The weekend’s NCAA roundup by Matt Clear
Charleston 96 Chattanooga 69
Appalachian State 77 Charleston 54
Andrew Lawrence, one of the Brits with the best chance of making it to the Big Dance, saw those hopes go up in smoke as his Charleston team crashed out of the Southern Conference tournament at the semi-final stage.
The Cougars started the weekend well, running over Chattanooga in their quarter-final, with Lawrence scoring eight points on 3-6 shooting (2-4 on threes).
But Charleston took a pounding of their own on Sunday, losing by 23 points to Appalachian State. Lawrence scored five points on 1-3 shooting.
“Appalachian played some great basketball,” said Cougars coach Bobby Cremins. “We were outplayed and outcoached. I’m disappointed we didn’t make it a great game. I’m disappointed for our team. This is one of our toughest losses since I’ve been back in coaching.”
The Southern Conference champions needed to retain their title to secure a place in the NCAA tournament, and are now likely headed to the CBI instead.
Rider 69 Saint Peter’s 57
Siena 72 Rider 62
Rider’s season is over as they were knocked out of the MAAC tournament at the semi-final stage.
The Broncs put in a strong performance on Saturday to beat Saint Peter’s in the quarters. Justin Robinson’s outside shooting was a little off – the junior guard was 1-4 from downtown – but he still contributed 15 points, four rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes.
But there was only likely to be one winner as they faced Siena in the semis. The Saints went 15-1 to win the MAAC regular season title, beating Rider by an average of 24 points in their two meetings.
The Broncs put up a far more spirited performance yesterday, leading 48-44 with twelve minutes to play before a 16-0 Siena run put the result beyond doubt. Robinson had nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
Niagara 68 Iona 64
Ben Mockford’s season is also over after his Iona team lost their MAAC quarter-final. Despite the Gaels holding the higher seed, an experienced Niagara team was expected to be a tough matchup, and so it proved.
Mockford was on court for less than a minute in the game.
Washington 82 Oregon State 70
Matthew Bryan-Amaning keeps getting better and better. The junior forward tallied only the second 20 & 10 game of his career, making nine of 15 shots for 20 points and eleven rebounds. Bryan-Amaning also had two steals, two blocks and no turnovers as the Huskies finished the season strong with their four straight wins, including two on the road.
That means Washington finished third in the Pac-10 with an 11-7 record. They meet Oregon State again in the Pac-10 tournament quarter-finals on Thursday.
Arizona State 56 UCLA 46
Arizona State also finished the regular season with a win, taking second place in the Pac-10 with a typically gritty victory over UCLA.
Eric Boateng is another big man in form right now – he top-scored for the Sun Devils with 16 points on 7-12 shooting, along with four blocks, three assists and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Asked about his performance in his final home game as a Sun Devil, Boateng said: “You know, it feels good to win, first of all. That’s the aim. I really didn’t care about anything else.”
Boateng’s team-mate and fellow senior Derek Glasser was far less reserved in his assessment of the Londoner’s play: “He’s carrying us. Every game we come in here and we say it’s his best game of the year and the next time I come in here I say it’s (his) best game of the year. I hope we can keep saying that.”
The victory gives ASU a 12-6 record and a quarter-final matchup with Oregon. If the Sun Devils and Huskies both win their quarter-final games, we’ll have an epic Brit v Brit matchup in the semi-finals.
Massachusetts 69 Rhode Island 67
Ben Eaves had his best game of the year with ten points and four rebounds on 4-5 shooting. Eaves, a senior, will graduate this year, but is eligible to play for one more season.
The defeat puts URI in fifth place in the Atlantic-10 with a 9-7 record. They’ll meet Saint Joseph’s in the first round of the A-10 tournament tomorrow, and need a strong showing in the tournament to make it to the Big Dance.
Nevada 79, Louisiana Tech 68
The Wolfpack won to finish second in their league. They play Idaho on Thursday as the WAC tournament begins. Patrick Nyeko played just one minute here, and isn’t likely to feature much in postseason play.
Our next update will come on Wednesday, following Rhode Island’s matchup with Saint Joseph’s.
Picture courtesy & copyright of Willis Glassgow/College of Charleston Media Relations
