A-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Josh Duncan - Xavier
Senior, Forward, 6-9, 235 lbs.
Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller HS
Duncan averaged 19 points and six rebounds while shooting 80 percent (12-of-15) from the field in pair of victories for the Musketeers...made all seven of his field goal attempts, including 5-for-5 from three-point range, en route to scoring a career-high tying 25 points on Feb. 13 in Xavier's 62-60 win at Charlotte...added eight boards, a block and a steal...scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and added four assists in 23 minutes of action in the Musketeers' 76-72 victory over Saint Joseph's on Feb. 10.
Brian Roberts - Dayton
Senior, Guard, 6-2, 185 lbs.
Toledo, Ohio/St. John's HS
Roberts averaged 22.5 points and four assists while knocking down eight of his 13 attempts from three-point range over two games...scored 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting in Dayton's 63-61 loss to Duquesne on Feb. 13...shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, for a game-high 23 points on Feb. 16 in the Flyers' 77-66 win versus Temple...earns his third A-10 Player of the Week award of the season...leads the league with seven 20-point performances in A-10 play.
A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Kevin Anderson - Richmond
Freshman, Guard, 5-11, 165 lbs.
Duluth, Ga./Peachtree Ridge HS
Anderson earns his third A-10 Rookie of the Week honor after scoring 11 points and dishing out a career-high eight assists in Richmond's 69-66 road win over Duquesne on Feb. 16...shot 3-of-6 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc...averaged 9.5 points, six assists and three boards in two contests...leads the team with an average of 3.4 apg.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE ATLANTIC 10
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
- Charlotte senior guard Leemire Goldwire knocked down seven three-pointers en route to scoring a game-high 31 points on Feb. 13 in the 49ers' 62-60 loss to Xavier
- Junior guard Aaron Jackson of Duquesne averaged 13 points and 5.5 rebounds in a pair of contests
- Senior Bryant Dunston of Fordham recorded a pair of double-doubles and added five steals and four blocks over two games
- George Washington senior guard Maureece Rice scored 17 points on Feb. 16 as the Colonials earned an 80-71 victory at St. Bonaventure
- Sophomore guard Rodney Green had 14 points and six rebounds in La Salle's 87-65 win over NJIT
- Massachusetts senior swingman Gary Forbes averaged 17.5 points and 12 rebounds in a pair of games
- Senior forward Will Daniels averaged 22 points and seven rebounds in two road contests for Rhode Island
- Richmond sophomore guard David Gonzalvez averaged 17 points and drained seven three-pointers over two contests
- Senior guard Tyler Relph scored a career-high 21 points on Feb. 16 in St. Bonaventure's 80-71 loss to George Washington
- Saint Joseph's junior forward Ahmad Nivins averaged 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 8-of-9 from the field in a pair of games
- Senior center Bryce Husak scored 15 points on Feb. 13 as Saint Louis turned aside George Washington, 63-38
- Temple senior guard Mark Tyndale averaged 21 points and 6.7 rebounds while making all 17 of his free throw attempts in three contests
THE VALUE OF THREE
The three league contests played on Feb. 16 saw George Washington (13-for-25), Richmond (11-of-16) and Dayton (9-for-15) shoot a combined 33-for-56 from three-point range. It should come as no surprise then that all three teams came away with wins. Entering play on Feb. 17, Xavier leads the A-10 and ranks 13th nationally in three-point percentage (.404), while Saint Joseph's is second (.400) in the Conference and 18th nationally. The Musketeers and Hawks are also first and second, respectively, in the league standings.
CLOSING IN
Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz tied Jeff Mullins' (1986-96) program record of 182 career victories on Feb. 9 as the 49ers edged St. Bonaventure, 87-83. Lutz served as an assistant coach under Mullins in 1996 before taking over the program in 1999. Charlotte visits Fordham on Feb. 17.
CENTURY CLUB
Senior guard Leemire Goldwire of Charlotte leads the A-10 with 95 three-pointers made entering play on Feb. 17. In addition, La Salle's Darnell Harris (87), Jimmy Baron (83) of Rhode Island and Temple's Dionte Christmas (79) are all on pace to drain 100 three-pointers this season. It would mark the first time in league annals that four players made 100 field goals from beyond the arc in the same season.
NOTHIN' BUT NET
Over its last three games, Temple has knocked down a remarkable 48-of-52 shots from the foul line.
GOOD AS GOLD
Leemire Goldwire scored a career and A-10 season-high 39 points in Charlotte's 87-83 win at St. Bonaventure on Feb. 9. Goldwire leads the league with five 30-point outings and is one of 14 players in program history to reach the 1,500-point milestone. In addition, Goldwire has connected on 182 three-pointers in 51 games played, good for eighth nationally and just ahead of Rhode Island's Jimmy Baron, who has drained 180 three-pointers in a span of 57 games.
YOUNG GUNS
Richmond received just 12 of its 64 points from its three upperclassmen on the roster in the Spiders' 64-58 win over Temple on Feb. 6. Richmond's top five scorers are underclassmen, led by sophomore forward Dan Geriot (14.0 ppg.). The Spiders extended their winning streak over Duquesne to 11 games after their 69-66 win on Feb. 16. Geriot reached double figures for the 34th time in his career with 15 points versus the Dukes.
OT IS FOR ME
Temple rallied from a 15-point deficit to edge Rhode Island, 92-89, in overtime on Feb. 13 to improve to 4-0 in overtime contests this season. It marks the most overtime games for the Owls since playing a program single-season record six extra-session contests in 1996-97.
