By Chuckie Maggio @chuckiemaggio
It was an exciting week in the Atlantic 10, as the teams closed out their non-conference slates and started league play over the weekend. The conference openers provided some eye-opening results, while some players were absolutely superb.
The best and worst from the week in the A-10:
Team records this week: Dayton 2-0, George Washington 2-0, Rhode Island 2-0, St. Bonaventure 2-0, St. Joe’s 2-0, UMass 2-0, VCU 2-0, Fordham 0-1, George Mason 0-1, Davidson 0-2, Duquesne 0-2, La Salle 0-2, Richmond 0-2, Saint Louis 0-2
Three stars of the week:
(Photo Credit: GoBonnies.com)
Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure. The newly-minted Atlantic 10 Player of the Week helped propel the Bonnies to two victories last week. On Wednesday, he recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 assists in 38 minutes in the win over Niagara. All five of his made field goals in that game were three-pointers.
The Davidson game was the contest that warranted player of the week honors, however. Adams lit up the Wildcats for 30 points, including another five threes and a perfect 11-for-11 night from the foul line. The Baltimore native also recorded six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in Bona’s 97-85 win over the defending A-10 champs.
(Photo Credit: sjuhawks.com)
Isaiah Miles, St. Joe’s. This is Miles’s second straight week on the “three stars” list after another stellar performance on offense and on the boards. The 6-foot-7 senior forward scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win over Maryland-Eastern Shore, then scored 17 again in the Richmond victory, picking up 16 boards in that one.
Miles is leading the Hawks in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage, categories that (except for free throws) junior forward DeAndre’ Bembry was expected to lead the team in by a significant margin. Miles’s production is a major reason SJU is 11-2.
(Photo Credit: GoRhody.com)
Four McGlynn, Rhode Island. McGlynn has emerged as the Rams’ leading scorer after a 33-point, six-rebound performance in the overtime victory over Brown and a 16-point night in the win against Saint Louis. He hit six threes against Brown and four more against the Billikens, bringing up his total to 36 made triples on the year.
It’s no secret that Rhody is struggling significantly without star guard E.C. Matthews, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the team’s season opener. McGlynn, a Towson transfer, has found himself in the perfect situation as he tries his best to help keep this team afloat.
Best win: St. Bonaventure over Davidson. Bona putting 97 boards on the board against the defending A-10 regular season champs was the surprise of a weekend where there were no major upsets. Adams was obviously the star of the night but Derrick Woods also had a career high with 11 points. Marcus Posley and Denzel Gregg came alive in the second half, with 17 and nine points respectively in the final 20 minutes. Jordan Tyson’s 18 productive minutes cannot be overlooked, either; he gives this team the depth they need, especially when Dion Wright is in foul trouble.
Worst loss: None. No loss really belongs in this category this week. Each of the non-conference losses were road losses. The only teams that got blown out in A-10 openers were Saint Louis and George Mason, who were expected to lose and will likely be in the cellar of the league again. For the first time this year, no loss qualifies as the “worst loss” of the week.
Best games in the week ahead: St. Joe’s-VCU on Tuesday, Dayton-UMass on Wednesday and UMass-Bonaventure on Saturday are three games to watch this week. All three games will be televised, with St. Joe’s-VCU on American Sports Network or the A-10 Network and the two other games on CBS Sports Network.
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