A10 Tournament Day 2 Liveblog!

FINAL: St. Bonaventure 68, Mason 57

And just like that, Otis Livingston’s stellar career is over. Tough way to go out for a Mason legend. St. Bonaventure moves on to a semifinal tilt with Rhode Island tomorrow, and Mark Schmidt cements his status as one of the A10’s best coaches.

62-55 St. Bonaventure, 1:44 second half

Jamal Hartwell missed a floater that could have cut the lead to six. He’s only 3-10 from the floor today, but he’s not afraid of the moment. Kyle Lofton hit a jumper at the shot clock buzzer over a strong contest from Goanar to stretch the lead to ten. Otis hit a 3 to put us where we are on the scoreboard, but with a chance to cut into the lead further, Miller didn’t expect a pass from Otis in the lane and turned it over. Bonnies ball out of the timeout. Looks like ballgame.

60-52 St. Bonaventure, 3:35 second half

Jordan Miller missed a breakaway layup on the possession before Hartwell hit a big three. Hope that doesn’t haunt us. Miller is the lone bright spot for Mason today, shooting 5-7 from the field with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. He’s matching the Bonnies’ athleticism in the frontcourt. Mason has the ball coming out of the timeout and a chance to cut further into the lead.

Dominick Welch is 6-12 from deep and Kyle Lofton is 4-6. If you told me before the game that Courtney Stockard and Ladarien Griffin would combine for 16, I’d like Mason’s chances. The freshmen have killed Mason from deep.

54-42 St. Bonaventure, 7:33 second half

Mason is fighting like hell but they haven’t gotten the deficit closer than seven. They somehow lost Welch for yet another 3, then Courtney Stockard hammered home a dunk to send us to the break in front of a screaming Bonnies crowd. Mason is only 15-44 from the floor today and 5-23 from deep. The Bonnies are 20-47, 9-21 from deep, and look like they’re about to ice this one.

47-39 St. Bonaventure, 11:48 second half

Mason’s getting destroyed on backside threes. Welch is up to 17 points on 5-9 from deep.

Justin Kier is up to 20 points on 7-12 shooting, including 4-4 from the line. He has 14 of Mason’s 15 points this half – he’s had some success attacking Osunniyi before the Bonnies set their defense. Same as it was yesterday, he’s doing everything humanly possible to keep Mason in this game. Otis Livingston is still scoreless on 0-5 shooting. This will be a really, really tough way for him to end his career if Mason doesn’t come back.

41-27 Bonaventure, 15:57 second half

Danger time for Mason. Dominick Welch hit another 3 to open the half. One reason I didn’t love the Bonnies chances coming into the tournament was their reliance on freshmen, who can get lost in the bright lights of the big tournament. Lofton and Welch are carrying them right now, and Osun is going to the line for a 3 point play when we come back.

A few calls/no-calls have gone against Mason to open the half, and Dave Paulsen is angry. We may see him get T’d up if this continues. Jordan Miller missed two free throws, followed by Calixte hitting 1 of 2. Mason is now 3-8 from the line and nothing is going right.

I didn’t realize when I wrote the halftime cap that Mason took 17 shots from deep (4/17) and only 9 inside the arc (5/9). The Bonnies do a great job of closing down the paint, but Mason still has to do more to attack the rim.

HALFTIME: 34-24 St. Bonaventure

Goanar Mar hit a three! Those are his first points (I think) since he came back. Mason made a little run with Osun and Stockard both on the bench to cut an 11 point deficit to six, but the Bonnies answered with another three from Welch. They started 0-4 from three but hit 6 of their last 11.

Lofton and Welch lead Bonaventure with 9 apiece. Among the bad news for Mason that half is that Stockard was stuck on the bench with foul trouble and only has two points. There’s really nothing about this that’s shaping up well for the Patriots.

Otis Livingston is scoreless on 0-4 shooting, and Hartwell is 1-7 with 2 points. Mason as a team is shooting 9-26 overall. Offense hasn’t been easy to come by. Dave Paulsen continued to mix and match lineups, putting Jordan Miller and Goanar Mar on the floor together for the first time.

