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Explorers Miss Golden Opportunity To Bury Gophers
March 14,
2012
by Jack
Explorers Wright Misses Free Throws, Then Travels
After Flagrant Foul To Cost Explorers Points and Momentum.
The
Explorers (21-13, lost in first round of NIT) ended
their 2011-12 season with a loss on a surprising late second
half slump against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (20-14).
The Explorers took early control of the game in building
a 21-13 lead as Jerrell Wright (12 points,
7 boards) made the basket that caused Minnesota coach Tubby
Smith to call
a timeout with 9:16 left.
Minnesota tried to edge closer but a layup by Tyreek
Duren (6 points, 4 assists
but 5 turnovers and 4 personal fouls in just 26 minutes)
and a second slam by Ramon
Galloway (13 points, 5 boards and 2 blocks) for
a 28-22 surprised many
including the ESPN2 game announcers. Unfortunately the
Explorers got sloppy and made unforced turnovers, took
crazy shots and committed bad fouls. Offensive flow is
something Coach John Giannini must work
on for next season. Minnesota closed the half on a 14-10
run and led 40-37
at the break.
The second half turned out to be a nightmare for the Explorers.
They fought to grab a 45-44 lead at 15:35 on a Wright dunk.
Wright was pushed with an elbow to the back into the camera
man on the baseline. The Minnesota player was correctly
whistled for a flagrant 1 foul by ref Jim Burr. Unfortunately
the Explorers did not come away with any additional points
as Wright missed two consecutive free throws and then on
the possession he walked. This gave Minnesota life instead
of being down by 5 or 6 they only trailed by a point. This
also zapped the crowd and they were less energized after
this. The Explorers fought to keep the game close but could
not overtake the Gophers despite two shot clock violations
by Minnesota. Earl Pettis (19 points,
3 boards and 3 steals) did his best to keep his college
career alive but it was not
enough. Earl
will be missed.
The bar for next season is set much higher and the goal
is the NCAA Tournament.
Watch
Replay of Game - CBS Sports needs to provide
us ESPN3.com type coverage at no additional charge (we
already pay top dollar for Cable and Internet services) starting
next season. Need to have more exposure and CBS has to
compete with ESPN (ABC Sports) via generating advertising
revenue.
Minnesota 70,
La Salle 61 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Earl Pettis.
Explorer Most Valuable Player
of the Year: Tyreek Duren
Duren 12 games; Pettis 9 games; Galloway 6 games;
Wright 3 games; Mills 3 games; White 1 game.
LaSalle
shot 47% from the field on 24 for 51
(and 50% from beyond the arc
on
5 for
10)
and
62%
from
the foul
line (8 for 13). The coaches did a better
job in having the guys ready to play at the start
of the game. The one major problem that keeps resurfacing
on Giannini led teams is the lack of offensive
flow in the second half. The coach needs to call
set plays at times. Other times Tyreek and Ramon
have to be creative. Ramon needs to work on driving
to the basket and be able to finish around a defender
like Duren can. Duren must value the basketball
like Mills does and eliminate the unforced turnovers.
Mills must develop a mid-range jumper in the off-season.
Jerrell must work on his defense and Zack must
be more aggressive on the court. Coaching
Grade: C
Coaching
Grades for the Season: A+
5 games; A 8 games; B+ 2 games; B 4 games;
B- 2 games;
C 2 games; D
6 games; F 5 games.
21
games above average and 13 games average
or below.
If the coaching in half of the below average games were above average then this
team would have been an NCAA team with
25 wins going into the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
We need to see drastic improvements in
this area next season. John needs to hire
an assistant who can help him understand
end of game strategies as well as provide
advice on correct substitutions.
Officials:
Bryan Kersey, Jim Burr, Clarence Armstrong.
Kersey Burr Armstrong
The officials allowed far too much contact throughout the
game. Even after Wright was fouled flagrantly, the officials
allowed heavy contact on Wright and did not warn Minnesota
like they should have immediately following that foul.
Minnesota took advantage of the the lax rules and pushed
off to get open looks.
Grade
for Officials: C
(Average) -
The crew treated this like a neutral court game and
kept the foul calls even at 14 each. They did not affect
the outcome of the game.
It appears we may need to do another report on officiating
this off-season as we still see some non-professional
refs officiating in important games across the Atlantic
10. Reggie Greenwood is starting to understand that
fans in the A10 are no longer going to tolerate corrupt/incompetent/unprofessional
officiating.
Box Score
Explorers Receive NIT Bid, Host Minnesota Golden Gophers
At Gola Arena March 14
March 11, 2012
PHILADELPHIA
- The La Salle University men's basketball team (#3 seed)
will host Minnesota on Wednesday at 7 PM in the first
round
of the 75th annual National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 from Tom
Gola
Arena.
The complete field of 32 can be found here.
Tickets are on sale beginning Monday morning at 10 AM at the Hayman Center Ticket Office. Chairback seats are $25 and all other seats are $15. Order your ticket by calling 215-951-1999 or email: tickets@lasalle.edu
The 75th edition of the NIT has a 32-team field featuring 25 teams with 20 or more wins, 11 automatic qualifiers and four teams out of the Atlantic 10 Conference. First-round play kicks off on March 13 and 14, with the second round taking place March 15 through the 19. Quarterfinals follow on March 20 and 21, and for the 75th time, the NIT semifinals and final game will take place in New York's Madison Square Garden on March 27 and 29. If the Explorers win, they would visit #2 Miami or host #7 Valparaiso in the March 15-19 timeframe.
