as the better shooting forward for St. Joe's, but Ferguson is deadly from deep as well. He shoots over 42 percent on the season, and made a few yesterday to aid in the blowout of Fordham. 15:32 1st Half, St. Joe's 4, Richmond 8
St. Joe's starts off on the wrong foot, as the Spiders use some nifty passing to get two open looks and go up 5-0.
Rob Ferguson fianlly gets St. Joe's on the board with a tip-in, and then Tasheed Carr gets to the hoop for the Hawks' second basket of the night. But then Dan Geriot hits a wide open three, the second for Richmond, to double-up St. Joe's in the early going.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The Explorers begin fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives against Duquesne.
FINAL: La Salle 82, Duquesne 79
Wow, Mensah gets confused on a screen and throws it into his own bench. He must have thought that his teammate was flaring when he was, in fact cutting.
Guillandeaux nails two from the line, Duquesne's Reggie Jackson misses a three for the tie with Guillandeaux in his face (though making sure not to foul), and this game is over. La Salle is three wins away.
What a game, Jackson was unstoppable, but cooled down just at the right moment. What a shot Darnell Harris made to tie the game at 79, he is just unconscious. His passing was horrible at times, but he can shoot from NBA range with anyone in this league.
0:21.1 2nd Half: La Salle 80, Duquesne 79
No friggin way.... Harris pulls up from a good 27 feet an drains the three.
Even more incredible - after getting fouled Green (a 72.4 percent shooter from the line) continues the Explorers' woes from the stripe, but does convert on the second to go up by one...
While the suspense is killing all in the building, the Dukes' cheerleaders have fallen a fourth time.
1:04 2nd Half: La Salle 76, Duquesne 79
Harris is having a very bad passing day -throwing another intercepted ball, and nearling giving it away the next time down. Fortunately, for La Salle, they got a stop.
Jerrell Williams and James trade hook shots to keep the Dukes' lead at two, but Harris draws a foul while dribbling, and ties it up at the line.
Oh, what a huge three by Reggie Jackson as Harris can't get out in time, and Green is caught on the charge. Big turnaround with under two to go. Duquesne somehow loses the ball, slipped out of a guard's hands, and La Salle takes over. Dr. John Giannini flips out at Guillandeaux for calling the timeout a few feet short of the halfcourt mark. 3:12 2nd Half: La Salle 72, Duquesne 73
Sorry, the wireless just cut out at the wrong time and deleted my last post. A Harris three cut the lead to two, and the game continues to go back and forth.
Bad news for La Salle. Not only does Johnson foul out, Green hits the ground in pain, but he is able to walk off the court on his own power.
7:26 2nd Half: La Salle 65, Duquesne 69
Harris makes a lazy pass that Reggie Jackson intercepts for an open layup, and the Dukes go up seven. Jerrell Williams missing the front end of a one-and-one doesn't help either.
Harris drains a tough long two, and then hits a long, open three coming off of a screen. However he misses the heat check the next time down. Johnson commits a useless foul, and that's his fourth.
9:13 2nd Half: La Salle 60, Duquesne 65
Just when one team looks to take over, the other keeps it close. Duquesne went on a 7-0 run to take a four-point lead, but Green takes it to the hoop for an and-1 layup.
Reggie Jackson scores twice on a nice move, and Achara thwarts Jerrell Williams' move inside.
10:50 2nd Half: La Salle 57, Duquesne 59
Mekongo Mbala and Reggie Jackson quickly trade threes, as the Explorers lead by one.
Diaz fouls Reggie Jackson, and yet again the Dukes go to the line for three shots. The freebies tie it at 57, and a La Salle turnover takes the lead. The refs are really calling a lot of touch fouls, and the crowd for both sides is getting aggravated.
I don't know if they're missing all of their guys, but the Duquesne cheerleaders have slipped a good three times this game. No one's gotten hurt, but I'm getting worried, to be honest.
12:50 2nd Half: La Salle 52, Duquesne 51
The Dukes start the half off hot - each of their three starting guards takes it to the basket for two. Harris connects with Johnson for an alley-oop, but he then commits a foul on a three-pointer to give the lead back to Duquesne.
Barrett gets yet another offensive board for the Explorers, though, and the North Philadelphia side takes back the lead. Then Sherman Diaz puts back the missed shot from the line to take back that three-point advantage. Just then, Clark comes back with an and-1 of his own.
Halftime: La Salle 39, Duquesne 36
Harris may have been knocked straight, as he hits the ground hard while taking a charge, but comes back to tie it the next possession with a long jumper. Mekongo Mbala gets an offensive rebound and puts in a five-footer for an and-1 to take the lead for the first time in a while.
Yves then gets a tough rebound, turns over the outlet pass, and then grabs another physical rebound before getting fouled., and hitting two from the line.
Reggie Jackson does a great job of sealing his defender and making the lefty layup.
Tucker bricks the front end of a one-and-one, Guillandeaux misses and the Explorers go into the half up by three.
6:30 1st Half, La Salle 32, Duquesne 34
The Duquesne guards are quick, and can get into the paint at will. They're not hitting their free throw, though.
Williams, I believe, makes a perfect pass is transition to Ruben Guillandeaux, who spins to the basket for two. The Dukes are able to score inside to keep hold of the lead with a bank inside.
For some reason, Duquesne has no band, and it's kind of awkwardly silent when their cheerleaders do a routine.
6:30 1st Half, La Salle 29, Duquesne 31
Terrell Williams gets blocked twice inside sans foul. La Salle is hitting about double the percentage from two as it has from beyond the arc. This is as scrappy and fast a game as I've seen in a while. La Salle and Duquesne get a ton of looks inside - many on offensive rebounds - but the interior defense has been good, with the finishing equally bad.
Green lightly dunks one home on a break, I'd guess the Explorers' fifth slam of the night. Jerrell Williams followsa shot to tie it up, but the Dukes nail two open threes to open up a six-point lead.
Sherman Diaz, off the bench, feeds Mekongo Mbala for two and then forces an errant three from Reggie Jackson. After hitting a jumper, Jerrell Williams gets tripped up and falls hard. He grimaces, but seems to be fine now.
