The first round of the A10 Tournament in Pittsburgh saw St. Bonaventure and Loyola Chicago move on.
St. Bonaventure 99 LaSalle 80
Possessions: 71
Offensive Efficiency: St. Bona 139, La Salle 112
Leading scorers: La Salle, Rob Dockery-33, St. Bonas, Buddy Simmons-21.
The Bonnies led by 15 at intermission before dominating the second half. Coach Mark Schmidt will coach another day. There should be a lot more days for the outstanding Bona mentor but that’s for another discussion. La Salle competed despite being short on bodies given their rash of injuries. Coach Darris Nichols group struggles from the perimeter and did so today shooting 25% (4 of 16) from deep. The Explorers did get an outstanding overall effort out of Rob Dockery. The sophomore guard added 10 boards to his game-high 34 points. The Bonnies had too much firepower with five players in double figures. Firing on all cylinders Bona shot 54% (13 of 24) from downtown.
Loyola Chicago 75 Richmond 67
Possessions: 62
Offensive Efficiency: Loyola Chicago 120, Richmond 107
Leading scorers: Joshua Ola-Joseph, Loyola Chicago-26, Aiden Argabright, Richmond-12.
The Ramblers battled back from a 15-point deficit to defeat Richmond. Ola-Joseph’s 34 points were a career high. The senior forward shot 7 of 8 from the field and was a perfect 8 of 8 from the line. The game saw eight ties and five lead changes before Drew Valentine’s club pulled away down the stretch. The two teams combined for 20 three pointers with Loyola Chicago hitting 11 and Richmond 9. In mid-January Chris Mooney’s Spiders were 13-5. They finished 15-17, dropping six of their last seven.
In tomorrow’s quarterfinals St. Bonaventure squares off against George Mason. Loyola Chicago will face Davison.