In addition to being the 75th anniversary of the NIT, it is also the 25th anniversary of the 1987 La Salle team that reached the NIT finals before falling to Southern Miss and the 60th anniversary of La Salle winning 1952 NIT Championship. La Salle has made 11 appearances in the NIT all-time.
Minnesota (#6 seed) will head into the contest with a 19-14 record following a 1-1 showing in the Big 10 Tournament. The Golden Gophers took #13 nationally-ranked Michigan to overtime in the Big 10 quarterfinals before falling 73-69.
Explorers Fail To Payback Bills; Have To Await Possible
NIT Bid
March 9,
2012
by BK
Seginsda
Explorers Could Not Pull Ahead in Second Half Due
to Lack of Defensive Stops.
The
La Salle Explorers (21-12, eliminated form A10 Tournament
in second round, NCAA opportunity ends) did not score during
key parts of each half and could not get defensive stops
on key second half possesions against the Saint Louis Billikens
(25-6).
The Explorers no longer control their post-season destiny
as they may have get an invite to the NIT. Other lesser
post-season tournaments are a possibilty including the
CBI or the CIT.
The Blue and Gold amazingly started the game with no energy
and played timidly for the first 7-plus minutes allowing
the Bills to build a 14-2 lead. The Explorers came to life
and climbed back on a 9-0 run concluded by a trey from
DJ Peterson (3 points for the game) with
9:39 left in the half. A couple of late Earl Pettis (18
points on 6 for 15 shooting) treys kept the Explorers within
striking
distance at 35-29 at
the
break. Pettis was named the A-10's Most Improved Player and
was on the Honorable Mention Team.
Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team member Jerrell
Wright (8 points, 3 boards, 1 block in 16 minutes)
disappointed as he picked up 4 unneccessary fouls which
gave Steve
Zack (5 points, 5 boards
and a block) 11 minutes. Ramon
Galloway (14
points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 block in 39
minutes)
stepped
up in the second half after being held scoreless in the
first half. Galloway was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second
Team for his regular season performance on both ends of
the floor. It looked like the Explorers were on the verge
of
having
no
chance
to
win
when the Bills
built
a
50-38
lead with 11:59 remaining. However the Explorers continued
to battle and cut the lead to 54-52 on a Pettis trey. Unfortunately
they immediately surrendered a trey to Saint Louis. The
Explorers even got to within a point after Wright made
a jumper and a dunk at 4:39 for a 57-56 deficit. The Explorers
never got any closer. Devon White (5
points, 3 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 11 minutes)
and Sam
Mills (5 points) did not score in the second half.
Tyreek
Duren
(13 points on 4 for 13 shooting in 38 minutes) did not
have one of his better games.
La Salle has to play the waiting game for the NIT selection
which is possible since the Explorers RPI
is currently #85.
Saint Louis 78,
La Salle 71 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Earl Pettis.
LaSalle
shot 45% from the field on 25 for 56
(and 40% from beyond the arc
on
8 for
20)
and
87%
from
the foul
line (13 for 15). The coaching staff did
not have the players ready to go at the start of
the game which is inexcusible. It was painful to
watch the Explorers fall behind 14-2. Everything
was on the line and the Explorers were the ones
who needed to have a fast start against a Saint
Louis team that hadn't played in nearly a week. Coaching
Grade: D
Up Next: Minnesota in NIT First Round at Gola Arena Wednesday 7pm on ESPN2.
Officials:
Bill McCarthy, Jeff Anderson, Dwayne
Gladden.
McCarthy Anderson Gladden
The Atlantic 10 did not assign the most controversial refs
to officiate in this game. The worst crew was assigned
to the Hawks vs. Bonnies game (John
Hughes, Lamar Simpson,
Gary Prager); Dayton vs. Xavier
game had Wally Rutecki, Jeff
Clark, Earl Watson; UMass vs. Temple game had Eric Anderson, Kenneth
Clark, Brent
Hampton.
Grade
for Officials: C
(Average) -
This was the best crew in all of the four games. They
made mistakes against both teams including bogus charging
calls. Bernie McGlade and Reggie Greenwood were smart
enough to not invite DJ Carstensen, Donnie Eppley or
Frank Scagliotta but were dumb enough to team Hughes,
Simpson and Prager on the same crew; thankfully we
were spared from that mess.
Box Score
Explorers Beat Richmond In First Round of A10 Tournament;
Oh Brothers, Where Art Thou?
March 6,
2012
by Jack
Explorers Beat Richmond Despite 22 First Half Points by
Richmond's Darien Brothers.
The
Explorers (21-11, advance to A10 Tournament second round
in Atlantic City) do not make things easy on themselves.
The Richmond Spiders (16-16) gave them all they could hand
for 30 minutes. This win only means that the Explorers
season continues for another game. The second round
of
the A10 Tournament
is Friday at 6:30 against Saint Louis.
The Explorers must play even better on Friday in order
to beat the Billikens.