11:41 1st Half, La Salle 20, Duquesne 23
Aaron Jackson's crossover is too quick for the Explorer defenders, as he turns a drive into a nasty reverse layup. But Williams hits a long two to take the lead right back.
Barrett misses two free throws, hits a three and then turns it over on the third trip down. Meanwhile, Achara steps out and hits a three to break the tie. With 43 total points in 7:30, this game is going to be real high-scoring. La Salle plays fast, and the Dukes average 75.6 possessions per 40 minutes.
17:14 1st Half, La Salle 15, Duquesne 14
Duquesne may hit a mere 31 percent from three, but they have hit two big ones early - one contested, one not.
Green comes right back with a beautiful alley-oop to Johnson, though, and Mekongo Mbala comes back with another transition dunk.
17:14 1st Half, La Salle 10, Duquesne 8 The Explorers have come out on fire. Green sealed his man for a lob inside, and Darnell Harris and
Holy sh... Tucker just put Williams on a poster with a monster dunk, Jordan style, spreading his legs. And he's no forward -- the senior is only 6-1.
Johnson gets Duquesne back with an and-1 dunk of his own.
___________ Starters:
La Salle: G Darnell Harris G Rodney Green F Paul Johnson F Yves Mekongo Mbala F Jerrell Williams
Duquesne: G Reggie Jackson G Aaron Jackson G Gary Tucker F Bill Clark C Shawn James
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Three of the four Philly teams' Tournament lives are in the balance this week here in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall. La Salle faces Duquesne, and Saint Joseph's goes up against Fordham today, and Temple, which earned the 2-seed and a bye, faces the La Salle-Duquesne winner tomorrow.
FINAL: St. Joe's 80, Fordham 62
The Hawk will live another day. St. Joe's gives its starters a much-deserved break for the final 10 minutes. Even C.J. Brown, 8 minutes to his name this season, gets in the game for a minute.
Outside of the opening 10 minutes, this game was never close. Fordham didn't hit enough threes, and St. Joe's was left too open on the outside, and penetrated with too much ease.
1:11 2nd Half: St. Joe's 78, Fordham 62
Hilliard throws it down as zeros hit on the shot clock. It probably shouldn't have counted, but I'm not sure anyone cares at this point. After a three, Fordham puts on a press, but even the Hawks' 7th-through-11th men can easily break it.
Haha, Green takes a steal and throws down a ridiculous 180 dunk, but hangs on the rim so much that he draws a technical. Rivera misses both from the line though, so it doesn't matter. I really credit Martelli for leaving the scrubs in, but they have barely held on. Fordham is only down 16, and they've missed a bunch of threes.
3:49 2nd Half: St. Joe's 74, Fordham 51
After Hilliard throws a layup out of bounds, Butler jacks up an airball, and Calathes takes it the other way for an and-1.
Edwin Lashley is now in at guard for the Hawks, I've never seen him play before. Fordham had the checking line in, but the starting lineup comes right back in for the shift.
It doesn't make any difference, though, as Nivins hits a nasty turnaround over Dunston with the shot clock winding down. He gets an ovation as he gets subbed out for Arydas Lidzius. D.J. Rivera comes in for Govens, and there are no starters in the game as of now.
The Fordham Ram is ridiculous, it just stretched and fell over, thudding on the ground, clearly on purpose. That's all the entertainment Fordham fans will get today.
7:52 2nd Half: St. Joe's 68, Fordham 43
The Hawks have kept everyone in the top-6 rotation in for a while, but Idris Hilliard gets into the game finally. I'm sure Phil Martelli would love to keep up this 23-point lead to rest some guys for tomorrow.
Nivins takes an offensive rebound for an and-1, and then ups the lead to 25 with another hoop and harm two possessions later. If Nivins has a bad half, he usually follows it up with a productive second.
15:00 2nd Half: St. Joe's 58, Fordham 32
This isn't even fair. Calathes is left open for a three to open up a 25-point lead. Meanwhile, Fordham is just getting nothing to fall.
Anderson gets an offensive board, but Ferguson throws the ball to mid-court, where Govens picks it up and hits Calathes with a behind-the-back pass for a layin. Govens hits Nivins the next possession on a no-look dish for Nivins' first points.
Dunston is tired of this, and throws down an and-1 dunk over Ferguson. The teams trade threes, but that sure isn't going to do it. If Fordham shut out the Hawks the rest of the game, it would still need to score about 1.6 points per minute.
Halftime Stats: The Hawks are shooting no better than they did last time against Fordham. Well, 64 percent is still fairly respectable. Other than Nivins, who is somehow 0-for-4, they have hit 16-of-24 from the floor.
Halftime: St. Joe's 44, Fordham 25
Carr simply plucks Brenton Butler, and goes in for the open layup. The Hawks are on a 24-5 run in the last 10 minutes or so. I don't have the stats in front of me, but I'd be surprised if the Rams have more than five field goals.
With the shot clock winding down, Williamson hurls the ball at the basket, and it nearly goes in off the bank, but bounces to Calathes, who gets fouled.
The lanky forward finishes the half out on a good note, scoring with only five seconds to go. This is a severe beating Fordham is taking.
3:34 1st Half, St. Joe's 38, Fordham 19
Fordham's defense is really starting to fail. Calathes just teases Binns with the step-back jumper, and the Rams inconceivably leave Ferguson wide open for three. He's 2-of-3 today, and 42.2 percent on the season. Stout then leaves Williamson wide open for a three from the corner, and it goes down.
Wow, with the shot clock winding down, Carr hesitantly goes up for a three from the top of the key, and drains it over Stout. If the Hawks keep shooting the way they are and the Rams keep missing free throws, this is going to get out of hand quickly.
Calathes drives for a layup, Carr is wet on a three coming off of a screen and Dereck Whittenburg needs a timeout.
7:56 1st Half, St. Joe's 22, Fordham 16
Nivins pins Binns' shot on the backboard, and then rejects him again. The big man can't convert on the other end, though, despite getting two cracks at it. After a foul each by Calathes and Nivins, Stout hits one from the line.
Finally, someone hits a three. Ferguson connects from the top of the key, and Williamson shrewdly waits for Anderson to catch up to him on the fastbreak, turning it into another three-point play.