Mason has some foul trouble with Miller, Kier, and Greene all collecting two.

29-19 Bonaventure, 3:47 first half

The Bonnies have a ten point lead and Ladarien Griffin shoots one coming out of the break. He was fouled on a breakaway layup by Kier, who picks up his second. The Bonnies started 0-6 from the field but have hit 12 of their last 17. They’re getting to the rim now. It’s looking bleak for Mason. Stockard’s been sitting with two fouls and the Bonnies have extended the lead anyway.

Kier hit another three right after I updated the last post. He’s got 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Mason has been applying some token pressure fullcourt, but it doesn’t appear to be making an impact.

23-14 Bonaventure, 7:18 first half

It’s raining threes for the Bonnies here. They’ve hit four of their last five from deep over a four minute stretch. They look ready to bomb Mason out of Barclay’s. It’s getting rowdy in here as the Bonnies took a 12 point lead, but Justin Kier responded with a 3 of his own.

Javon Greene picked up his second foul off the ball. He had a fistful of Kyle Lofton’s jersey when he came around a screen.

Overall, this feels like a terrible matchup for Mason. So much of their offense is predicated on guards attacking the rim, but the Bonnies frontline of Osun and Griffin doesn’t allow that. Mason doesn’t shoot threes well enough to make up for it – they’re now 2-10 from deep.

12-8 St. Bonaventure, 10:49 first half

Mason is 3-13 from the field, including 1-9 from 3. Mason needs to figure out how to get the ball inside and attack the paint – they simply don’t shoot 3s well enough to beat good teams that way. Jordan Miller checking back in should help. Goanar Mar missed a corner three – Mason is now 1-4 from the left corner to open the game.

The Bonnies are 5-12 from the field, including a banked 3 from Kyle Lofton. Their lineup of Osun, Courtney Stockard, Griffin, Lofton, and Dominick Welch is a lot more athletic than most of the lineups Mason puts on the floor.

Dave Paulsen has tried a few different lineup combinations – he had Goanar Mar in with Greg Calixte in the froncourt, at the same he’s playing a small backcourt with Jamal Hartwell and Otis Livingston. Then he brought AJ Wilson in for Calixte to play an all-around small lineup. He’ll be mixing and matching until he finds something that works.

 

5-2 Mason, 14:39 second half

Calixte gets the start for Mason. He played a few strong defensive possessions on Osun. Jordan Miller hit a corner three to open the scoring. He’s got all five for Mason.

Mason’s doing a good job of keeping the Bonnies out of the paint. They’re 1-7 from the field and 0-4 from 3. The defensive effort was strong until they fell asleep on a leakout and gave Ladarien Griffin an easy bucket. Griffin is a guy to watch in this game – he’s very athletic and very good around the rim.

Mason has taken three corner threes already. It looks like that shot is going to be there. Reuter came in for Calixte and touched the ball in the paint a couple times but isn’t even looking to score.

Mason-Bonaventure mini-preview

Last time these teams met it was non-competitive from the jump, with the Bonnies taking home a 23 point win. Mason didn’t have Greg Calixte in that game, and he’s clearly a much better matchup against Bona’s Osun Ossuniyi. He changes the dynamic of this game in the frontcourt – Osunniyi blocked multiple shots without even leaving his feet last game.

When I asked Dave Paulsen about it yesterday, he said Calixte does a lot of things on defense that don’t show up in the box score. Mason will need his defense in the paint.

FINAL: Rhody 75, VCU 70

De’Riante Jenkins tried to draw a foul on the three – he got the defender to leave his feet and drew a little bit of contact, but not enough to warrant a foul call. VCU fans were mad.

Mikel Simms got a good look at a three but it didn’t go down. Christion Thompson hit two free throws to ice it.

During the postgame handshake line, Jeff Dowtin had to be removed by an assistant. He was steamed about something.