During the first half the teams traded baskets but most
disturbing was that the Explorer defense failed to focus
on Darien Brothers who scored 18 of Richmonds first 25
points! The Explorers started to pull away at the end of
the half as Jerrell
Wright
(14 points, 2 boards, 1 block in 16 minutes) hit
a couple of clutch hook shots and Ramon Galloway (17
points, 7 boards, 8 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal in 38
minutes)
stepped
up and scored clutch baskets. The
Explorers closed the half with a 40-33 advantage.
In the second half the Explorers actually got
near Brothers and limited him to just 9 second half points.
Richmond fought hard at the beginning of the second half
and cut the lead to a point at 42-41. The Explorers' secret
weapon Devon White (13 points, 6 boards,
2 steals and 2 blocks in 23 minutes) scored a basket and
drew the foul. at 15:40. The Explorers continued
to
build
the lead to 49-41
on White's two free throws. Richmond didn't quit and it
was 49-48 until Sam
Mills (8 points) nailed a trey, Wright slammed
home a dunk and Earl Pettis (15 points,
5 boards) made a layup for a 54-48 lead. It remained a
contest until
Tyreek
Duren
(8 points, 4 assists and 2 turnovers) nailed a jumper at
3:57 to boost the lead to 70-55 with 3:57 remaining. The
Explorers
closed
out
the
game
and did
what they needed to in order to advance to the next round.
La Salle needs to keep on winning. One game at a time.
First up is Saint Louis; win that one and face Xavier or
Dayton; then win that and possibly face Temple; win 3 in
AC and then onto the NCAA tournament. That is the next
goal - keep your eyes on the prize.
La Salle 80, Richmond 72 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Ramon Galloway.
Video Highlight
LaSalle
shot 50% from the field on 26 for 52
(and 47% from beyond the arc
on
8 for
17)
and
83%
from
the foul
line (20 for 24). There was not much to
complain about as the coaches finally got the players
back to playing with the confidence they had earlier
in the season. Coaching
Grade: A
Up Next: A10 Second Round game vs. Saint Louis at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday 3/9 at 6:30pm.
Officials:
Frank Scagliotta, Brent Hampton, Tim
Kelly.
Scagliotta Hampton Kelly
Unbelievably, for the fourth consecutive La Salle game
the opposing team's head coach walked onto the
court to confront an official
without a technical foul being whistled. This time it was
the Spiders coach confronting ref Frank Scagliotta at 14:09
of the second half on a travel called against Richmond.
Grade
for Officials: C
(Average) -
Several fans near me warned Scagliotta before the game
even started that he better not make his usual bogus
calls against the Explorers at Gola Arena. He was smart
enough to take their advice as they were in no mood
for his nonsense. Brent Hampton let Pettis get hand-checked
with two hands which caused him to fall off balance
and miss a shot very early in the second half. Then
a Richmond player walked right in front of him and
no call was made as Richmond pulled to within a point
at 40-39; the fans let him know that he made two errors
during that timeout that La Salle was forced to call.
He didn't make a bad call after that. The only complaint
about Tim Kelly was a couple of late whistles.
The
A10 must assure the La Salle faithful as well as all
A10 fans that refs DJ Carstensen, Donnie Eppley, Roger
Ayers (BonnieGate refs from last season) nor other horrendous
officials
be used in the Atlantic 10 Tournament or any A10 games
from this point forward. The integrity of this league
is at stake and the alums
and fans of
every A10 institution will demand monetary penalties
for both officials and league representatives for obvious
officiating errors of
omission (missed calls) and comission (bogus calls). The NCAA office has been
notified to
keep a close eye on all of the A10 officials.
Box Score
Explorers Grab 20th Win of Season
March 3,
2012
by Jack
Explorers Beat Saint Bonaventure To Gain 20th Victory.
The
La Salle Explorers (20-11, 9-7) are poised for a possible
post-season run as they beat the Saint Bonaventure Bonnies
(17-11, 10-6) 71-61. The win ensures that the Explorers
will host a home game in the opening round of the A10 Tournament
on Tuesday evening. The Bonnies had already clinched a
bye as they finish in 4th place.
The first half started a bit sluggish for the Explorers.
They trailed 12-10 but a dunk by Jerrell Wright
(10 points),
an Earl Pettis (16 points) layup, a Sam
Mills (4 points) lay-in and then Pettis trey and
a Mills layup gave them a 21-12 lead that they would never
relinquish. The lead was 30-17 but the Bonnies continued
to battle. It looked like the Bonnies would leave the half
with under a ten point deficit as they had the ball for
the last possesion of the half trailing 36-26 but Pettis
stole the ball and had it goal-tended as time expired.
38-26 Explorers at the half.
Tyreek
Duren (19 points)
came up huge in the second half. The Bonnies made an
earlier second half run but the La Salle defense led
by Tyreek and Earl was too much for the Bonnies to handle.
Tyreek made a critical layup and the foul shot at 5:41
to build the lead to 60-50. The Bonnies cut the lead
to 64-59 but Duren made a runner and pushed the lead
to 66-59. Tyreek finished the game by adding 4 free thows
in the final 39 seconds.
