A-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Leemire Goldwire - Charlotte
Senior, Guard, 5-11, 190 lbs.
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS
Goldwire averaged 21 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range in leading Charlotte to a pair of wins...registered his first career double-double on Jan. 9 with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the 49ers downed #19/#18 Clemson, 82-72...scored Charlotte's final 11 points, including the game-winning free throws with 13.5 seconds remaining as part of a 21-point effort in the 49ers' 60-58 win over Temple on Jan. 12...earns his second A-10 Player of the Week honor of the season.
Brian Roberts - Dayton
Senior, Guard, 6-2, 185 lbs.
Toledo, Ohio/St. John's HS
Roberts averaged 26.5 points and five assists while shooting 15-of-28 from the field in a pair of victories for the Flyers...scored 30 points and added three assists on Jan. 12 as Dayton earned a 68-57 (OT) win at Saint Louis...scored 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting and dished out seven assists in the Flyers' 92-83 win over Rhode Island...knocked down six field goals from beyond the arc and shot 17-of-19 from the line in the two games...earns his second A-10 Player of the Week award of the season.
A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Charles Dewhurst - Charlotte
Freshman, Guard/Forward, 6-5, 185 lbs.
Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin HS
Dewhurst averaged 11 points and 8.5 rebounds in a pair of victories for the 49ers...recorded his second double-double of the year on Jan. 12 with 11 points and 10 boards as Charlotte edged Temple, 60-58...had 12 points and seven rebounds in the 49ers' 82-72 win over #19/#18 Clemson on Jan. 9...dished out seven assists in the two contests.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE ATLANTIC 10
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
- Senior guard Reggie Jackson scored a team-high 15 points in Duquesne's 74-62 win versus Fordham on Jan. 9. Freshman teammate <>b>Damian Saunders had 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds versus the Rams
- Fordham's Bryant Dunston averaged 19.5 points and 11 rebounds in a pair of contests
- Sophomore forward Damian Hollis scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds on Jan. 10 in George Washington's 49-20 victory over Saint Louis
- La Salle freshman forward Jerrell Williams averaged 8.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over two games
- Sophomore center Dan Geriot averaged 23 points and made 16-of-23 field goal attempts in two contests, while freshman guard Kevin Anderson scored 13 points on Jan. 9 as Richmond edged La Salle in triple overtime, 75-74
- Senior forward Michael Lee notched his tenth 20-point effort of the season on Jan. 9 with 21 points in St. Bonaventure's 83-68 setback at Xavier
- Saint Joseph's junior forward/center Ahmad Nivins scored a career-high 31 points in the Hawks' 98-92 win at Massachusetts and averaged 22 points and eight boards in a pair of victories
- Junior guard/forward B.J. Raymond averaged 19.7 points in leading Xavier to three victories on the week.
B-ROB IN BIG SPOTS
Senior guard Brian Roberts of Dayton is enjoying a stellar senior season and has saved some of his best individual perfomances for the Flyers' biggest games. Below is a look at Roberts' showings in Dayton's three wins over ranked opponents:
Dec. 8 - at Louisville (W/70-65)
28 pts., 3 assts. - 10-of-17 FG
Dec. 29 - vs. Pittsburgh (W/80-55)
31 pts., 5 assts. - 10-of-17 FG
Jan. 9 - vs. Rhode Island (W/92-83)
23 pts., 7 assts. - 7-of-11 FG
CAPITOL DEFENSE
George Washington held Saint Louis to just 20 points in its 49-20 win on Jan. 10, the fewest points allowed in Division I since the introduction of the shot clock in 1985-86. The previous low since the shot clock was introduced was a 61-21 loss by Georgia Southern to Coastal Carolina in 1997. It was matched by Princeton in a 20-point loss to Monmouth in 2005.
BOMBS AWAY
Since the start of the 2006-07 season, Rhode Island junior guard Jimmy Baron has drained 155 three-pointers in a span of 48 games, tops in the Atlantic 10 and good for sixth nationally among active players.
STREAKIN'
Dayton's 13-game winning streak is the program's longest in 40 seasons. To find a longer one, you have to go back to a 19-game win streak at the end of 1967-68 and beginning of 1968-69 seasons.
THREE OF A KIND
For the first time since 2003, three A-10 teams are ranked in the Associated Press top 25 poll, it was announced on Jan. 7. The last time three A-10 teams cracked the Associated Press top 25 was in the Mar. 10-16, 2003, poll as Xavier came in at No. 10, Dayton was ranked 22nd and Saint Joseph's 25th.
MORE TIME PLEASE
Richmond improved to 8-0 all-time in triple-overtime contests after edging La Salle in three extra sessions on Jan. 9, 75-74, in the Conference opener for both teams.
RAISING ITS LEVEL
The Atlantic 10 boasts four teams ranked in the top 30 of the collegerpi.com rankings thru games of Jan. 12 and six in the top 50. Dayton comes in at No. 4, followed by Xavier (11th), Rhode Island (17th), Massachusetts (28th), Saint Joseph's (40th) and Duquesne (46th). In addition, the Atlantic 10 boasts a record of 117-66 (.639 in non-conference action this season which, if maintained for the remainder of the season, would be the fourth-highest winning percentage since the formation of the league in 1976-77 and highest since the 1993-94 campaign (69-35 - .663). A-10 teams were 104-85 (.550) in non-conference matchups a year ago. Below is a look at the league's top five non-conference records based on winning percentage since the formation of the Conference in 1976-77:
Year Record Win %
1992-93 79-32 .712
1991-92 96-36 .679
1993-94 69-35 .663
2007-08 117-66 .639
1997-98 90-58 .608
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
ESPN analyst and Saint Joseph's radio announcer Joe Lunardi looked back over the last five years at where the A-10 has stood on Jan. 10 in terms of teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI (using ESPN Daily RPI). On Jan. 10, 2008, the A-10 has six in the top 50 (UD, 7; XU, 11; URI, 16; UM, 25; SJU, 36; DUQ, 42), the second-highest total among conferences. By comparison, the A-10 had two teams (UD, XU) ranked in the top 50 on Jan. 10, 2007, one team (SJU) on Jan. 10, 2006, two teams (GW, TU) on Jan. 10, 2005, and three teams (URI, UR, SJU) on Jan. 10, 2004.