WINNING WAYS
Duquesne (16-8) clinched its first winning season since 1993-94 as a result of its 63-61 victory at Dayton on Feb. 13. The win also marked the 200th career victory for 14th-year head coach Ron Everhart, now in his second season at Duquesne.
WELL-ROUNDED
Rhode Island senior forward Will Daniels is one of just six players nationally to average 18.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, shoot 49 percent from the floor and amass at least 25 assists, 25 steals and 25 blocks. The others: Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Jason Thompson (Rider), Richard Hendrix (Alabama), Kyle Hines (UNC-Greensboro) and Marqus Blakely (Vermont).
BALANCING ACT
Senior Josh Duncan scored 13 points to lead four players in double figures on Feb. 10 as Xavier edged Saint Joseph's, 76-72. The Musketeers are 17-0 on the year when four or more players reach double digits. Duncan joined teammates Stanley Burrell and Drew Lavender in the program's 1,000-point club. In addition, junior swingman C.J. Anderson, who played two seasons at Manhattan, topped the 1,000-point milestone at Saint Louis on Feb. 7. Meanwhile, Saint Joseph's junior forward Ahmad Nivins joined teammates Pat Calathes and Rob Ferguson as 1,000-point scorers with 18 points in the Hawks' 81-56 win over St. Bonaventure on Feb. 13.
TWENTY SOMETHINGS
Xavier's 76-72 win over Saint Joseph's on Feb. 10 secured the Musketeers' third consecutive 20-win season and 11th in the last 12 years. The Musketeers entered this year with twenty 20-win seasons in its last 25 years, a record that was eighth-best among all NCAA Division I schools for the period of 1983-2007. In addition, Rhode Island clinched its first 20-win campaign since the 2003-2004 season after edging Fordham on Feb. 10, 65-63. It marked the fewest games (24) that the Rams needed to reach the 20-win plateau in program history.
MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Senior guard/forward Gary Forbes of Massachusetts has scored in double figures in 28 consecutive games and has 15 performances of 20 or more points this season, tops in the Conference. Forbes leads the Conference in scoring at 20.4 ppg.
50'S STYLE
Saint Louis earned a 63-38 victory over George Washington on Feb. 13 to improve to 11-2 on the year when holding its opponents to under 60 points.
BLOCK PARTY
Duquesne junior forward/center Shawn James recorded the first triple-double in program history with 17 points, 11 rebounds and ten blocks on Feb. 6 in the Dukes' 102-88 win versus Saint Joseph's. Duquesne has amassed a single-season record 178 blocks this season, eclipsing its previous record of 166, set during the 1979-80 campaign.
HEAD OF A CAUSE
UD's seventh annual "Flyer Feedback Auction" to benefit the charity "Secret Smiles" was held after its 69-64 win over Charlotte on Feb. 6. Head coach Brian Gregory's dedicated cause, "Secret Smiles," is a program that delivers beds and bedding to children of families who cannot provide for them. Since 2002, Secret Smiles of Dayton has assisted more than 600 families in living up to their slogan "Because Every Child Needs A Bed." The auction raised $18,000 on Feb. 6, raising its two-year total to $37,000.
SUPER SUB
Joe Mbang came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points on Feb. 2 in Rhode Island's 82-70 victory over Dayton. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, Rhody is 18-2 (.900) when Mbang scores ten or more points.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Dayton senior guard Brian Roberts was among ten men's basketball players who have been named finalists for the 2007-08 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, it was announced on Feb. 8. Roberts is also on the short list for the Los Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Naismith Trophy and the Basketball Hall of Fame's Bob Cousy Award. Only Roberts and Virginia's Sean Singletary appear on all four lists.
TRIFECTA
La Salle senior guard Darnell Harris was a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc on Jan. 30 as La Salle turned aside St. Bonaventure, 84-61. The A-10 single-game record for most three-pointers without a miss is seven, set by former Temple standout Pepe Sanchez against URI on Feb. 16, 1997.
ELITE COMPANY
Temple junior Dionte Christmas ranks third in the league in scoring with an average of 20.2 ppg., just behind UMass senior Gary Forbes (20.4 ppg.). 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).
RAISING ITS LEVEL
The Atlantic 10 boasts four teams ranked in the top 40 of the collegerpi.com rankings thru games of Feb. 16 and five in the top 45. Xavier comes in at No. 12, followed by Dayton (23rd), Rhode Island (25th), Massachusetts (38th) and Saint Joseph's (42nd). The A-10 is ranked seventh among the 31 Division I conferences. In addition, the Atlantic 10 boasts a record of 122-66 (.649) 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.
Year Record Win%
1992-93 79-32 .712
1991-92 96-36 .679
1993-94 69-35 .663
2007-08 122-66 .649
1997-98 90-58 .608
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. 6-12 Leemire Goldwire, Charlotte
Brian Roberts, Dayton
Jan. 13-19 Ricky Harris, Massachusetts
Jan. 20-26 Pat Calathes, Saint Joseph's
Dionte Christmas, Temple
Jan. 27-Feb. 2 Rob Diggs, George Washington
Feb. 3-9 Pat Calathes, Saint Joseph's
Kevin Lisch, Saint Louis
Feb. 10-16 Josh Duncan, Xavier
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.6-12 Charles Dewhurst, Charlotte
Jan. 13-19 Kevin Anderson, Richmond
Paul Eckerle, Saint Louis
Jan. 20-26 Jerrell Williams, La Salle
Jan. 27-Feb. 2 Kevin Anderson, Richmond
Matt Morgan, St. Bonaventure
Feb. 3-9 Matt Morgan, St. Bonaventure
Feb. 10-16 Kevin Anderson, Richmond