Ramon Galloway (7 points, 3 boards,
3 assists and 3 turnovers) hurt his wrist on a dunk and
had to temporarily leave the
game. We really need Ramon to return to mid-season form
to have a chance to make a run in the A10 Tourney to
push the Explorers into either the NIT or NCAA field. Devon
White contributed 10
points and 6 boards but also had 4 fouls and 5 turnovers
in 18 minutes.
The Explorers honored seniors Earl Pettis who
scored his 1,000th career point and walk-on Matt
Sheehan prior to the game. Sheehan was given
the start and also came in at the end of the game.
The Explorers end a regular season of could-have been.
If only they didn't lose the games to Saint Joe's, Richmond,
the home Temple game and Fordham they would be atop the
A10 and all but assured a NCAA bid. The Explorers will
have an opportunity to get revenge on Richmond and Saint
Louis, who they will face on Friday if they beat Richmond.
La Salle 71, Saint Bonaventure 61 FINAL. Explorer
Top Performer of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
Video Highlights
LaSalle
shot 53% from the field on 27 for 51
(and 30% from beyond the arc
on
3 for
10)
and
70%
from
the foul
line (14 for 20). The lack of poise shown
by Coach John Giannini with 2:40 left was uncalled
for. Duren was forced to call the last timeout
for La
Salle. Giannini lost his composure and went into
a tirade on the sideline.
It seemed
very strange for that to happen at that particular
point with the Explorers ahead 64-59 at the time. Coaching
Grade: B
Up Next: A10 First Round game vs. Richmond at Gola Arena Tuesday 3/6 at 7pm.
Officials:
Ed Crenshaw Jr., David Walker, Kenneth Turner.
Walker Turner
For the third consecutive La Salle game the
opposing team's head coach walked onto the
court to confront an official
without a technical foul being whistled. This time it was
the Bonnies coach confronting ref David Walker on the court
at 18:51 of the second half.
Grade
for Officials: D
(Below Average) -
It was a tale of two halves as in the first half La
Salle was whistled for just 5 fouls but in the second
half
the refs put the Bonnies in the bonus early as the
disciplined Explorers were whistled for 11 fouls in
the half. Only
in the A10 can the home team be treated like the visiting
team!
Box Score
Explorers Escape Out of Foggy Bottom With a Much Needed
Victory; Leap Ahead of UMass in Standings
February
29, 2012
by Chinkster
Explorers Nearly Throw Away Game With Missed Free Throws.
The
Explorers (19-11, 8-7) nearly had one of the worst collapses
in recorded history but instead
held on to beat an awful George Washington Colonials (10-19,
5-10)
team. It was a very bizarre leap day, in some ways it was
like leaping backwards 4 years! La
Salle
has to come out with the same energy in all their remaining
games that they did at the start of this game. The Explorers
built a 10 point lead at 27-17 with 7:40 to go in the half
on a Sam Mills (9 points) layup. Tyreek
Duren (12
points, 3 steals, 3 assists but 4 first half turnovers)
added a layup but missed the foul shot for a 29-21 lead
at 3:21.
The Colonials scored the last 3 points of the half for
a 29-24 Explorer advantage at the break.
Jerrell Wright (15 points, 6 boards, 2
steals and a block) got the Explorers going in the second
half with 9 straight Explorer
points
to start the half.
The Explorers kept
GW at least 5 points away from the lead for most of the
half. Duren was fouled and made the front-end of a one-and-one
and then the back-end for a 57-47 lead which should have
been the end of the game. However, GW was allowed to goal-tend
on their next possession as ref Kevin Ferguson missed the
call. The Explorers then missed: a front-end by Duren;
an easy layup by Mills; two free throws by Wright. Duren
then had the ball stolen, his fifth turnover, with 26.4
seconds left and GW trailing 57-54! GW knew what to do,
they attacked the basket and got a layup with 21.6 seconds
left. Duren was fouled with 16.4 seconds left and missed
his first free throw but made his second for a 58-56 Explorer
advantage. Luckily for La Salle the ball went out of bounds
off of GW with 5.1 seconds left. Duren was fouled with
2.4 seconds left and made his first free throw, then Coach
John Giannini called a timeout which froze Duren as he
missed the second free throw. GW called a timeout with
2.2 seconds left but could not get the ball in-bounds.
Devon White (1 point, 3 boards in 10 minutes)
made the deciding free throw for a four point victory which
moved
the Explorers
into
a sixth-place tie
with Dayton and UMass. Due to tie-breakers La Salle is
technically in 7th place currently. The Explorers need
to come out strong and beat the Bonnies on Saturday in
honor of Earl Pettis (14 points and 6
boards) and walk-on Matt
Sheehan.
La Salle 60, George Washington 56 FINAL. Explorer
Top Performer of the Game: Jerrell Wright.
LaSalle
shot 49% from the field on 23 for 47 (and
23% from beyond the arc
on
3 for
13)
and
58%
from
the foul
line (11 for 19). The timeout in between
Duren's foul shots was not needed. It was strange
to see that. Coaching
Grade: B-
Up Next: Saint Bonaventure for Senior Day on Saturday 3/3 at 2pm.
Officials:
Earl Walton , Kenneth Clark, Kevin Ferguson
Walton Clark Ferguson
Not sure what is going on but GW's coach went onto the floor
twice during the game complaining to the officials and neither
time did he get the mandatory technical called against him.
