Atlantic 10 Basketball: Recap of quarterfinal round of conference tournament

After Thursday’s quarterfinal round, four teams remain and will each look to advance to Sunday to get an opportunity to punch their ticket to the big dance.

The afternoon started with the one-seeded VCU Rams, who were led by Ace Baldwin Jr, Jamir Watkins, and David Shriver, who each contributed 11 points. Jayden Nunn was the fourth Ram in double figures, who posted 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

It was then time for the Patriots and Billikens to share the floor, where it was looking like a close game through the first half until Saint Louis went on a 12-0 run with under five minutes left, allowing SLU to go up by fourteen at the half. After a George Mason scoring drought, there was no turning back from the Billikens, who found ways to score and totaled 26 assists.

All eyes were on the two-seeded Dayton Flyers, who would take on a red-hot Saint Joseph’s Hawks team led by sophomore guard Erik Reynolds II. While Reynolds II led all scorers with 19 points, Dayton’s backcourt was unstoppable. Daron Holmes II and Toumani Camara each had 17 points, allowing the Flyers to maintain their lead.

The day ended with the main event between the three-seeded Fordham Rams and the eleven-seeded La Salle Explorers. This was a game that many local supporters and alums of Fordham were excited about after the recent success of the Rams this season.

While Coach Fran Dunphy’s squad kept it interesting throughout, Darius Quisenberry would not let the electric Barclays Center crowd leave without something to cheer about. The Rams were victorious 69-61. Coach Keith Urgo has put Fordham back on the map at the conference and national levels as this story continues to improve.

An exciting slate of games on day three of the A-10 conference tournament at the Barclays Center; let’s recap each quarterfinal matchup and look ahead at what’s to come in the semifinal round on Saturday.