WASHINGTON, D.C. — Life on the road covering the Dayton Flyers has given me plenty of content for stories on top of the actual games. This season alone, there was the leaky roof at Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym, the pulled fire alarm at Rhode Island’s Ryan Center and a broken net at Loyola Chicago’s Gentile Center.

On Wednesday night, Day 1 at the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament included a power outage at Tortino Restaurant, where I met up with a number of other people from around the conference, mostly radio broadcasters and communications staff members. We were about to be served dinner when the entire restaurant went dark. The blackout hit the neighborhood surrounding the place as well.

Somehow the dining experience continued. When most of the restaurant cleared, they moved our larger group to another room that had emergency lighting. We used our cell phone flashlights for the restroom.

The power returned right after we left Tortino. For the sake of the A-10 tournament, I hope the lights stay on at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

I just arrived at the arena in time for the first second-round game of the game: No. 8 seed St. Bonaventure vs. No. 9 Duquesne. The Bonnies won the last game 70-63 on Feb. 22. The Dukes won the previous five games in the series, including the first matchup this season, 75-57 on Jan. 18. St. Bonaventure is 4-3 against Duquesne in the A-10 tournament.

The winner plays No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth in the quarterfinals at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Three other games follow today.

• No. 5 Saint Louis vs. No. 12 Davidson, 2 p.m.: Saint Louis won 57-56 at Davidson on Feb. 25. Davidson leads the series 9-5 and has a 2-1 edge in A-10 tournament games.

The winner plays No. 4 Loyola Chicago at 2 p.m. Friday.

• No. 7 George Washington vs. No. 15 Fordham, 5 p.m. George Washington won 81-58 at Fordham on March 5, ending a three-game losing streak in the series. George Washington is 3-1 against Fordham in the A-10 tournament.

The winner plays No. 2 George Mason at 5 p.m. Friday.

• No. 6 Saint Joseph’s vs. No. 14 La Salle, 7:30 p.m.: These teams will play for the fourth time in one season for the first time. Saint Joseph’s beat La Salle 82-68 on a neutral court in the Big 5 Classic on Dec. 7 and then won 75-63 at Hagan Arena on Feb. 12. In the last matchup on March 8, La Salle won 81-74 at John E. Glaser Arena, which was formerly known as Tom Gola Arena.

Saint Joseph’s is 9-5 against La Salle in the A-10 tournament.

Dayton will play the winner of this game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

1:43 p.m.

I’m staying in an AirBnB near Dupont Circle on Connecticut Avenue the first two nights here in D.C. before moving to a hotel closer to the arena on Friday night. In the summer of 1999, I had an apartment one subway stop north of where I’m staying. I lived there while I interned at the Scripps Howard News Service.

I had one assignment that summer at the White House. I covered the U.S. women’s soccer team’s visit after it won the World Cup. Bill Clinton and Al Gore both spoke at the ceremony on the South Lawn.

I passed a sign near Capital One Arena on Wednesday that read, “White House” and “Capital One Arena.” On X, I joked that there are no two more important places in the world this week. Big decisions will be made all week at both buildings.

St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt made the right decisions in the first game today. The Bonnies (22-10) rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Duquesne 64-59.

St. Bonaventure will play in the quarterfinals for the 10th time in the last 11 tournaments.

Duquesne, the defending A-10 tournament championship, failed to reach the quarterfinals for the seventh time in nine tournaments. Its loss means there will not be a repeat champion. Temple won three straight A-10 tournament titles from 2008-10. No team has repeated as champion since then.