The first time was at the 11:31 timeout and the second was
with 5.1 seconds remaining after his player touched the ball
going out of bounds. The same thing happened in the Fordham
game with their coach. If it is allowed why isn't our coach
doing the same thing?
Grade
for Officials: C (Average) -
Other then missing the obvious antics by GW's coach the
officials did a good job by the extremely low A10 officiating
standards.
Box Score
Incompetence By Coach G Allows Explorers To Lose To Lowly
Fordham; Time For New Direction
February
25, 2012
by Chinkster
The Search For A New Athletic Director and Coach
Began Today; Bill Raftery and Tim Legler Among Others Have Begun
The Unofficial Search Process According To LaSalle-Explorers.com
Sources.
The
La Salle Explorers (18-11, 7-7) crapped the proverbial
basketball bed with their uninspiring loss to the lowly
Fordham Rams (10-17, 3-11). Shortly before the end of the
game I was notified that former La Salle players and alums
Bill Raftery and Tim Legler were going to start discussing
the new direction they want to see the program go in. Both
Legler and Raftery are major fundraisers for the program
and if they don't see this team make the post-season then
they will talk to the administration about hiring a top-notch
Athletic Director who will be responsible for hiring a
top tier Division One coach for this once proud program.
It appeared as if La Salle came into
this game without even scouting Fordham. Anyone with a
basketball mind knows that you have to deny Chris Gaston
(the A10 leading rebounder) the ball near the basket, but
if he does get it you have to
double-team him as he is the only player on the Fordham
team that could beat you. The Explorers were able to survive
the first half with a 42-31 lead but Gaston had 19 points
in the first half alone.
The second half opened with the Explorers taking a 52-41
lead on an Earl Pettis (12 points on 6
for 18 shooting including a pathetic 0 for 7 on trey attempts)
backdoor bucket at 15:16. The game should have been secured
at that
point
with solid
defense and
protection of the basketball against a very poor offensive
team. Fordham is ranked 338th in division one in field
goal percentage and 289th in points per game at 62. Incredibly
Fordham had a 12-0 run and a one-point lead with 11:49
remaining. Coach John Giannini allowed Devon
White (5 points, 12 boards, 4 turnovers, 1 assist,
1 block in 29 minutes) remain on the floor for too long
of a stretch. Ramon Galloway (14
points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 6 turnovers)
did not play under control today. The teams traded baskets
as Galloway gave the Explorers their final lead at 62-61
at 5:16. The Explorers did not score another point the
rest of the game! Coach Giannini
should have told his guys to foul Fordham in the last 3
minutes of the game. Why?
Because Fordham shot an unbelievable 28.6% from the line
on 4 for 14 shooting. Fordham's
Gaston only scored 16 points in the second half and made
two critical layups
in the last 1:50 but was only 3 for 6 from the foul line. Gaston
had a career-high 35 points and 16 rebounds (15 on the
offensive end) in 39 minutes.
The only Explorer to value the basketball today was Sam
Mills (10
points on 4 for 10 shooting, 1 board, 4 steals, 4 assists
and
zero
turnovers). He played
under control and
did
not launch
wild shots that he had
no chance of making.
The only shot for the post-season would be winning the
Atlantic 10 Tournament and neither the players nor the
coaches on this team seem even remotely interested or prepared
for that type of challenge.
Fordham
67 La Salle 62 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Sam Mills.
LaSalle
shot 38% from the field on 23 for 60 (and
29% from beyond the arc
on
7 for
24)
and
90%
from
the foul
line (9 for 10). The Explorers had 17 turnovers
to just 12 assists. See comments above about coaching.
I still cannot believe
the
Explorers
lost
this game. Coaching
Grade: F
Up Next: at George Washington on Wednesday 2/29 at 7pm.
Officials:
Joe DeMayo, Frankie Bordeaux, Quinton Murphy.
DeMayo Bordeaux
The time has come for old Joe DeMayo to retire from college
officiating. He allowed the Fordham coach to not just stomp
onto the court but to get into his face at the 11:01 timeout
in the second half. Fordham was up only a point at 53-52
and the technical that should have been called could have
given the Explorers the game. We will never know. The Fordham
announcers said they never saw their coach that angry nor
that animated on the sideline. DeMayo earns a "D" grade.
DeMayo also missed Fordham's Gaston spiking the ball into
the floor in the first half right in front of him which could
have been called a technical. Bordeaux and Murphy earn "B"
grades.
Grade
for Officials: B
(Above Average) - overall the officiating
was good except for the DeMayo missed technical on the
Fordham coach.
Box Score
Twilight Zone Game: BonnieGate Official DJ Carstensen
Assigned to Officiate; Explorers
Inexplicably Attempt Two Treys Trailing By One
at End of OT
February
22, 2012
by Jack
The La Salle Administration Needs To Demand Bernie McGlade
and Reggie Greenwood Be Reprimanded and Fined; John Giannini
Cannot Coach End of Game Situations
The
La Salle Explorers (18-10, 7-6) were victimized by very
poor officiating throughout the game against the #22 Temple
Owls (22-5, 11-2) and almost overcame it. I know many of
us were thoroughly disgusted when it was announced that
the Atlantic 10 again assigned DJ Carstensen to
officiate a meaningful La Salle game. He was part of the
corrupt
officials at the end of last season that ultimately cost
former A10 Director of Officiating Jim Satalin his
job (BonnieGate -
Satalin, a Bonnies grad, had Carstensen and two other refs Donnie
Eppley and Roger
Ayers call the first round game at Saint Bonaventure
in the Bonnies favor). Satalin then assigned Carstensen
and Eppley to officiate La Salle's next game against Temple
in Atlantic City! Of course Carstensen and Eppley continued
their incorrect calls against La Salle. I do not see how
the A10 can survive much longer under these conditions.