Rhody moves on to play the winner of our next game, St. Bonaventure vs George Mason. Stay tuned!

73-70 Rhody, 17 seconds, second half

VCU got the rebound after Jeff Dowtin missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but they called timeout on their own baseline. Could have dribbled to halfcourt to set up closer action. They need a three to tie and send it to overtime.

Jeff Dowtin hit an absurd double-clutch 3 to extend the Rhody lead to 5. You’ll see it on SportsCenter tonight.

Fatts Russell fouled out. Honestly, I think that was the best thing that could have happened for Rhody. He didn’t have it tonight – 2-9 shooting with 5 turnovers and 0 assists. I’ve been critical of David Cox for playing him so much even when he shoots Rhode Island out of games, but he limited his own minutes tonight.

Santos-Silva watch: 26 points, 22 rebounds. Sneaky pick for all-tourney team even with a loss.

70-67 Rhody, 3:28 second half

Crunchtime! Great action here – Barclay’s is loud as both Rams have been exchanging blows. VCU scored 5 quick points out of the last timeout on a Simms three and a Jenkins layup. Fatts got to the rim for good looks but neither went down. VCU botched a fast break where they had numbers and threw the ball out of bounds – they could have cut the deficit to one.

Both teams now have one timeout remaining. End of game possessions could get interesting with VCU missing their stud point guard and Rhody generally undisciplined with the ball.

70-62 Rhody, 5:07 second half

People forget Jeff Dowtin was Rhode Island’s best player in the tournament last year, and he’s doing it again today. He’s got 19 points on 7-15 shooting and his mid-range is working.

Fatts Russell is back in for Rhody. Expect VCU to try and pick on him on defense – all of their guards are significantly larger.

61-60 Rhody, 7:38 second half

Role reversal – VCU has four turnovers in the second half to Rhody’s one. Rhody has a decent crowd and they are getting lout in here.

Rhody has taken TEN more shots than VCU this half, 23-13. That’s mostly due to turnovers, offensive rebounds, and a massive free throw disparity. VCU is 11-15 at the line this half while Rhody is 3-5.

Something to watch down the stretch – Rhody has 1 timeout left and VCU has two.

Santos-Silva watch: 23 + 18. Also, he’s wearing a different jersey, #35, for reasons that are unclear.

57-54 Rhode Island, 10:57 second half

We’ve got another ugly shooting game in the A10 tourney. VCU is 18/44 from the field while Rhody is 20/44. Both teams are doing damage at the free throw line, with VCU shooting 12/18 and Rhody a perfect 13/13.

Langevine finally welcomed himself to the game with a three-point play. He’s got 5 points and 7 rebounds, but it’s Rhode Island’s freshman crew doing damage inside – Tyrese Martin is 6-10 now. Rhody has only turned the ball over once this half – without Marcus Evans, VCU needs to force turnovers.

Santos-Silva watch: 21 points, 16 rebounds

46-45 Rhode Island, 16:00 second half

Malik Crowfield started the second half in place of Marcus Evans. Marcus Santos-Silva picked up right where he left off, getting a steal at the top of the key for a breakaway layup, getting another three-point play, then getting fouled but missing both free throws. He added another layup and a free throw. He’s up to 19 points and 14 rebounds, and a 30/20 game isn’t out of the question. He’s absolutely dominating the matchup with an ice-cold Cyril Langevine, who’s 1-5 from the field and has badly missed both attempts at the rim this half.

Rhody takes the lead on a 7-0 run, including 5 quick points from Dana Tate. They’re 5-10 this half and all five buckets are assisted. Fatts Russell has four fouls, but that might not be the worst thing for Rhody – he’s not on today and he can be a defensive liability against VCU’s big guards.

GOOD NEWS: Marcus Evans apparently sustained no ligament damage earlier, per reports. He came back to the bench on crutches and got a big cheer from the VCU crowd.

