The St. Louis Billikens needed just two more victories to crown themselves Atlantic 10 Tournament champions and receive an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament. But George Washington’s Maureece Rice had other plans.
Rice led all scorers with 22 points, as GW ended the Bills’ hope for an NCAA appearance with a 60-40 win Friday. It was the Colonials’ seventh straight victory.
St. Louis committed 20 turnovers – 13 in the first half – and the total probably would have been higher if GW had not shut-down its trapping defense in the second half. SLU shot just 32.5 percent from the field.
While an NCAA appearance is out of reach, an NIT invitation seems to be realistic. They will find out Sunday night.