Current A10 Director
of
Officiating
Reggie Greenwood has now put his own
job in jeopardy. Now both Greenwood and A10 Commissioner Bernie
McGlade are in hot water with not just the A10
member universities but possibly the NCAA.
It is mostly the calls that DJ Carstensen
intentionally misses that are most disturbing. Les
Jones also
cannot officiate at this level. At the end of the
first half DJ
made incorrect call on out-of-bounds
but
ref Les
Jones had to come over and correct him. Shortly after that
DJ missed the call again as a Temple player pushed the
chest of Ramon Galloway (12 points, 6
assists, 5 boards, 4 steals) that he almost fell backward.
In the second half Jerrell Wright (9
points, 2 boards in 18 minutes) was hammered in a dunk
attempt, the ball went in but neither Les Jones nor DJ
(who were
closest to the play) made a call on Michael Eric of Temple;
it seemed obvious they were trying to keep Eric out of
foul
trouble.
Then a whole series of poor officiating by both DJ and
Jones took place. Wyatt from Temple pushed off his defender,
was not called for a foul, and made the basket for a 59-50
Temple lead. Earl Pettis (33 points, 5
boards and 2 steals) then had his shirt pulled out by a
Temple defender right in
front
of
DJ and no call was
made.
Soon after Galloway was pushed and Jones made no call.
Sam Mills (12 points, 3 steals) hit a
trey to cut the lead to 61-55 but DJ allowed Wyatt to
travel
and
then
called
Devon White (3 points, 6 boards) for
a foul. Jones then had a late whistle against Tyreek
Duren (10 points, 3 boards)
and Temple was ahead 68-58 after the two made free throws.
The Explorers
to their credit did not quit. Pettis made a clean strip
of the ball at 2:05 but was called for foul by DJ. Temple
made one of two free throws for a 71-64 lead. Pettis then
made a basket to cut lead to 71-66. Then Moore of Temple
was finally whistled for a foul for using his off-arm to
push Sam Mills. Moore then cursed out Jones, since he
didn't make that call the entire game up until then, who
had no choice but to give him a technical foul. Pettis
then
converted
both
free
throws
and then
a trey
to tie
the game at 71. Temple had the last possesion of regulation
and was unable to launch a shot. In the overtime DJ made
one critical non-call as Eric fouled an Explorer with the
score 78-74; the Owls then made two free throws for a 80-74
lead. Duren hit a trey and then Pettis converted a basket
to cut the lead to 80-79. The Explorers had a chance to
win despite the mostly one-sided officiating. Pettis missed
a 3-point attempt and so did Mills as time expired.
It was extremely
disturbing to see that Coach John Giannini still
doesn't understand end of game situations. Why didn't he
instruct Tyreek Duren to drive to the basket and either
take the shot or dish it to Pettis, Galloway or Wright?
What is so difficult about that? Instead Pettis and then
Mills launched 3-point attempts! Not having an end-of-game
strategy will keep you out of the post-season
for certain.
Temple
80, La Salle 79 FINAL, OT. Explorer
Top Performer
of the Game: Earl Pettis.
LaSalle
shot 39% from the field on 27 for 70 (and
44% from beyond the arc
on
10 for
23)
and
88%
from
the foul
line (15 for 17). See comments above about
coaching. The Explorers needed this one and could
have had it if Duren drives to the basket at the
end of the overtime. Coaching
Grade: D
Up Next: at Fordham on Saturday 2/25 at 1pm.
Officials:
DJ Carstensen, Gene Steratore, Les Jones.
Carstensen Steratore Jones
Gene Steratore is an NFL official as well but he didn't take
control of this game as he should have. He earns a "D" Grade.
The other two earned "F" grades. Jones made a bogus
"hanging on the rim" technical foul against Devon White who
was protecting himself from landing on the Temple player.
Later Jones "inadvertently" blew his whistle on what he though
was goal-tending but Steratore said "no way that was goal-tending"
so I am going to tell everyone you inadvertently blew your
whistle.
Grade
for Officials:F (Failure) - due to corruption
and incompetence.
It is truly disgusting that we had to witness these guys
destroy the game like they did. The fouls were 17 for
Temple to 16 for La Salle but if the game were correctly
officiated, Temple would have at least 10 more. Steve
Degler, analyst on the La Salle radio broadcast, also
mentions how the Temple guards got away with using their
off-arm
to push away their defender. He mentions it multiple
times including at the end of the broadcast.
Explorers Beat UMass By Less Then A Foot
February
18, 2012
by Jack
The
Explorers Are Lucky To Escape With Hard Fought Victory
The
Explorers (18-9, 7-5) were extremely fortunate to leave
the William D. Mullins Center in Amherst with a victory
over the Massachusetts Minutemen (18-8, 7-5). The Explorers
quickly fell behind 15-5 and it looked as though they might
be in for a long night. However, Earl Pettis refused to
let the Explorers fade away in the first half. Earl made
4 treys and the score was tied at 19 with 9:46 remaining.
