March 6, 2013

Xavier 77, No. 16 Saint Louis 66 | XAVIER HIGHLIGHTS

CINCINNATI (AP) - Travis Taylor had 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds on Wednesday night, and Xavier never trailed in the overtime, beating No. 16 Saint Louis 77-66, ending the Billikens' 11-game winning streak and leaving the Atlantic 10 title up for grabs.

Xavier (17-12, 9-6 A-10) ended a long winning streak for the second time in eight days. The Musketeers snapped Memphis' 18-game streak at the Cintas Center last week.

The Billikens (23-6, 12-3) haven't won a share of a conference title since 1970-71 in the Missouri Valley. Their last outright title came in 1956-57. They could have clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a win on Wednesday.

Instead, they fell into a first-place tie with No. 21 VCU, which beat Richmond on Wednesday. Saint Louis beat VCU during its 11-game winning streak for the head-to-head advantage.

Saint Louis finishes the season at home against third-place La Salle on Saturday. VCU is at Temple on Sunday.


Saint Joseph's 81, Rhode Island 44 | SAINT JOSEPH'S HIGHLIGHTS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - C.J. Aiken led four Saint Joseph's players in double figures with 15 points as they beat Rhode Island 81-44 Wednesday night in Atlantic 10 Conference action.

Ronald Roberts scored 13 points, Chris Wilson added 11 and Carl Jones chipped in 10 to help Saint Joseph's (17-11, 8-7) win its sixth straight home game and clinch a berth in next week's Atlantic 10 championship.

On top 14-10 with 10:52 left in the half, the Hawks closed out the period on a 25-10 run to take a 39-20 lead into halftime.

Saint Joseph's led by double figures the entire the second half and was up by as many as 37 points.

The Hawks shot 52.9 percent (27 of 51) compared to Rhode Island's 29 percent (18 of 62) for the game.

Nikola Malesevic and Andre Malone scored 10 points apiece for the Rams (8-20, 3-12), who has now lost four straight.


La Salle 84, George Washington 70

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ramon Galloway scored a career-high 29 points as hot-shooting La Salle defeated George Washington 84-70 Wednesday night to clinch a first-round bye in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

Galloway made 11 of 17 field goals, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, for the Explorers (21-7, 11-4), who have won three straight and seven of their past eight games.

La Salle made 10 of its first 12 shots, including seven treys to lead 29-14.

The Explorers shot 60.9 percent from the field (28 of 46) to eclipse 60 percent for the second time this season and made 12 of 22 from long range.

The Colonials (12-16, 6-9), who have lost four straight and six of seven, shot 55.2 percent (32 of 58), but hit only 1 of 8 from deep.

La Salle's Tyreek Duren added 19 points and Jerrell Wright 16.

Isaiah Armwood led George Washington with 18 points and 10 boards.

No. 21 VCU 93, Richmond 82 | SMART POSTGAME | MOONEY POSTGAME

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Treveon Graham scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including the go-ahead basket with 2:58 to play, and No. 21 VCU beat city rival Richmond 93-82 on Wednesday night, avoiding a sweep of the season series.

Juvonte Reddic added 16 points for the Rams (24-6, 12-3 Atlantic 10), who remained in control of at least the second seed in the conference tournament later this month.

Cedric Lindsay led the Spiders (17-13, 7-8) with 22 points, but failed on several consecutive possessions late in the game as the Rams pulled away from a 79-all tie with 3:13 remaining.

Graham's driving basket broke the tie, and after a turnover by Lindsay in the lane, Reddic dunked for the Rams, bringing the sellout crowd in the Siegel Center to their feet. When Reddic scored again with 1:40 to play to make it 85-79, chants of "VCU! VCU!" broke out in unison.


Dayton 75, St. Bonaventure 63 | DAYTON POSTGAME | ST. BONAVENTURE HIGHLIGHTS/POSTGAME

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Kevin Dillard scored 18 points Wednesday night to lead Dayton to a 75-63 victory over St. Bonaventure in Atlantic 10 Conference play.

On Senior Night, the senior guard Dillard excelled. He scored 10 of his points in the first half, had eight assists and two turnovers in 35 minutes of play. Fellow senior Josh Benson added 11 points. Dyshawn Pierre scored 12 points, hitting all three 3-point attempts. Guard Vee Sanford finished with 14 points and four assists, with one turnover in 25 minutes.

St. Bonaventure (14-14, 7-8) got 22 points from Demitrius Conger (8 of 11 from the floor). But Eric Mosley was the only other Bonnie in double figures with 13.

Leading 32-27 at halftime, the Flyers opened the second half on a 12-2 run to lead 44-29. The Bonnies would close within six points, the last time at 57-51. But Dayton led 75-59 with a minute left.


Temple 74, Fordham 55 | DUNPHY POSTGAME | TU PLAYERS POSTGAME | FORDHAM POSTGAME

NEW YORK (AP) - Khalid Wyatt recorded a double-double and Temple overcame a slow start to defeat Fordham 74-55 Wednesday night in Atlantic 10 Conference action.

The Owls (22-8, 10-5) won their sixth straight and eighth in their last nine games. Temple, on the NCAA tournament bubble, didn't stumble against Fordham (6-24, 2-13), which has lost 10 in a row, 13 of its last 14 games.

Wyatt scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He was 10 for 10 at the foul line. Anthony Lee also had a double-double for the Owls with 12 points and 10 boards.

Temple trailed 12-6 early, then outscored the Rams 22-5 to lead 28-17 at halftime. Seven different Owls scored in that run. Fordham made just 7 of 27 first-half shots.

Scootie Randall scored 14 points for Temple, which later led 53-31, and Jake O'Brien added 10.

Jeffrey Short led the Rams with 15 points.


Charlotte 89, Duquesne 87 | MAJOR POSTGAME | BRASWELL POSTGAME

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Chris Braswell scored 28 points, sent the game into overtime and won it as Charlotte outlasted Duquesne 89-87 Wednesday night.

The 49ers (19-10, 7-8 Atlantic 10 Conference) trailed 39-32 at halftime but tied it at 79-79 before prevailing in overtime.

Duquesne (8-21, 1-14), which lost its fifth straight and 16th in 17 games, led 60-45 in the second half. But Charlotte rallied behind Braswell and Pierria Henry (18 points, 10 rebounds).

The Dukes led 79-77 before Braswell's layup with 6.6 seconds left in regulation forced overtime.

Duquesne's Quevyn Winters (11 points) hit a 3-pointer with 0:52 remaining to tie it 86-86. But Braswell's layup with 0:18 left was decisive. His foul shot at 0:02 built an 89-86 lead. Duquesne's Sean Johnson (20 points) hit a free throw with a second left, then intentionally missed the second. But Duquesne couldn't grab the rebound.

Derrick Colter led Duquesne with 21 points.