HALFTIME: 37-34 VCU

Tyrese Martin has 11 points for URI, all in the final 9 minutes of the half. He’s starting to look more comfortable. That’s big, because Cyril Langevine only has 2 and is having tons of trouble inside. Rhody is 2-9 from deep, including 0-4 from Fatts Russell. He’s 2-7 from the field with two turnovers and two fouls. Doesn’t matter how well Tyrese Martin or Jeff Dowtin play if Rhody can’t get Fatts or Langevine going.

On the other side, Santos-Silva looks unstoppable. He’s got 11 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. VCU is 6-14 from 3, with Jenkins leading the way at 3-4 and Isaac Vann hitting 2 of 2. With or without Marcus Evans, VCU is really tough to beat when the threes are falling. They’re only 3-10 on shots at the rim, and the threes will be critical if they can’t get it going inside.

Rhody has taken 27 shots and allowed 34 to VCU. They need to clean up the turnovers (8) and keep VCU off the glass (8 offensive rebounds allowed) to close that gap and stay in this.

32-24 VCU, 3:36 first half

Tough break for VCU as Marcus Evans went down in a heap after a tough driving layup. He was down for a couple minutes before being helped off the floor. He couldn’t put any weight on his left leg as he left. Barclay’s was dead quiet – it’s mostly VCU fans here and I think they’re fearing the worst. Sean Mobley shot free throws in his stead and somehow missed both. You probably don’t need me to remind you that Evans has blown out both achilles’ tendons in the past two years. Dude is a fantastic player but has the worst injuries with luck.

Rhode Island seized the initiative and closed an eight-point deficit to two, but back-to-back threes from De’Riante Jenkins have stretched the lead back. Malik Crowfield is taking over PG duties in Evans’ absence. VCU has been a very complete team all season – losing Evans obviously hurts, but they have more than enough weapons to put away a sloppy Rhody team (7 turnovers).

26-18 VCU, 6:53 first half

It’s getting LOUD here in Barclay’s. VCU fans have turned up in force and it feels like the dam is starting to break. Dana Martin hit a big three after VCU took a 23-15 lead, but VCU answered right back with a 3 from Vann.

It’s a deep scoring effort for VCU – seven players have scored already. Santos-Silva leads all scorers with 9 points, and he’s up to 9 rebounds. Overall, points in the paint have been hard to come by – VCU is 2-7 on layups and Rhody is 1-5.

Rhody sprung a halfcourt trap of their own on VCU’s freshman point guard PJ Byrd, who was giving Evans a breather. It forced a backcourt violation. Feels like ages ago.

14-11 VCU, 11:06 first half

#Hey10 All-Snub team member Marcus Santos-Silva is starting to make his mark on this game – he’s got a three-point play plus two more free throws. He leads VCU with 5 points, and he’s already collected six rebounds. Crowfield and Simms each added mid-range jumpers.

VCU sprung a halfcourt trap on Jeff Dowtin and forced a Rhode Island timeout at the 14 minute mark. It’s always baffling to me how effective VCU’s trap and press scheme is, even against experienced guards. You know it’s coming, but you still can’t stop it. Rhode Island has three turnovers already – they’re trying to beat VCU’s defense with interior ball movement but they’re having a tough time. They did beat the press for a good look at an open three that Dana Tate drilled – Rhody is still the worst three-point shooting team in D1, so getting a few looks to go down is crucial for their chances.

Physical game so far – VCU has 5 fouls and Rhody has 4. Corey Douglas of VCU is the only player with two.

7-6 VCU, 15:53 first half

Rhode Island is making it a priority to attack VCU in the paint. They’re one of the few teams that has the personnel to do it. Langevine has multiple touches in the paint but no points to show for it. Fatts has four points already – that’s huge. At the risk of oversimplifying things, Rhody is very good when he’s in his bag, but very bad when his shot isn’t falling. He also had a strip-steal on Marcus Evans in the halfcourt.

For VCU, Isaac Vann hit a 3 and Marcus Evans got around Fatts to hit a nice little runner. Good action here so far.