Then later with the score 24-23 in favor of La Salle, Pettis
came through again with a trey and then a layup for a 29-23
lead. Earl committed his second foul with 5:18 remaining
but I thought he should have stayed in the game as he had
17 points including the 5 treys. Earl has shown he can
play with two fouls but coach John Giannini decided to
sit him on the bench and UMass was able to outscore the
Explorers
10 to 4 for a 33-33 game at the half.
There was a huge cause for concern as Ramon
Galloway played 16 minutes in the first half
and had 2 points, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals but
4 big turnovers (one was a bad call where he got pushed
by a UMass player near the start of the game). Fortunately
for La Salle Ramon woke up in time for the second half
to
contribute
13 points,
5
boards, 2 assists and 3 turnovers in 16 minutes. Ramon
(15 points for the game) has to eliminate the unforced
turnovers if the Explorers are going to beat the better
teams like
Temple.
La Salle
built a 60-51 lead with 6:08 remaining. Instead of keeping
UMass at arms' length the Explorers trailed with 3:54
remaining at 63-62. The Explorers found themselves in
a battle and fought for a 72-69 lead with 10.6 seconds
to go as Tyreek Duren (15 points, 6 assists,
2 steals and a block in 38 minutes) sank two free throws.
La Salle should have pressured the in-bounds
play
and fouled in the backcourt
with about
5 seconds
remaining.
Instead they allowed UMass to get to open looks, the first
shot was from beyond the arc but missed but UMass was
able to get the rebound with 2 seconds remaining and get
another shot just before time expired. It went in but
the UMass player Terrell Vinson was standing on the three-point
line when he took the shot. The Explorers escaped with
their
18th victory of the season.
Jerrell Wright had a huge game as he
scored 15 points and collected 8 boards in 29 minutes.
Sam Mills had a disappointing 3 for 10
shooting game; he missed a couple of easy layups and rushed
another one
against two defenders instead of bringing the ball down
and then going back up. He has to get his offensive game
flowing again. Pettis finished with just one additional
point in the second half for a total of 18 for the game.
The
Explorers snapped UMass' 13 game home winning
streak.
La
Salle 72, Massachusetts 71 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle
shot 43% from the field on 26 for 60 (and
35% from beyond the arc
on
8 for
23)
and
71%
from
the foul
line (12 for 17). Coach Giannini should
have left Pettis remain in the game in the first
half with 2 fouls as he was the hot shooter and is
smart enough not to pick up a third first half foul.
Also, at the end of the game you have to pressure
the in-bounds play and make the other team work to
bring the ball up-court. Then you foul them just
before half-court with about 5 seconds remaining...
you never give them the opportunity to the game.
Instead, UMass had two good looks at the basket and
he was fortunate that the player was touching the
arc when jumped for the final basket. Finally, he
has to get Ramon to play under control; if he has
anywhere near 7 turnovers against Temple then the
Explorers will not win on Wednesday. Coaching
Grade: C
Up Next: Temple on Wednesday 2/22 at 7pm at Gola Arena.
Officials:
Alfred Smith, Dave Draucker, Frankie Bordeaux.
Smith Drauker Bordeaux
It is good to see that Alfred W. Smith is one of the better
refs we have seen. I didn't see any phantom or made-up calls
from him so he earns an "A" grade. He called the game fairly
for both teams. Frankie Bordeaux made wrong calls against
both teams and earns
a
"B" grade.
Dave Drauker missed some obvious calls and was making calls
far away from the action that officials closer to the action
somehow didn't see! Drauker earns a "D" grade.
Grade
for Officials:B (Above Average) - The
most controversial call at 3:50 went the Explorers' way
as Galloway could have been called for a charge but ref
Smith was right on top of the play. The second most controversial
call at 35.8 was made against the Explorers by ref Drauker
(a foul against Wright) who was further from the action
then Smith who didn't call anything.
Explorers Throwing Season Away As Saint Louis Wins Due
To Explorers Sloppy Play and Corrupt Officiating
Jeff Albright Lamar
Simpson Tracy
Woodson
February
11, 2012
by Chinkster
Gianinni Needed To Bench Galloway Who Had 7 Unforced Turnovers;
Are Officials Albright, Simpson and Woodson Involved in Illegal
Gambling Ring?
The
La Salle Explorers (17-9, 6-5) are literally throwing the
season away as they made an unbelievable 20, mostly unforced,
turnovers against the Saint Louis Billikens (20-5, 8-3).
Dr. John Giannini allowed
himself to be bullied by a group of corrupt officials
including Lamar
Simpson who made contact with John by repeatedly
pushing his index finger onto John's chest. John correctly
argued
that the moving picks were only being called against La
Salle (by one of the most corrupt officials - Jeff
Albright -
who has become this season's Frank Scagliotta).
We encourage everyone to write to the following individuals
currently
collecting paychecks in the Atlantic 10 offices - Reggie
Greenwood and Bernie McGlade -
as this nonsense cannot continue another day. Is it ever
okay for an official to have physical contact of a non-friendly
nature with any coach?