SELECT COMPANY
Fordham senior forward Bryant Dunston recorded three blocks at Xavier on Jan. 12 to raise his career total to 258, tying him with Damon Lopez (1998-01) for first place in program annals. Dunston ranks second in the A-10 with an average of 3.07 bpg.
FOUR ON THE FLOOR
La Salle earned a 72-61 victory at St. Bonaventure on Jan. 12 despite having just four players in the scoring column. Senior guard Darnell Harris scored a game-high 21 points, while sophomore Rodney Green tallied 19, forward Kimmani Barrett chipped in 17 and freshman Jerrell Williams added 15 in the win.
CAUTION: FLAMMABLE
Over his last three games, Xavier junior swingman B.J. Raymond has made 16-of-24 shots from three-point range, including a 5-for-6 performance in the Musketeers' 68-50 victory over Fordham on Jan. 12.
DOUBLING UP
Senior forwards Pat Calathes of Saint Joseph's and Fordham's Bryant Dunston have registered double-double efforts in each of their last four games.
GOOD AS GOLD
Leemire Goldwire of Charlotte has scored in double figures in all 15 of the 49ers' contests this season and leads the team with seven 20-point performances. In Charlotte's 60-58 win over Temple, on Jan. 12, the senior guard scored the team's final 11 points and finished with a game-high 21 in the victory.
BLOCK PARTY
Duquesne junior Shawn James has blocked at least one shot in every college game he has played (69 total games), including seven rejections on Dec. 21 in the Dukes' 99-80 win over Saint Francis (Pa.). James has tied the program's single-season record of 60 blocks in just 14 contests. The record was set by Derrick Alston in the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons in which he played 28 games in both years.
BALANCING ACT
Xavier's 108-70 victory over Virginia on Jan. 3 marked its second straight contest that seven different players scored in double figures. The Musketeers are 12-0 on the year when four or more players reach double digits.
ELITE COMPANY
Temple junior Dionte Christmas ranks second in the A-10 in scoring with an average of 20.5 ppg., just behind senior Gary Forbes (20.9 ppg.) of UMass. Christmas is vying to become just the fourth player in A-10 history and first since George Washington's SirValiant Brown (2000, 2001) to lead the A-10 in scoring in successive years. The two other players to hold that distinction are John Battle of Rutgers (1984, 1985) and St. Bonaventure's Earl Belcher (1980, 1981).
HOME SWEET HOME
George Washington downed Saint Louis on Jan. 10, 49-20, to improve to 5-0 at home this season. GW boasts an impressive mark of 66-14 (.825) at home under Karl Hobbs, now in his seventh season as head coach of the Colonials.
SCORING SURGE
Below is a look at the biggest increases in scoring from last season to this year:
Name 2007-08 2006-07 (Diff.)
1. Ricky Harris (UM) 19.7 4.5 (+15.2)
2. B.J. Raymond (XU) 12.7 4.1 (+8.6)
3. Etienne Brower (UM) 11.1 2.7 (+8.4)
4. Gary Forbes (UM) 20.9 14.8 (+6.1)
5. Michael Lee (SBU) 18.4 12.8 (+5.6)
6. Chris Lowe (UM) 12.5 7.0 (+5.5)
7. Ryan Brooks (TU) 8.6 3.2 (+5.4)
8. Luis Guzman (TU) 5.8 0.7 (+5.1)
9. Derrick Brown (XU) 11.1 6.3 (+4.8)
10. Bryce Husak (SLU) 6.6 2.1 (+4.5)
A-10 Players of the Week
Nov. 5-10 Kieron Achara, Duquesne
Nov. 11-17 Will Daniels, Rhode Island
Gary Forbes, Massachusetts
Nov. 18-24 Will Daniels, Rhode Island
Nov. 25 - Dec. 1 Michael Lee, St. Bonaventure
Joe Mbang, Rhode Island
Dec. 2-8 Leemire Goldwire, Charlotte
Drew Lavender, Xavier
Dec. 9-15 Gary Forbes, Massachusetts
Dec. 16-22 Dionte Christmas, Temple
Will Daniels, Rhode Island
Dec. 23-29 Brian Roberts, Dayton
Dec. 30 - Jan. 5 Pat Calathes, Saint Joseph's
Jan. 6-13 Leemire Goldwire, Charlotte
Brian Roberts, Dayton
A-10 Rookies of the Week
Nov. 5-10 Chris Wright, Dayton
Nov. 11-17 Damian Saunders, Duquesne
Nov. 18-24 Chris Wright, Dayton
Nov. 25 - Dec. 1 An'Juan Wilderness, Charlotte
Dec. 2-8 Chris Wright, Dayton
Dec. 9-15 Chris Wright, Dayton
Dec. 16-22 Damian Saunders, Duquesne
Dec. 23-29 Damian Saunders, Duquesne
Jerrell Williams, La Salle
Dec. 30 - Jan. 5 Kevin Smith, Richmond
Jerrell Williams, La Salle
Jan. 6-13 Charles Dewhurst, Charlotte