There really aren't too many Hawks fans here, although except for the last minute, there hasn't been anything exciting to cheer about yet.
11:29 1st Half, St. Joe's 14, Fordham 11
Fordham takes an early advantage, but the Hawks come back with a few easy layups by Nivins, Carr and Calathes to take the lead.
Fordham cuts the lead to one now on a pair of free throws, but Calathes hits a nice elbow jumper over Greene to bump it up to three. Both teams are in a man defense. Green isn't a bad defende, but Calathes has four early points on him.
Dunston powers his way through for a deuce, but Carr answers with a sweet bank. Garrett Williamson, now in the game for Govens, hits Ferguson, who gets fouled.
_______ St. Joe's plays in the first game of the day, tipping off at, I'll estimate 2:43 p.m. The Hawks (RPI=55) need to beat Fordham (RPI=161) and Richmond (RPI=115) to even have a shot of making the NCAA Tournament. They might need to reach the championship to do it, and barring a Dayton win, the Hawks must survive a rubber match with No. 8 Xavier.
There are more Fordham fans than there were SLU faithful, but still there aren't many. Just like last year, the first round draws very few fans. There was actually a very loud Billikens fan right behind me, but apparently he's switched to support Fordham. The two bands now play against each other, as Fordham was doing something, and the St. Joe's band plays "When the Hawk comes marching in."
Dunston is Fordham's player to watch, he's averaging a double-double.
Starters:
St. Joe's: G Tasheed Carr G Darrin Govens F Pat Calathes F Rob Ferguson C Ahmad Nivins
Fordham: G Marcus Stout G Kevin Anderson F Michael Binns F Sebastian Greene C Bryant Dunston
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Dayton 63, Saint Louis 62, OT
In today's first game, Dayton led pretty much all the way through. Saint Louis, which had been laying bricks all day, finally hit two threes to cut the lead to six and then stole an inbounds pass, to cut the lead to four with under three to go. Tommie Liddell then made a fantastic move on the baseline to make it 55-52 with 1:08 left, and they nearly got it back with a five-second call on the inbounds pass.
Then everything went crazy. An errant buzzer went off as Liddell was going up for a three at the top of the key, so the defense essentially stopped, while the three tickled the nylon. Dayton's coach went berserk, but it won't matter, it's tied at 55.
After a charge, SLU gets one chance to win it. But London Warren plucks Saint Louis' Kevin Lisch, but he misses the bank for the win. The ball is slapped out, and Andres Sandoval's NBA three for the win clanks off the rim, and it heads to overtime.
In the extra session, each team trades threes, until yet another inbounds pass went awry for Dayton, giving SLU the ball down one with 1:35 to go. Danny Brown then made a fantastic and-1 teardrop, but Dayton takes the one-point lead right back.
Warren plays fantastic defense on Lisch, wasting the clock down to 6 seconds before he can give it up for a desperation three, and Dayton barely hangs on for the 63-62 win. The Flyers (RPI=33) are an impressive 21-9, and may be in the tournament already, though a win over No. 8 Xavier would really help.
Wednesday at Boardwalk Hall: No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 Saint Louis, 12 p.m. No. 5 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 12 Fordham, 2:30 p.m. No. 7 La Salle vs. No. 10 Duquesne, 6:30 p.m. No. 6 Charlotte vs. No. 11 Rhode Island, 9 p.m.
Thursday: No. 1 Xavier vs. Dayton/Saint Louis, 12 p.m. No. 4 Richmond vs. St. Joe's/Fordham, 2:30 p.m. No. 2 Temple vs. La Salle/Duquesne, 6:30 p.m. No. 3 Massachusetts vs. Charlotte/URI, 9 p.m.
FINAL: Penn 60, Princeton 47
Well, it's not an Ivy League title, but at least the Quakers can say they stayed above .500 in the league this year. The game went pretty much as expected; Princeton played tough, but just didn't have the offensive firepower to keep up with Penn.
The Quakers sealed the deal with late free throw shooting, and Grandieri got a standing ovation from the Penn crowd when Miller took him out with under a minute to go.
2nd Half, 1:31: Penn 54, Princeton 45
Bernardini and Eggleston fought for the same board, and the ball fell to Briggs, who scored inside. Princeton is in foul mode; Bernardini missed the front end of a one-and-one.
2nd Half, 3:42: Penn 54, Princeton 43
Gaines just showed his natural ability to get to the basket with a nice drive and easy layup. Votel is playing much better D on Finley than Schreiber was, though Finley just got to the line and made one of two.
2nd Half, 5:13: Penn 52, Princeton 42
Now that's more like it for the Quaker offense. First Egee had a nice drive and dish to Eggleston for an easy one, then Bernardini got open off a screen and hit another three, this one from the corner, forcing a Johnson timeout.
2nd Half, 7:13: Penn 47, Princeton 42
Briggs got another layup on a cut to the basket, the Kevin Steuerer hit a three from the corner to cut the Penn lead to two. Bernardini answered with three of his own, off a pass out of a double team from Eggleston.
2nd Half, 9:30: Penn 44, Princeton 37
Schreiber recently re-entered the game and it looks like he is on his way out already after missing a short jumper and getting scored on easily by Finley. Votel has checked back in, presumably for Schreiber. After Finley's basket, Eggleston got the roll on a putback to keep Penn's lead at 7.
2nd Half, 11:48: Penn 40, Princeton 35
Jason Briggs had two nice drives and scores, the second coming after Bernardini airballed a three. Egee continued his smooth stroke, though, and hit a three for the Quakers from the left wing. The tides have turned with fouls; Princeton is already in the penalty.
2nd Half, 15:25: Penn 35, Princeton 31
Bernardini started where he left off in the first half: struggling. He turned it over a couple times and was called for a tripping foul after getting tangled up with Savage. He finally got an open jumper though, moments ago, and hit it from the free throw line. For Princeton, Finley scored easily inside, but then Penn did an effective job doubling him a few possessions later.
1st Half Stats:
Leading Scorers: Penn - Grandieri (10), Princeton - Savage (8)
FGs: Penn - 13-29 (44.8%), Princeton - 7-17 (41.2%)
Really? They only took 17 shots? Gotta love the Princeton offense.
