By Eric Horowitz

DUQUESNE v. ST. LOUIS

	A Richmond fan holds up a checklist of past Cinderella stories. Photo by Eric Horowitz

6:25 p.m. --- Tenth-seeded Duquesne and seventh-seeded Saint Louis are just minutes from tip-off in what so far is the most anticipated game of the day. The Dukes are an amazing story, and not just because of how they overcame the September shooting that sent five players to the hospital. Midway through the season coach Ron Everhart decided to employ the "1040" system -- 10 players giving their all for 40 minutes. In the system the players push the ball up the floor at every opportunity on offense, and press full-court on defense. Everhart keeps the players fresh by substituting full five-man units every two or three minutes. Starting in January the Dukes used the system to reel off five straight wins, scoring at least 93 points in each game.

7:30 p.m. --- Aaron Jackson, the only Duquesne player involved in the shooting to play this year, hits a three at the buzzer to give the Dukes a 43--37 halftime lead. All I can say is that the "1040" is incredible to watch. The Dukes are like a game of NBA Jam come to life.

7:45 p.m. --- I'm engrossed in the matchup between the Dukes' 6-10 Scottish center Kieron Achara and the Billikens' 6-10 Greek behemoth Ian Vouyoukas. Achara, who I assume is the only player in the tournament who has the flag of a UK country tattooed on his arm, has been draining threes and swatting shots. The only player he can't stop is Vouyoukas, who has dominated inside.

8:10 p.m. --- Down by eight and with the game seemingly slipping away, the Dukes get three consecutive steals and tie the game in less than 90 seconds. Someone must have typed in the "Power-Up Defense" code and now Duquesne's D is on fire.

8:30 p.m. --- Down by two with seven seconds left, Duquesne freshman Scott Grote has a chance to tie the game with two free throws. He makes the first but can't hit the second. A missed Vouyoukas free throw gives the Dukes another shot, but when Jackson's desperation three doesn't fall, Duquesne's season comes to an end.

8:40 p.m. --- After the game the Saint Louis players are the polar opposites of Richmond's. Vouyoukas poignantly talks about how painful it was last year to see the seniors end their careers with a first-round loss in the A-10 tournament, and you can see how relieved he is to be able to play one more day. The Dukes seem surprisingly upbeat, at least until you realize that after all they've been through it isn't surprising at all that they don't get too down after a loss. In his postgame comments Everhart says that seeing the five shooting victims walk out of the hospital has made this one of the most rewarding years of his life.

ST. JOSEPH'S VS. TEMPLE

9:00 p.m. --- It's tip-off time for the day's final game between the sixth-seeded St. Joseph's Hawks and the 11th-seeded Temple Owls. Not only is this the first game between schools that are within 300 miles of each other, the schools happen to be within 10 miles of each other. Fans are going to have to be very specific, because this is a difficult game to cheer for. For example, if I yelled "Let's go maroon-colored bird of prey from Philadelphia!" it would be unclear whom I was rooting for.

10:00 P.M --- Although its supporters are vastly outnumbered by those of Temple, St. Joe's deserves credit for bringing the most students out of all the schools that played today. I head over to their section, where I'm not surprised to learn that they feel they're the best fans in the A-10.

10:03 p.m. --- The St. Joe's students inform me that their slogan is "The Hawk Will Never Die," and as a result their mascot never stops flapping his arms throughout the game. I try to catch him slacking off, but can't. I now suspect he's on some sort of performance-enhancing drugs.

10:07 P.M --- I make the trek to the other side of Boardwalk Hall to converse with a group of Temple students who -- you guessed it -- claim they're the best fans in the A-10. They don't need to do a lot of convincing -- the "Huck the Fawks" shirt one of them is wearing is the best fan accessory of the day. Down on the court the Temple band director is using a headset like there's someone up in the booth calling in the songs. Let's hope it's not Mike Martz.

11:03 p.m. --- A back-and-forth battle comes down to free throws and clutch shots. St. Joe's makes more of them and hangs on for a 66--62 win, ending my stay at Boardwalk Hall. The final line: one day, four games, eight hours of basketball and one converted A-10 basketball fan.