This. Was. Ugly. La Salle turned it over 27 times — 19 in the first half alone — and made just 20 of 37 free throws (54.1 percent). But the Explorers also had a 51-34 rebounding edge, including 27 offensive boards. And internet connectivity was spotty, which is why we didn’t have our live blog up and running. But enough about us. We’ll tell you more about the game after the jump.

The first half was honestly one of the most bizzare halves you could watch. For much of it, the Explorers had more turnovers than points and shots. But La Salle used its length to play an effective 3-2 zone, forcing ‘Nova to either shoot from the outside or trying to get through it. Result? The ‘Cats were just 2-for-13 from the arc before halftime. It certainly didn’t help that Taylor King had picked up two fouls in the first three minutes, thereby taking away ‘Nova’s best weapon against the zone. But because of a combination of La Salle’s ineptitude with the ball and ‘Nova’s smothering, three-quarter-court defense, the score was 38-30 at the break.

In the second half, La Salle closed to within 45-39 in the first four minutes, but the ‘Cats went on a 13-4 run in the next six minutes and the drama subsided.

For La Salle, Aaric Murray (15 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks) played well. He’s still raw, but he’s not afraid to mix it up and to work. Jerrell Williams had 15 points and 16 boards, including an an amazing 12 on the offensive end. But he was just 3-for-11 from the line. Kimmani Barret had 17. And Rodney Green, who didn’t see any kind of defense other than a one-on-one matchup from Dominic Cheek, Corey Stokes or (to a lesser degree) Maalik Wayns, scored jut seven points on 2 of 13 shooting. He also turned it over seven times.

For ‘Nova, King had a strange game: He finished with nine points (on 4 of 5 shooting), four steals and three rebounds, but he also fouled out even though he only played 10 minutes. Scottie Reynolds and Antonio Pena both had 14, and Pena added eight rebounds. Cheek had 10, but he played tremendous defense, both on the ball and away from it. ‘Cats coach Jay Wright explained the crazy rebounding differential by saying that’s what La Salle does — it focuses on using its length and crashing the boards. And while ‘Nova couldn’t penetrate the Explorers’ zone in the first half, it certainly solved it after halftime, when it turned it over just four times.

On the injury front, senior guard Ruben Guillandeaux did not dress for La Salle; he wore a protective boot as he sat on the bench and coach John Giannini said he’d be evaluated this week to determine his return. Guillandeax was apparently hurt when the Explorers played last week in the Charleston Classic. Meanwhile, there was nothing new to report on ‘Nova freshman forward/center Mouphtaou Yarou; Wright said the results of the medical tests Yarou had taken last week at Jefferson Hospital would probably not be back until Monday.

La Salle (3-2, 0-1 Big 5) next plays Thursday at home against Lafayette at the Gola. ‘Nova (6-0, 2-0 Big 5) is home against Drexel on Wednesday.

Link: Yarou still out [BIG FIVE POST]

Click here to return home

1 Comment