Rebounds: Penn - 16 (4 offensive), Princeton - 15 (3 offensive)
Assists/Turnovers: Penn - 4/5, Princeton - 4/8
3-Pt - Penn - 0-3, Princeton - 1-4,
Now that I think about it, the Tigers did do a great job of not giving Penn, and especially Bernardini, open looks from three.
They're in the midst of a halftime ceremony honoring all of the Princeton Ivy League champions and Players of the Year for the year so far. At least they have something to celebrate in this arena.
Halftime: Penn 29, Princeton 25
Penn piled up the fouls that half, so much so that the Penn crowd let out a sarcastic cheer when a foul was finally called on the Tigers. With some of the Quakers already in foul trouble, it will be interesting to see how Miller shuffles the lineup. He has already made some interesting moves, putting in Brenna Votel, and yes, Joe Gill.
Votel ended the half on a high note for the Quakers, hitting a long jumper when Princeton refused to guard him outside.
1st Half, 3:35: Princeton 22, Penn 21
Penn has looked hapless on offense in the past four minutes. They finally got an easy look at the basket but Bernardini missed a wide open layup, which led to a Koncz three on the other end, giving Princeton its first lead. More bad news for Penn: both Schreiber and Egee have picked up three fouls already.
1st Half, 7:30: Penn 19, Princeton 14
Egee continues to show how improved his jump shot is; he just hit a 15-footer to extend Penn's lead. Savage hit a mid-range J of his own earlier to keep it relatively close. Uncharacteristic play for Grandieri right before the timeout: with Penn on a two-on-one fastbreak, he tried a behind the back pass to Gaines. It was nearly stolen but Gaines recovered it and was fouled.
1st Half, 9:49: Penn 17, Princeton 10
Penn is starting to emerge as the better team. Kevin Egee just extended Penn's lead with a nice up and under on Koncz inside. That's right, he posted up the 6-7 Koncz and scored on him easily.
1st Half, 11:51: Penn 14, Princeton 10
Eggleston just scored on consecutive possessions for Penn. The second came on a forceful slam after a nice pass inside by Schreiber. Jack will be at the line to try to complete the three-point play after the timeout.
Gotta mention this: there is basically no one here and the average age of the people here is probably 75. Who said the rivalry hasn't lost its luster?
1st Half, 14:46: Penn 8, Princeton 6
Grandieri has been Penn's best weapon so far, getting two baskets, one after picking up a loose ball (it seems like he is always around the ball). Zach Finley came off the bench and got two baskets inside for the Tigers, but he just picked up on offensive foul,
Starting Lineups: Like Glen Miller Saturday night, Sydney Johnson is giving all of his seniors the start.
Penn:
G Harrison Gaines
G Brian Grandieri
G Tyler Bernardini
F Jack Eggleston
C Andreas Schreiber
Princeton:
G Matt Sargeant
G Kevin Steuerer
G Zach Woolridge
F Kyle Koncz
F Noah Savage
Rob Gross on hand at Jadwin Gym for the Ivy League season finale. It's going to be an anti-climactic finish tonight no matter what happens, with Cornell having put the wraps on an undefeated season this past weekend, but hopefully these two rivals can give us a good show to close out the year.
Refresh this page all night for live updates of Penn vs. Princeton.
FINAL: Penn 69, Columbia 67
It was clear that Miller wanted Bernardini to have the last shot, but his first attempt came up way short; it may have been tipped. But a Penn player dove for the rebound and it bounced back to Bernardini, who promptly hit a short floater to give Penn the victory.
2nd Half, 13.0: Penn 67, Columbia 67
Scott got to the basket and was fouled by Bernardini, but he only made one of two. Penn now has a chance for the last shot; we'll see what Miller draws up.
2nd Half, 26.4: Penn 67, Columbia 66
Typical Brian Grandieri play as the seconds wind down. After Niko Scott scored on a nice drive to the hoop, Grandieri grabbed the offensive board from a Bernardini miss and put it back in, thanks to a friendly roll. Columbia now has the ball with the chance to take the lead.
2nd Half, 1:20: Penn 64, Columbia 64
Schreiber continued his strong play down the stretch with a nice move inside to score on Nwachukwu. Baumann hit two free throws to tie it and Miller just called a timeout to set up a play for the Quakers.
2nd Half, 2:36: Penn 62, Columbia 62
Schreiber came up big, hitting four consecutive free throws. The second pair came after a needless over-the-back foul on Nwachukwu that put Penn in the double bonus.
2nd Half, 3:36: Columbia 60, Penn 58
Four consecutive points forced Jones into a timeout. Bernardini hit two FTs then Grandieri got inside and hit one of patented floaters off the backboard. Should be a good one down the stretch. 2nd Half, 5:02: Columbia 60, Penn 54
Gaines made a nice floater but then missed a pretty easy layup on Penn's next possession. Nwachukwu continues to give Penn headaches inside. First he scored on a nice post move on Eggleston, then he grabbed an offensive board and got the putback.
2nd Half, 7:47: Columbia 56, Penn 50
Not much has changed since the last timeout. Justin Reilly scored after getting an offensive rebound for Penn and Montgomery scored on a nice back door play for Columbia. Columbia has kept Bernardini extremely quiet in this half, which had to be one of its focal points for the game.
2nd Half, 10:24: Columbia 52, Penn 46
It's entering danger time for the Quakers. Columbia looks poised to take control of this game.
2nd Half, 13:04: Columbia 50, Penn 44
Big sequence for Columbia: first Baumann fought hard for two offensive boards and scored, despite what looked like multiple fouls on him. That play got Jones really pumped up. On the next play, Columbia turned a bad pass from Grandieri into a Baumann fast break dunk, forcing a Miller timeout. More bad news for Penn, Schreiberpicked up his fourth foul moments ago.
2nd Half, 15:43: Columbia 44, Penn 39
Penn is getting hurt by the long ball so far. Baumann, Montgomery and Loscalzo have all hit triples for the Lions. Penn's one highlight came on a nifty steal from Bernardini, which led to a wide open dunk.
Even the band and cheerleading seniors got honored at halftime..and wait even senior DP reporters! Be right back, I have to get my plaque.
