Davidson closes out a shorthanded St. Bonaventure, 82-70
Davidson used a decisive 24-13 run in the last 7:46 but defeat St. Bonaventure, 82-70. The Wildcats took the lead with 12:23 left in the first half and never trailed again.
Peyton Aldridge poured 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds but the difference maker was freshman Kellan Grady. He would score 21 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor, 4-7 from the three point line.
Despite all the attention the Bonnies gave Aldridge, he still got the ball in spots where he felt comfortable. “Teammates did a great job of finding me for some open looks and I was just trying to continue to crash the glass” said Aldridge after the game.
But the real star was Grady. He was 5-7, including 3-4 from three, in the first half. Every time the Bonnies came to help on Aldridge, Grady and his teammates made them pay. The Wildcats first 14 shot attempts were three’s. Coach McKillop said it was the Bonnies defense that dictated the perimeter heavy attack at the beginning of the game.
“It was great defense by St. Bonvaventure. In the overtime game, Kellan Grady really attacked the rim, and you saw he attacked the rim early on and got the charge.” – Coach McKillop
The Bonnies made the decision to double Aldridge and try to force the Wildcats perimeter shooters to beat them and that’s what they did. Davidson it the second most three pointers in an Atlantic 10 tournament game, finishing 16-29 from long distance.
“Usually you have two or three shooters, so when they wing the ball, there’s always one or two guys that can’t shoot. But with Davidson, they have got — you know when they throw the ball into the post, they have four guys surrounding him (Aldridge) who can shoot, so your rotations are that much harder” – Coach Mark Schmidt
St. Bonaventure came into the game shorthanded, missing Courtney Stockard due to injury and they lost Josh Ayeni right before halftime. It left Coach Schmidt scrambling.
“We had Tshiefu in there because that’s the last guy we had. When Courtney went down, we were shorthanded and when Josh got hurt at halftime, just brings another guy into the mix. You know that, guy is 6-6, he’s not 6-8” Coach Schmidt
As Coach Bob McKillop acknowledged, the Stockard injury impacted the Bonnies.
“Courtney Stockard, a vital part of their success this year, did not have the joy of playing in this game, and I’m saddened about that for him, and for St. Bonaventure.
St. Bonaventure got 20 points and 8 assists from senior Jaylen Adams. Matt Mobley chipped in with 17 points.
Rhode Island outlasts St Joseph’s 90-87
The Atlantic 1o semifinals started off with a barn burner between Rhode Island and Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks would lead by nine points twice in the first half.
The lead was never comfortable. It always felt like the Hawks should be up more than they were. Newkirk and Longpre’ were the leaders on offense. Newkirk dropped 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Longpre’ went for 11 points.
Newkirk suffered an ankle injury in the first half and it impacted him throughout. “it got worse. I thought I could play through it” said Newkirk.
Top seeded Rhode Island showed championship pedigree by staying within striking distance that half. They battled and stayed close. Andre Berry was a monster in the paint. He scored 14 points in the half. “I just go into the game just like every game, find my spots” Berry said. Those “spots” were important to the Rams.
In the second half, Saint Joseph’s got it to 11 before the Rams woke up. To the credit Coach Dan Hurley’s team, they never blinked in the face of adversity. After the game, Hurley spoke about the team’s mentality. “We have a championship culture, championship DNA, and we showed it today”.
Fatts Russell came up huge in the second half. The freshman from Philadelphia scored 10 of his 14 points in the last 20 minutes. Russell credited point guard Jeff Dowtin for the opportunities.
“Honestly when Jeff comes off a screen, he always finds me. So I always find an open spot when he comes off the screen because he causes so much attention, and my job is easy, just shoot” – Fatts Russell
The Rams used 15-6 run to take their first lead at 72-71 with 6:16 left. It was a lead they would never relinquish. A Jared Terrell three pointer gave the Rams their largest lead at 7 with 3:37 left but the Hawks fought back. They managed to cut the lead to three points four times. With 2.2 seconds left, the Hawks’ Taylor Funk was called for traveling. It was a call Coach Phil Martelli didn’t particular care for.
“We didn’t get exactly what we deserved. That was a championship effort. Six guys in double figures, ten turnovers— really, nine, nine turnovers. That last one, that’s just silly.” – said Martelli
Rhode Island will face the winner of the Davidson-St. Bonaventure game.
