Written by: Ryan Cunningham

Twitter: @R_Cunningham04

Twitter: @wingspansports (follow for all your sports information; we follow back)

This week proved how tough some of the teams in this league are. Almost every game could’ve gone either way. Teams all the way at the bottom proved once again that they can compete with the top. Let’s analyze each of them.

#22 Rhode Island 85, Massachusetts 83: Mullins Center, Amherst, Massachusetts

Even after a late push by Massachusetts (11-13, 4-7 A-10), they came up just short against Rhode Island (19-3, 11-0 A-10) at home. Jared Terrell led the Rams with 21 points and four rebounds. Jeff Dowtin added 19 points, including 3 threes. Luwane Pipkins led UMass with 27 points, four assists and three rebounds. This was a very good offensive game. UMass shot 51% from the field and 56% from three. The Minutemen shot 24/25 from the free throw line as well. Rhody shot 61% from the field and 56% from three. After a back and forth first half, Rhode Island took the lead at the break, 44-41. With 6:58 left in the second half, Jared Terrell hit a three from the left wing to take a 14 point lead, and it looked over. With the Rams still leading by 14 with 3:42 to go, UMass went on a 16-4 run. Jarvis Garrett hit a free throw for Rhode Island to make it a three-point game with 10 seconds left. With five seconds to go, Rhody wisely fouled Pipkins to send him to the line. He made the first and intentionally missed the second to attempt to get a tip-back to tie the game, but Pipkins was called for a lane violation. It was a controversial call. Many thought the whistle was for a foul on the Pipkins put-back, but the refs thought otherwise. This win kept Rhode Island undefeated in league play. They should expect to get everyone’s best shot. Duquesne almost pulled off a win in Kingston last week and UMass gave them all they can handle. Click HERE for highlights.

Davidson 84, La Salle 65: Belk Arena, Davidson, North Carolina

Davidson (12-9, 7-3 A-10) started the game out with a 25-8 lead leading to a relatively comfortable win over La Salle (10-13, 4-6 A-10). Kellan Grady led the Wildcats with 26 points, six rebounds and three assists. He drained four three pointers. Jon Axel Gudmundsson added 17 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals. B.J. Johnson led La Salle with 20 points and five rebounds. Jamir Moultrie added 19 points, including 15 from behind the arc. The Explorers couldn’t figure out a defense to slow down Davidson. The Wildcats shot 30/60 from the field, including 15/32 (47%) from three. Davidson out-rebounded La Salle 35-25, only letting up four offensive rebounds. This win got Davidson back in the winning column after dropping two in a row. Click HERE for highlights.

Duquesne 75, George Washington 73: Charles E. Smith Center, Washington D.C.

Duquesne (15-9, 6-5 A-10) avoided the upset when they slid by George Washington (9-14, 2-8 A-10). This game proves, yet again, that anybody can keep up with anybody in this league. Mike Lewis II led the Dukes with 17 points. Tarin Smith added 15 points and four assists. Duquesne shot a sizzling 9/14 from three, or 64.3%. Patrick Steeves led George Washington with 23 points and six rebounds. Terry Nolan added 16 points and three assists for the Colonials. GW had 23 assists on 27 made baskets. This game was even for 35 minutes, until Duquesne slightly pulled away at the end leading to their win. Click HERE for highlights.

St. Bonaventure 85, George Mason 69: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia

With their third win in a row, St. Bonaventure (16-6, 6-4 A-10) continues to move their way up the standings with a nice win over George Mason (10-13, 4-6 A-10). Matt Mobley led the way for the Bonnies with a career high 35 points and 11 rebounds. He could not be stopped. In addition to shooting 6/6 from the free throw line, he shot seven-for-nine from three. Nelson Kaputo added 20 points, four rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes. Otis Livingston II led the Patriots with 30 points. He was the only Mason player in double figures. Bona shot a whopping 13/23 (56.5%) from three. George Mason did a good job of holding Jaylen Adams to five points on two made field goals. Mobley made up for Adams’ off day.