Ok here are the halftime stats:
Leading Scorers: Penn - Egee (12), Columbia - Nwachukwu (15)
FGs: Penn - 10-28 (35.7%), Columbia - 11-27 (40.7%)
Rebounds: Penn - 15 (4 offensive), Columbia - 19 (6 offensive)
Assists/Turnovers: Penn - 6/10, Columbia - 6/11
Bench Points: Penn - 28, Columbia - 5
Halftime: Penn 33, Columbia 32
Really good game so far. Not even close to the excitement of last night, but it's been pretty intriguing. Nwachukwu was a force inside for the entire half, but Penn did a good job of not letting him dominate the game. Penn ended the half with some momentum thanks to a scrappy play from Bernardini, leading to a Grandieri runaway layup.
1st Half, 48.9: Penn 31, Columbia 31
Conor Turley is getting some serious playing time, not sure why. Perhaps Miller figures they need all the fouls they can get guarding Columbia's big men. Eggleston has been sitting on the bench for a while after picking up two early fouls.
Turley is making Miller look good, though. He's been doing a pretty good job with his interior defense.
1st Half, 3:46: Columbia 25, Penn 23
Nwachukwu scored once again and it looked like Columbia was starting to pull away. But another three from Egee brought the Penn deficit to 2. This game is reminiscent of the first meeting between the two, except K.J. Matsui is not raining down three's like he did in that game. The Quakers are keeping it close as a result, but they just don't seem to match up well with Columbia.
1st Half, 6:16: Columbia 21, Penn 19
The Lions continue to pound the ball inside. Nwackukwu isn't killing Penn, but he's been Columbia's best offensive option so far. For Penn, Kevin Egee kept the game close with two three-pointers, both from the left wing.
1st Half, 11:58: Columbia 11, Penn 8
Both offenses are still struggling. Penn's only easy basket came on a runaway layup for Schreiber. Nwachukwu is too strong for Penn's big men to guard; he scored on Reilly and-one inside. Columbia coach Joe Jones is upset with the way the game is being called though. Both Baumann and Nwchukwu have been called for offensive fouls.
1st Half, 15:52: Columbia 6, Penn 3
Ugly start for both sides, especially Penn. The Quakers missed their first five shots, including four ugly ones from Grandieri. Baumann and Loscalzo hit three's for Columbia and right after Harrison Gaines and Tyler Bernardini replaced Kach and Gill, Gaines got Penn on the board with a triple.
Ok enough of that, let's get to the game.
Starting Lineups:
Penn - Another classy move, this one by Miller, giving Kach and Gill the start.
G Joe Gill
G Mike Kach
G Brian Grandieri
F Jack Eggleston
C Andreas Schreiber
Columbia -
G Niko Scott
G Mack Montgomery
G Brett Loscalzo
F John Baumann
C Ben Nwachukwu
Pre-Game Ceremony: Really nice ceremony for Grandieri, Gill, and Mike Kach. Great ovation for everyone, especially Grandieri. Classy move by Columbia as all of the Lions stood and applauded Penn's Class of '08. It's too bad this place is nearly empty for their last game here.
Sports editors...I mean Rob Gross here at the Palestra for Penn's final home game of the season. Refresh the page throughout the game for live updates on Senior Night.
It's hard to believe this will be Brian Grandieri's last game at the Palestra. Hopefully his teammates can play as well as they did last night and give him one last victory on this floor. Let's also hope the game is not too close so fellow senior Joe Gill can see some PT - then again he was on the floor in crunch time last year when Glen Miller sent out his best three-point shooting team, Sidenote, Tim Begley is in the house for Senior Night and it looks like he might be thinking about changing his sport of choice. He spent the last few minutes in conversation with women's soccer coach Darren Ambrose.
FINAL: Temple 85, La Salle 66
The Owls controlled all day today against the Explorers. La Salle played a good second half to make it relatively close, but never got to within single-digits, as they'll have to win four-straight games to win the A-10 title.
Chris Clark was unconscious from three today, hitting 6-for-7 for the Owls for 22 points, while Tyndale and Christmas added 14 and 19, respectively. Darnell Harris scored 26 points on 11-for-21 shooting, but the majority of those came in the second half when it was too late.
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Temple fans show a "Big 5 Champs" rollout, as they and Villanova share this year's title.
Temple now has in a player - Orlando Miller, number 43 - who has no name on the back of his jersey.
1:46 2nd Half: Temple 83, La Salle 63
Wow, the Temple student section, as high up and small as possible, sings the "Hey Song" for about 30 seconds, yelling "you suck" at the La Salle bench.
Christmas hits a long jumper with a few seconds remaining in the shot clock, and then nails a dagger from three. He's got 10 straight points for Temple now. The Owls are shooting over 50 percent from the floor, and are now up by 20.
3:30 2nd Half: Temple 76, La Salle 60
Christmas is left wide open and makes La Salle pay with a three. Harris is trying to take over, hitting turnarounds on consecutive possessions. Olmos gets the ball inside, but once again is blocked on the way up.
5:45 2nd Half: Temple 71, La Salle 56
The game has gotten slightly less-physical, but the refs are still calling a lot. Clark is called for a push, and La Salle capitalizes with one from the line.
Mekongo Mbala gets a bail out call on Allen, his fourth for Temple. He hits a big two from the line, and it's back to 10.
Tyndale hits a big three with a man in his face, and Mekongo Mbala misses a three on the other end.
7:54 2nd Half: Temple 66, La Salle 53
Jerrell Williams scores to cut the lead to 13, but Olmos gets them right back with an and-1. Olmos then connects on a pretty hook, and Williams scores again on the other end.
Mekongo Mbala is left open at the top of the key, and nails a three. Clark misses his first shot of the game, and is now a mere 8-for-9, 22 points.
The Explorers are slowly coming back. Their defense has improved (though Temple is still getting good looks) and the offense has been lighting it up this half - they've doubled their first-half total in only 12 minutes.
11:21 2nd Half: Temple 61, La Salle 46
Harris yells "give it to me" to Diaz, and draws a foul. La Salle is already in the 1-and-1, but Harris misses the front end. He backs Clark down and hits a nasty turn-around jumper, though.
