First, the good news: Aaric Murray’s much-anticipated debut as a La Salle Explorer went swimmingly. He finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and just one turnover as the Explorers got by Hampton, 83-80, at the Gola yesterday afternoon. According to The Inquirer, Murray is the first Explorer to put up a double-double in his first game since Michael Brooks on Nov. 29, 1976.

Rodney Green also had a terrific game, registering 23 points, seven boards, and five assists. He also made 8 of his 16 shots from the field. And Yves Mekongo (he’s no longer Yves Mekongo Mbala, it seems) had 16 points. The Explorers did pull away in the second half and led by as much as 14 with 4:21 to go, but Hampton knocked down a few 3s down the stretch to make it close.

Now, the bad news: The Explorers got by Hampton, 83-80, yesterday afternoon.

Last season, the knock on La Salle was its inability to protect the basketball — it ranked in the bottom-third nationally in turnovers per game (14.3). And yesterday, the Explorers turned it over 19 times. Against Hampton. At home. And the Pirates had 13 steals. The Explorers were also just 19-for-32 from the free-throw line (59.4 percent). The Inquirer report goes on to say that La Salle “showed little regard for playing defense,” and that they had trouble stopping Hampton’s guards off the dribble.

Here’s a rather telling quote from La Salle coach John Giannini:

“Anyone who’s got some quickness can get to the basket against us. Thank God we played zone, and even with that we get driven on a lot.”

And this was against Hampton, not Dayton or Villanova. The Explorers (1-0) next get a pretty big test when they play South Carolina in the first round of the Charleston Classic on Thursday night.

Link: La Salle gets by Hampton [The Inquirer]