A-10 Men's Basketball Notebook, Dec. 20, 2009

This is the Atlantic 10 Conference's men's basketball notebook for the week ending Saturday, December 19, 2009. Juan Fernandez from Temple is the Player of the Week and UMass's Terrell Vinson gets the rookie citation.

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Juan Fernandez - Temple
Sophomore, Guard, 6-4, 210 lbs.
Rio Tercero, Argentina/Dr. Alexis Carrel HS

Fernandez averaged 27 points while shooting 8-of-11 from three-point range and 10-for-10 from the line in leading Temple to wins over third-ranked Villanova (75-65) on Dec. 13 and previously unbeaten Seton Hall (71-65) on Dec. 19...shot 18-for-27 on the week and dished out six assists...scored a career-high 33 points on 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc versus VU...scored 21 points and made all six of his free-throw attempts at Seton Hall...ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.5 ppg., up from 5.7 ppg. a year ago.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Terrell Vinson - Massachusetts
Freshman, Guard/Forward, 6-7, 205 lbs.
Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy

Vinson scored a season-high 21 points, including the winning basket with 0.7 seconds remaining, as Massachusetts edged Memphis on Dec. 19, 73-72, in its lone contest of the week...knocked down 8-of-13 shots from the field and 5-of-7 foul shots...grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass...marked his second 20-point performance of the season.

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Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Notebook
Decmeber 20, 2009

STOCKING STUFFERS....

• Entering play on Dec. 20, the A-10 is the fifth-ranked conference in the RPI and its 93-48 (.660) overall record is on pace to be the fourth-highest winning percentage in non-league action in A-10 history.
• 34 of the league's 93 victories have come on the road or on neutral courts.
• Richmond's 56-53 victory over #13/#13 Florida and Temple's 71-65 win at previously unbeaten Seton Hall on Dec. 19 raised the league's total to 15 victories over teams from BCS conferences and five wins over ranked opponents this season.

  WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

  • Dayton junior forward Chris Wright scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while freshman forward Josh Benson established career highs for points (10) and rebounds (seven) in the Flyers' 71-52 win over Presbyterian on Dec. 19
  • Junior forward Damian Saunders of Duquesne averaged 10 points and 14.5 rebounds over two contests
  • Fordham freshman forward Chris Gaston averaged 22 points and 9.5 rebounds in a pair of games on the week
  • Senior guard Kimmani Barrett scored 23 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while freshman Aaric Murray added 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and shot 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in La Salle's 83-70 victory over Bucknell on Dec. 19
  • Rhode Island senior guard Keith Cothran scored 19 points, while freshman guard Akeem Richmond added 11 points off the bench in the Rams' 80-69 win at Boston College on Dec. 13
  • Junior guard Kevin Anderson of Richmond averaged 13 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists versus South Carolina and 13th-ranked Florida
  • St. Bonaventure sophomore forward Andrew Nicholson scored 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting on Dec. 19 as the Bonnies dropped an 85-72 decision at fifth-ranked Syracuse
  • Sophomore forward Willie Reed of Saint Louis averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 68.1 percent (15-of-22) from the field over two games
  • Xavier sophomore guard Jordan Crawford scored a team-high 20 points on Dec. 19 in the Musketeers' 69-68 loss at #17/#21 Butler

  COOL AS ICE

  Junior guard Kevin Anderson scored 14 points, including four free throws in the final 5.4 seconds, as Richmond edged #13/#13 Florida on Dec. 19 in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla. The last time the Spiders defeated a ranked team on a neutral court was their 73-69 win over seventh-ranked Syracuse in the 1991 NCAA Tournament. Richmond earned a win over a top-20 foe for the third consecutive year and boasts six wins over BCS programs in the last five seasons under head coach Chris Mooney.

  JUAN OF A KIND

  Sophomore guard Juan Fernandez scored 21 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line as visiting Temple edged previously unbeaten Seton Hall on Dec. 19, 71-65. Fernandez shot a blistering 7-of-9 from three-point range and scored a career-high 33 points on Dec. 13 as Temple downed third-ranked Villanova, 75-65. It marked the Owls' first win over a top-five opponent since Feb. 20, 2000, as Temple turned aside then-No. 1 Cincinnati, 77-69.

  DOUBLE TALK

  Duquesne's Damian Saunders notched his ninth double-double of the season and 16th of his career with 10 points and 18 rebounds in the Dukes' 73-64 loss at IUPUI on Dec. 19. The junior forward's nine double-doubles are the most by a Duquesne player in a season since Derrick Alston registered 12 in 1992-93. Saunders has pulled down at least 15 rebounds seven times this season, while his career high for rebounds entering the year was 14 boards.