15:06 2nd Half: Temple 61, La Salle 44
Johnson draws his fourth charge of the game, and his second on Christmas. Honestly, I thought it should have gone un-called. Mekongo Mbala connects on a spin move for an and-1, and La Salle is back within 16.
Harris hits, and the crowd is beginning to wake up. The small Cherry and White contingency was by far louder before.
Wow, Clark hits again, and he's 8-for-8 from the field now, 6-of-6 from three.
15:41 2nd Half: Temple 56, La Salle 35
Christmas hits Clark for a big three, and now the point guard is 6-for-6. Then the next possession, Clark nails his seventh-straight shot and his fifth three.
The La Salle fans roll out the first sign of the game: "It's ok, we like Dr. G better," I guess referring to the fact that they couldn't get Fran Dunphy as their coach, but Dr. John Giannini is better.
17:29 2nd Half: Temple 50, La Salle 35
Mekongo Mbala and Harris both get inside for layups, and Green hits a 10-foot jumper to cut the lead to 18. Temple is missing threes, allowing the Explorers to make a small run. Meanwhile, Harris drains a three to open up the 9-0 run, as Dunphy calls timeout. The Explorers are a volatile team - they can heat up in a second.
Halftime: La Salle 26, Temple 50
Harris is really struggling from the floor, he's 3-for-9 for eight points. On the other end, Chris Clark is lights out - he's hit 5-for-5 from the field and has 13 points.
Christmas takes a beautiful give-and-go for a two, and Brooks' drive makes it 50 for Temple to close out the half
2:45 1st Half: La Salle 24, Temple 44
Clark hits a wide-open three and Temple is running away with it now.
Before that last hoop by the Explorers, Temple was on a 25-7 run.
Paul Johnson has had a great defensive first half. The forward who nearly went to Penn takes his third charge of the first half. He then takes a backdoor cut for a thunderous jam. He's got his hands full with Tyndale though, he's playing well, but not sure he's really getting the best of this matchup.
Clark nails a three with Green in his grill, and then does it again right over Harris the next possession.
Tyndale hits a three, and La Salle is getting doubled-up. Tyndale is taking out anyone in his sight, he's so strong on the drive that defenders often just fall out of the way.
7:48 1st Half: La Salle 16, Temple 28
Barrett gets rejected twice by Allen, and then Brooks hits a three for Temple. Willliams hits one to bring the lead to five.
Once again, Brooks hits Olmos for the lob inside for an easy two.
La Salle grad and ESPN analyst Tim Legler is in the house, as is Philly basketball legend Sonny Hill. An interesting tidbit about Legler - his girlfriend is an Eagles cheerleader, and is also here tonight.
10:25 1st Half: La Salle 12, Temple 20
Olmos takes a lob for an easy two. Temple's looking at this all day.
This is an amazingly physical game so far, as Christmas and Mbala go hurling toward the floor. It's the last regular season game for both schools, and they're going all out.
Jerrell Williams misses from point-blank range after an offensive rebound as Temple leads by five. He makes a nasty spin move on Olmos, though, to take it for a reverse layup.
Johnson takes yet another charge
15:29 1st Half: La Salle 10, Temple 10
On the game's first play, Christmas drives hard to the basket, bu Johnson draws a charge. And just like that, La Salle goes up 2-0 on a beautiful alley-oop from Diaz to Rodney Green.
Christmas scores, but a Harris three puts La Salle back on top.
Christmas is playing well on both ends so far, forcing an airballed three, but just as I say this Harris nails one the next possession.
I didn't know anyone could be worse at throwing out T-shirts than the Penn cheerleaders, but I almost caught one from the La Salle cheerleaders, and I'm courtside.
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Welcome to Tom Gola Arena, I bet none of you expected the Big 5 title to be decided by this game between the two North Philly foes.
Villanova (3-1) has secured a share of the Big 5 title, the other half to be determined tonight as La Salle (2-1) faces off against Temple (2-1). Both teams have beaten Penn and St. Joe's (surprisingly) and lost to the Wildcats.
These two teams, along with St. Joe's, have produced three of the best Big 5 games in years this season, and this hopes to be another classic. La Salle shoots lights out from deep, but doesn't play too much defense. For Temple, the dynamic duo of Mark Tyndale and Dionte Christmas are always a thrill to watch. If I had to guess, this game will be played in the 80s or 90s.
This is an especially big game for both squads because it's the final game of the regular season before both teams head to Atlantic City for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Temple (10-5) has clinched one of the four byes in the first round, while La Salle (8-7) would get one with a win and a little help.
Sherman Diaz starts for La Salle on Senior Day, and in honor of him they played the national anthem of Trinidad and Tobago
Starters:
Temple: G Luiz Guzman G Dionte Christmas G Mark Tyndale F Lavoy Allen C Sergio Olmos
La Salle: G Darnell Harris G Rodney Green F Sherman Diaz F Paul Johnson F Yves Mekongo Mbala
First off, what a game last night. Even though the Quakers didn't come away with the "W," they came awfully close -- even closer than they did in Ithaca a few weeks ago. For the second consecutive game against the best team in the league, Penn rose up to the challenge when it could have just as easily folded after last Saturday's devastating loss to Brown. This has to be a big confidence-builder for the team going forward, and it should also give them a little extra motivation when Cornell comes to the Palestra next season.
And say what you will about bad calls and no calls (evidently Friday night referees in the Ivy League are the worst in the business with other conference tournament games going on around the east coast), last night's game was the third straight very exciting Penn-Cornell contest. Dating back to last year's fierce battle at the Palestra, we have seen the beginnings of what could likely become a very fun and heated rivalry between the Quakers and the Big Red over the next few years. Cornell is young and talented; Penn is young and talented and should be a much more successful team next season. With Princeton in the cellar, I can certainly see the potential for a great Penn-Cornell rivalry in the immediate future. Not to take anything away from the greatness of the Penn-Princeton rivalry -- the two teams will always compete in entertaining games no matter what. But as far as league importance and quality basketball is concerned, Penn-Cornell might be the real attraction going forward.