Saint Louis 60, St. Joseph’s 59: Hagan Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

On a Davell Roby made free throw, Saint Louis (13-11, 6-5 A-10) picked up a road win over St. Joseph’s (9-13, 4-6 A-10). Jalen Johnson and Aaron Hines both had 11 points to lead the Billikens. Taylor Funk led St. Joe’s with 21 points and three rebounds. Shavar Newkirk added 16 points and six rebounds. The last eight minutes of this game was back and forth all the way to the buzzer. With 53 seconds to go, Newkirk hit a three to bring the Hawks within one. With 13 seconds to go, Newkirk went to the line to try to go up by one. He made the first, but missed the second. So the game was now tied at 59. With three seconds to go, Newkirk fouled Davell Roby to send him to the line for two. Roby missed the first and made the second, ending the game.

#22 Rhode Island 81, VCU 68: Siegel Center, Richmond, Virginia

Rhode Island (19-3, 11-0 A-10) continued their winning streak as they went into Richmond and took down VCU (14-9, 6-4 A-10). E.C. Matthews led the way for Rhody with 18 points and five rebounds. Jared Terrell added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Justin Tillman led the way for VCU with 22 points and six rebounds. Sean Mobley added 13 points and three rebounds. This was VCU’s 113th sellout crowd in a row and Rhode Island came in unafraid. Rhode Island out-rebounded VCU 47-31. This is largely attributed to Cyril Langevine. He put up a career high 18 rebounds, seven of them offensive, for Rhody. Click HERE for highlights.

Massachusetts 86, Dayton 82 (2OT): Mullins Center, Amherst, Massachusetts

Completing their season sweep over Dayton (10-12, 4-6 A-10), Massachusetts (11-13, 4-7 A-10) snapped their five-game losing streak with a double overtime win at home. Luwane Pipkins led UMass with 28 points and eight assists. C.J. Anderson added 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Josh Cunningham led Dayton with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Trey Landers added 22 points and nine rebounds. At the end of the first overtime, Unique McLean received an alley-oop from C.J. Anderson to go up by two with 40 seconds remaining. With 24 seconds to go, Josh Cunningham was fouled and hit two clutch free throws to send the game to double-OT. UMass jumped out to a quick four-point lead a little over a minute into the second-OT. Dayton tied the game up with 1:29 to go on a Cunningham layup. With 0:55 left, Pipkins hit a desperation heave from far beyond NBA range at the end of the shot clock. The replay looked like the ball was still in his hands at the buzzer, but the refs let it stand. With 12 seconds to go, McLean hit a jumper to put the Minutemen up by four, putting away any hopes for the Flyers. Click HERE for highlights.

Davidson 87, George Washington 58: Charles E. Smith Center, Washington D.C.

Davidson (12-9, 7-3 A-10) topped George Washington (9-14, 2-8 A-10) in beautiful fashion as they hit 13 threes in the win. Kellan Grady topped all scorers with 23 points and eight rebounds. Oskar Michelsen added 15 points and three rebounds. For GW, Yuta Watanabe had 20 points. He was the only Colonial in double figures. Along with shooting 49% from the field, Davidson shot 44.8% from three, shooting a very efficient 13/29. They also had 21 assists on 30 made baskets. George Washington was out-rebounded 38-26. The Colonials had a very tough time trying to stop Davidson’s off the ball curls and cuts. The Wildcats went on a 15-4 run to start the second half, which put the Colonials in a big hole. Kellan Grady is my player of the week. Click HERE for highlights.

La Salle 81, St. Joseph’s 78: Tom Gola Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

La Salle (10-13, 4-6 A-10) squeaked by cross-town rival St. Joseph’s (9-13, 4-6 A-10) on Saturday. B.J. Johnson led the Explorers with 25 points and seven rebounds. Amar Stukes had 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. For the Hawks, Shavar Newkirk had 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists. James Demery added 21 points and 11 rebounds. With a layup by Chris Clover for St. Joe’s with 5:58 left in the game, the score was tied at 66. It remained tied at 72 with 1:38 left in the game after a layup by Pierfrancesco Oliva. Next possession, Jamir Moultrie hit a three for La Salle to go up by three with a little over a minute left. After going back and forth for the next minute, Newkirk missed a three at the buzzer, giving La Salle a three-point win. Click HERE for highlights.