  DUNPHY WITH A "D"

  Temple recorded a 71-65 win over third-ranked Villanova on Dec. 19 and has now held all 11 of its opponents this season under their scoring averages, including seven to 56 points or less. Off to their best start (9-2) since the 1994-95 season, the Owls are yielding just 55.1 ppg., which is on pace to be the lowest total for a TU team in the shot clock era. Finally, Temple's 45-42 win over Penn State on Dec. 5 marked the second-lowest combined point total (87) since the opening of the Liacouras Center in 1997.

  LOVING THE BOARDS

  Xavier senior forward/center Jason Love notched his second 19-rebound performance of the season on Dec. 13 in the Musketeers' 83-79 (2OT) win over 19th ranked Cincinnati. Love has reached double digits in rebounds five times in Xavier's first 11 games.

  RARE AIR

  Sophomore Jordan Crawford leads Xavier in scoring at 18.4 ppg. thru the Musketeers' first 10 contests. XU has not had its leading scorer average 17 or more points since National Player of the Year David West averaged 20.1 ppg. as a senior in 2002-03.

  NUMEROLOGY

  Charlotte posted a resounding 95-66 win versus Gardner-Webb on Dec. 12 to improve to 8-1 on the year, the 49ers' best start since their opening 11-1 in 1991-92. Charlotte is averaging 87.3 points during its current six-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Xavier had won 51 consecutive games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field before dropping a 69-68 decision at #17/#21 Butler on Dec. 19 despite shooing 54.7 percent for the game.

  BONA-FIDE

  For the first time since 1981-82, St. Bonaventure has held three opponents to under 50 points in a season after downing Savannah State on Dec. 12, 79-47.

  ELITE TERRITORY

  Senior guard Ricky Harris scored 13 points in Massachusetts' 73-72 win over Memphis on Dec. 19 in Boston. Harris ranks ninth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,519 points. On Nov. 18, Harris scored 26 points to move past both Julius Erving (1,370) and Marcus Camby (1,387). Harris has knocked down 232 three-point field goals for his career.

  FRIENDLY CONFINES

  Dayton won its 25th consecutive home game - a program record - as a result of its 71-52 victory over Presbyterian on Dec. 19. The current streak began on Mar. 8, 2008, with a win over St. Joe's. The Flyers' 25-game streak is the third-longest active streak in the nation. Xavier has a record of 125-17 (.880) all-time at Cintas Center, its on-campus home arena, and boasts a 14-game home winning streak after turning aside No. 19 Cincinnati on Dec. 13, 83-79 (2OT). Meanwhile, URI edged Northeastern on Dec. 10, 79-76, to extend its home winning streak over non-conference foes to 19 games.

  GLASS CLEANER

  Temple junior forward Lavoy Allen pulled down 12 rebounds in the Owls' 71-65 win at previously unbeaten Seton Hall on Dec. 19, his 24th performance with double-digit rebounds since the start of the 2008-09 season.

  EXPLORING NEW HEIGHTS

  Rodney Green of La Salle notched his 22nd career 20-point outing and fifth of the season on Dec. 19 with 22 points in the Explorers' 83-70 win over Bucknell.

  WRIGHT STUFF

  With junior Chris Wright in the lineup, Dayton boasts a perfect 33-0 mark at UD Arena. The 6-8 forward scored 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the Flyers' 71-52 win over Presbyterian and has been tabbed a candidate for both the John R. Wooden and Naismith awards.

  TOP NOTCH

  Dayton's London Warren and DiJuan Harris of Charlotte have been named candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, presented annually to the nation's top point guard.

  HOUSE OF CARDS

  Charlotte's 87-65 victory at #20/#18 Louisville on Dec. 5 marked the program's largest-ever margin of victory versus a ranked opponent under head coach Bobby Lutz. In addition, the 22-point setback was the largest home loss for Rick Pitino as head coach of the Cardinals.

  START ME UP

  Dayton senior Kurt Huelsman has started every game in his career, a span of 110 consecutive starts. That marks the longest active streak in the Atlantic 10. Nate Green holds the all-time program record with 133 games played and Mark Ashman (119) holds the UD record for starts.

  COMING IN WAVES

  George Washington boasts 11 players averaging double figures in minutes and a freshman has led the Colonials in scoring in four of its nine contests.