Speaking of the Tigers...they somehow managed to pull off a win over the Lions last night, 75-64, earning their third Ivy League win of the season (and sixth win overall). An interesting note from that game, aside from the fact that John Baumann and Niko Scott combined for 41 of Columbia's 64 total points, is that K.J. Matsui saw only seven minutes -- more than 12 below his season average.
The Tokyo-native is somewhat of a secret weapon for Columbia. He started the first two Ivy League games of the season and has since been used as a perimeter threat off the bench. Penn fans know this all too well. Earlier this season against the Quakers, he played 31 minutes off the bench and went 5-8 from behind the arc, ending up with 17 points. Matsui is an even 50-100 from downtown this season, leading the league with his 50% clip.
Given how good Matsui was against Penn last time the two teams met -- and given how much trouble Penn tends to have guarding against the three -- I'd have to imagine that he sees a lot more than seven minutes tonight. Tonight, the Quakers will have to do a better job of containing him and Niko Scott around the perimeter without losing sight of Baumann.
FINAL: Cornell 94, Penn 92
WHAT A FINISH. Penn brought it back to one with 3 seconds left after a Bernardini three. Penn promptly fouled sending Wittman to the line with 2.7 on the clock. He made one of two and Penn was left to hope for a halfcourt heave to get a shot off.
Reilly sent it downcourt and Bernardini grabbed it. He went up for a three and appeared to get fouled but no call was made. Glen Miller ran all the way out to center court and remained there for about a minute protesting the call. It's hard to make that call down the stretch, but it looked like there was enouch contact.
2nd Half, 9.8: Cornell 92, Penn 89
Thanks to three-pointers from Gaines and Bernardini, this one is not quite over yet. Penn will be missing Grandier for the final stretch though as he just fouled out. Dale is at the line shooting two.
2nd Half, 43.6: Cornell 89, Penn 79
They answered that question quickly as Gaines threw away the inbound pass leading to an easy Cornell basket. Bernardini then missed an off-balance three and Penn was forced to foul.
2nd Half, 1:08: Cornell 85, Penn 79
The press seems to be working. Cornell has turned it over twice already. We'll see if Penn can capitalize off the latest one.
2nd Half, 1:27: Cornell 85, Penn 79
Tyler just provided an exclamation point with s thunderous slam off a nice feed from Dale. Penn is in full-court press mode now and need some steals to get back into it.
2nd Half, 2:34: Cornell 82, Penn 73
Barring a miracle, Penn's upset bid is over. Ryan Wittman just provided the dagger with a three to give Cornell its biggest lead of the night.
2nd Half, 3:42: Cornell 75, Penn 71
Grandieri hit a big mid-range J to momentarily thwart Cornell's momentum. He then committed a loose ball foul and with the Quakers now in the double bonus, Foote will be shooting two when the game resumes.
2nd Half, 4:19: Cornell 75, Penn 69
It's starting to enter "Uh-Oh" time for the Red and Blue. Dale got inside once again for an easy layup then Bernardini was unable to fight through the screens as Gore hit an open three. Penn needs to respond soon or its upset bid will come up short.
2nd Half, 5:49: Cornell 70, Penn 69
You knew it wasn't going to be easy for the Quakers to hold onto their lead. Dale just gave the Big Red their first lead in a while with an acrobatic move to the hoop.
2nd Half, 7:32: Penn 69, Cornell 66
Not much scoring in the last couple minutes but plenty of action. The players are really getting at it on the boards and diving for loose balls. Reilly was just called for a travel diving for a ball and Cam Lewis had a nice block after a crazy sequence where about six players were fighting for the rebound.
Both Eggleston and Schreiber re-entered the game and Schreiber prompty picked up his fifth on a charge call.
2nd Half, 10:02: Penn 69, Cornell 64
Cam Lewis just tore the roof off this place with a MONSTER slam. The arena was so loud that nobody even knew the ref had called a foul on the play. The basket gave Penn its biggest lead of 9 but Cornell has kept it close thanks to baskets from Alex Tyler and Foote. This one has been exciting throughout and it doesn't look like that is going to change as we head down to the last ten minutes.
2nd Half, 13:54: Penn 63, Cornell 58
I just said Schreiber was starting to gain confidence; too bad he picked up his fourth foul right after the last timeout. A few possessions later, Eggleston picked up his fourth diving for a loose ball. Cam Lewis is going to have to step up big time if the Quakers want to hold on to this one. He just entered and got a nice block on Jason Battle. Then Grandieri got a putback layup, leading to a Steve Donahue timeout.
2nd Half, 15:47: Penn 56, Cornell 54
Andreas Schreiber is gaining confidence. He hit a three-point play on a short jumper then took a few steps back and knocked down a mid-range J. Penn looked like it was starting to gain momentum, but Louis Dale made two nice moves into the lane for layups, one going for a three-point play and Wittman hit a three from NBA range.
Halftime Stats:
Leading Scorers: Penn - Eggleston, Bernardini (11), Cornell - Gore (14)
FGs: Penn - 16-29 (55.2%), Cornell - 15-31 (48.4%)
Rebounds: Penn - 14 (4 offensive), Cornell - 15 (6 offensive)
Assists/Turnovers: Penn - 8/6, Cornell - 9/6
3-Pts: Penn - 4-9, Cornell 6-17
Halftime: Penn 44, Cornell 44
Looks like 14-0 isn't going to come as easily as many thought coming into the weekend. Wittman just tied the game going into the half, but the Quakers have to feel good about the way they are playing. Not only are they executing on offense, they are playing inspired ball, fighting for rebounds and diving for loose balls.
It seems like the crowd knows as well that perfection is at stake; the arena has been raucous considering it isn't even close to full.
1st Half, 44.2: Penn 44, Cornell 42
As we head down the stretch in this half, things have gotten even more entertaining. Boths teams are raining three's and making it look easy on offense. The highlight of the game so far, though, came on the defensive end. Jack Eggleston completely stuffed the seven-foot Jeff Foote, drawing quite a response from the home crowd.
1st Half, 3:59: Cornell 35, Penn 35
This game has been fin to watch so far. Both teams are executing on offense and getting oepn looks. Ryan Wittman, who has been quiet hit a wide open three from the wing, but Bernardini immediately responded with a three of his own. Looks like the Quakers are enjoying the role of spoiler so far.