George Mason 79, Richmond 75: Robins Center, Richmond, Virginia

George Mason (10-13, 4-6 A-10) picked up a great road win over a Richmond (8-14, 6-4 A-10) team that had won five in a row. This win also snapped Mason’s four-game losing streak. Otis Livingston II led the Patriots with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds. Justin Kier added 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Nick Sherod led the Spiders with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Jacob Gilyard added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. The key to this game was Grant Golden. George Mason held Golden to 10 points on 5/18 shooting. He’s been on a tear lately so kudos to the Patriots. After George Mason pulled away a bit in the second half, Richmond closed the gap to two with 1:43 to go in the game. The Patriots stayed resilient in the final minute and pulled out the win. Click HERE for highlights.

St. Bonaventure 84, Duquesne 81: Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

St. Bonaventure (16-6, 6-4 A-10) won their fourth in a row as they took down Duquesne (15-9, 6-5 A-10) on the road. Jaylen Adams had a career-high 40 points, seven assists and three rebounds for the Bonnies. Matt Mobley added 19 points and three rebounds. Tarin Smith led the Dukes with 24 points. Rene Castro-Caneddy added 21 points. This was an offensive affair. Duquesne shot 30/54 (55.6%) from the field. St. Bonaventure shot 31/64 (48.4%) from the field, including 11/23 (47.8%) from three. With 42 seconds to go in the game, Tarin Smith hit a three to tie the game at 81. Next possession, with five seconds to go, Jaylen Adams hit a deep three from the left wing to win the game. Adams is clearly a first-team all A-10 player, and he showed that on Saturday. Click HERE for highlights.

Saint Louis 73, Fordham 50: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri

Saint Louis (13-11, 6-5 A-10) won their third in a row as they took down Fordham (7-15, 2-8 A-10). Javon Bess led the Billikens with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Hasahn French added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Joseph Chartouny led Fordham with 11 points and three rebounds. Cavit Havsa added 10 points and four assists. The Billikens held the Rams to 34% shooting and out-rebounded Fordham 48-31, including 17 offensive rebounds. Fordham continued to struggle to score, only putting up 17 points in the first half.

Conference Standings as of 2/06/18:

#18 Rhode Island 19-3 (11-0) Davidson 12-9 (7-3) Richmond 8-14 (6-4) St. Bonaventure 16-6 (6-4) VCU 14-9 (6-4) Duquesne 15-9 (6-5) Saint Louis 13-11 (6-5) George Mason 10-13 (4-6) La Salle 10-13 (4-6) Dayton 10-12 (4-6) St. Joseph’s 9-14 (4-6) Massachusetts 11-13 (4-7) George Washington 9-14 (2-8) Fordham 7-15 (2-8)

Games this week:

2/6: St. Joseph’s @ Davidson 7PM on Stadium

2/7: Duquesne @ Dayton 7PM on A-10 Network

2/7: George Mason @ Fordham 7PM on A-10 Network

2/7: La Salle @ George Washington 7PM on A-10 Network

2/7: Saint Louis @ St. Bonaventure 7PM on A-10 Network

2/7: VCU @ Richmond 9PM on CBSSN

2/9: Davidson @ #18 Rhode Island 7PM on ESPN2

2/10: Fordham @ Duquesne 12PM on A-10 Network

2/10: George Washington @ George Mason 4PM on Stadium

2/10: Richmond @ St. Bonaventure 4PM on A-10 Network

2/10: Massachusetts @ St. Joseph’s 4PM on A-10 Network

2/10: Dayton @ VCU 6PM on CBSSN

2/10: La Salle @ Saint Louis 8PM on A-10 Network