1st Half, 7:54: Cornell 32, Penn 26
Biggest sequence of the early going: The ball was on the floor for a good ten seconds as players from both sides scrummed to recover it. Cornell eventually did, which led to another four-point play from Gore. This is looking a lot like the first two meetings between these two. Penn is playing well and hanging in there so far, but Cornell looks like they have too much offensive firepower.
1st Half, 11:56, Penn 19, Cornell 19
Grandieri gave his team the lead again with a three coming out of the last timeout, but seconds later Gore banged another one from deep. Big men Justin Reilly and Jeff Foote each scored on each other to keep it at a tie.
Sidenote, the crowd is actually pretty decent, considering most students aren't on campus. The most full sections of the arena are the Cornell ones, though.
1st Half, 13:08: Penn 14, Cornell 14
Penn got off to a great start, gaining an early 7-point lead. But Adam Gore went on a personal 7-0 run, hitting two three's, one going for a four-point play after a needless foul from Harrison Gaines.
1st Half, 15:34: Penn 11, Cornell 5
Brian Grandieri has come out agressive scoring three early baskets. A Tyler Bernardini three-point play gave Penn the early edge going into the first media timeout.
Rob Gross here at the Palestra to bring all of you Spring Breakers who are worried about what is going on here in West Philly the game updates. Stay tuned all night for live updates of the Quakers' bid to knock off Cornell from the ranks of the Ivy unbeaten.
Anybody who's ever had to fly out of Terminal F at Philadelphia International knows there's nothing exciting about it; it's the worst terminal at one of the worst major airports in North America.
But I finally got just a little bit of excitement there today.
I was just checking in to head on Spring Break (i.e. back home to snowy Montreal) when I turned around and saw Pat Calathes. And Ahmad Nivins. And Tasheed Carr. And yes, Phil Martelli (who I've never seen up close in person -- he looked a lot younger than in photos or footage).
They were off to Dayton, and there we were, me and the Hawks standing in line at the security checkpoint. I thought it was pretty cool but went on my way.
So I stopped to buy a newspaper and Pat Calathes gets in line behind me. I couldn't see what he was getting, but he was eyeing a People magazine with a bikini-clad Drew Barrymore on the cover.
I turned around, put my head back to look up (he's about 6'10", I'm a little over 5'6"), and congratulated him on the win over Xavier last night. He said thanks.
Then I told him that he really killed Penn when he played us.
He gave a half-smile and chuckle and said: "Yeah...well it's kind of a rebuilding year over there"
In some circles, he's Columbia forward John Baumann, the senior that leads the team in points. In other circles, he's Columbia pitcher John Baumann, the second team All-Ivy hurler that led the Lions in strikeouts last season. To his fraternity brothers, he's known simply as "Hard Hat" -- the summertime construction worker keeps one in his room.
On Saturday, Baumann will make his final trip to the Palestra. A few weeks ago, the New York Times published a great article about him that can be found here.
The DP's interesting article from a few weeks ago about this "John of all trades" can be found here.
There's a 30-year record that could be snapped this year in college basketball, and you won't see any coverage of it on ESPN.
The Big 5 is in trouble, and for the first time since 1977 it may not get a team into the NCAA Tournament.
The ironic part about this is that it really hasn't been a bad year for the Big 5, besides Penn that is. There have been three fantastic games (two involving Saint Joseph's and Temple), the most-recent one even prompting Temple guard Semaj Inge to say “I just don’t like St. Joe’s. It doesn’t have anything to do with the rivalry – I just don’t like those guys.
There are four teams from the Big 5 that have a shot of making it into the Tournament, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that any one team has even a 50-50 chance.
Temple (17-12, 10-5 A-10) has secured a bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, meaning it is automatically through to the quarterfinals. St. Joe's (17-10, 8-6) is still fighting for one of the two remaining byes, while La Salle (13-15, 8-7) needs a win over the Owls on Saturday and some help to not have to play a dangerous team like Duquesne or George Washington in round one.
Villanova (18-11, 8-9 Big East) will need to make a major run in the Big East Tournament in order to have a shot at dancing.
Here are the RPIs of the teams, followed by their Sagarin rating (combining RPI and margin of loss/victory) and games remaining on the schedule.
Villanova (59, 62) Sat. at Providence St. Joe's (64, 63) Thurs. vs. No. 8 Xavier, Sat. at Dayton Temple (65, 77) Sat. at La Salle La Salle (158, 158) Sat. vs. Temple Penn (276, 285) Fri. vs. Cornell, Sat. vs. Columbia, Tues. at Princeton
In order to get an at-large bid, any of these teams would need to raise its RPI to in the 30s or at least the 40s. That sounds difficult, but there are some positives.
Bracketologist Joe Lunardi (slightly biased toward the Hawks, I will admit - he's their radio announcer and a frequent guest on the critically-acclaimed show Hawk Talk with Phil Martelli) has St. Joe's as one of the "next four out" of his projected bracket, meaning there are only 5-8 teams ahead of the Hawks in getting a tourney spot. And with wins over two teams in the RPI's top 35 to finish the season, St. Joe's would be right back in the mix. but then again, Xavier has only lost game this calendar year - to Temple. St. Joe's also has going for it that it is excellent on the road with a 9-5 mark.
In fact, Lunardi's list of 15 "bubble teams" includes St. Joe's, Villanova and Temple.
Some other interesting notes: La Salle has the third-worst RPI in the A-10, but is in sixth place out of 14, and could finish as high as third. Villanova is playing better basketball now, slightly recovering from its five-game losing streak.
The Wildcats beat West Virginia and Connecticut at home in the last two weeks, only losing to teams in the top-25 of the RPI (Georgetown, Louisville and Marquette) since falling hard in the Holy War. St. Joe's, on the other hand, has headed in the opposite direction after drubbing Villanova. After winning 11 of 12 from December to early February, the Hawks have dropped five of their last seven, only beating bottom-dwellers St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island.
Also, you'd have to think that the selection committee will want to admit more than one team from the A-10 - the conference has its highest RPI (flirts with the Mizzouri Valley between seventh and eighth) in the last 10 years, and has often got multiple bids, even last season when the conference RPI was 10th.
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