The Explorers still could have pulled this game out despite
the corrupt officiating if Giannini pulled Ramon
Galloway in
favor of DJ Peterson (8 minutes and zero
points) and Taylor
Dunn (did not play). I would even consider using
Rohan Brown (whom is a planned redshirt)
since he is needed. Galloway was out-of-control for nearly
the
entire
game and was allowed to stay on the court for 35 minutes.
Ramon's final stats were 5 points on 1 for 7 shooting,
5 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 7 turnovers, including a
couple
at
the end of the game that were extremely costly.
The first half started with Jerrell Wright (18
points and 9 boards in 27 minutes) being hit hard and
no call being made by ref Tracy
Woodson with
the Bills leading 3-2. Shortly after that Earl
Pettis (9 points, 4 assists
and 4 boards) was run over by a Bills player and no call
was made by Albright. Then
the Bills had an easy layup at 10:12 when Pettis was grabbed
and pushed to the floor as Albright
looked on and kept his whistle silent. This pushed the
Bills lead to 15-10. The Explorers saw Steve Zack (no
points, 2 boards and a steal in 6 minutes) draw a foul
at 4:21 but ref Woodson called Zack for an offensive
foul even though the Bills player was still moving. The
Explorers had 10 turnovers in the first half but only
trailed 26-23.
The Explorers cameout in the second half with a renewed
purpose. Galloway got a steal and fed it to Wright for
a layin and 37-36 Explorer lead at 11:53. Saint Louis
called a timeout. Devon White (4 points,
5 boards and 2 blocks in 16 minutes) missed an easy layup
at 11:18 but the Explorers kept the ball
as the Bills lost
it out of bounds. Then a series of bad officiating decisions
really hampered the Explorers. White was called for a
moving pick by Albright. The Bills then scored on a layup
for 38-37 Bills lead. Tyreek Duren (8
points, 2 steals in 38 minutes) immediately answered with
a runner and 39-38 Explorer lead. Then Albright
and
Simpson - both of whom had clear looks at the play - decided
not to call an obvious illegal screen by the Bills. The
result was a converted trey by the Bills and gave them
momentum and a 41-39 lead. The Bills again made illegal
contact, this time against Wright that forced him into
a turnover at 8:27 with the score tied at 41. Giannini
was screaming across the court at Woodson but it didn't
change anything. Pettis was pushed by Brian Conklin at
6:52 and it caused Pettis to turn the ball over. The refs
continued to let the Bills do whatever they wanted on
the court. Tyreek Duren was knocked
to the floor in front of Simpson and no call was made
so Duren called a timeout
to preserve the possesion. After that they ensured a Saint
Louis victory by allowing another blatant moving screen
by the Bills which allowed for a converted trey and a
50-47 Billiken lead. Wright was playing well but the officials
forced him to leave the game due to an injury he sustained
because the Bills were allowed to commit not one but two
offensive fouls - neither of which was called - and Wright
was hit on the head on the second of the non-calls. Ramon
Galloway commited a foul after that to prevent an easy
layup but the damage had already been done by the officials.
Giannini first approached Albright but the cocky jerk
walked away. Then Giannini talked to Simpson who gave
John an angry look. The corrupt officiating directly led
to the Explorers losing this game. The game definitely
has the appearance of a fixed
game.
The
Explorers' 14 game home winning streak at Gola
is over.
Saint
Louis 59, La Salle 51 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Jerrell Wright.
LaSalle
shot 40% from the field on 20 for 50 (and
40% from beyond the arc
on
4 for
10)
and
78%
from
the foul
line (7 for 9). Coach Giannini has to get
control of his team again. He needed to pick up an
early "T" especially when ref Simpson was poking
him in the chest... he should have brought attention
to it and gotten thrown out of the game. This corrupt
officiating and total arrogance by the refs can never
ever be tolerated again. John also should have benched
Ramon for more then 5 minutes. Ramon killed any chance
of the Explorers winning today. Coaching
Grade: F
Up Next: at Massachusetts on Saturday 2/18 at 6pm on CBS Sports Network.
Officials:
Lamar Simpson, Tracy Woodson, Jeff Albright.
Simpson Woodson Albright
There has to be a reprimand from the A10 Office after this
game and all of these guys removed from the NCAA rotation
of officials. If there wasn't a fix on this game then there
never has been
one. Coach Giannini told the refs multiple times about them
missing illegal screens on Saint Louis and they never even
called one! I
think these
refs
have
to
be investigated
for a possible illegal gambling ring. I would
recommend that if you see any of them in your town not to
hesitate in giving them an angry stare.
Grade
for Officials: F
(Failure) - due to corruption. See article
above.
Dr. John and His Coaching Staff Send Explorers Universe
Into Group Therapy
February
8, 2012
by Chinkster
Gianinni and His Coaching Staff Have Very Low Basketball
IQ.
The
Explorers (17-8, 6-4) dropped a game they had to win against
the lowly Richmond Spiders (13-12, 4-6). The main problem,
just like in the previous game, had to do with incorrect
substitutions and failure to instruct players during the
course of the game. Dr. John Giannini is
a good person but a not -so-intelligent basketball coach
despite writing a book on basketball. How does he
call a timeout in a tie game with 37.5 seconds left and
16 seconds remaining on the shot clock and get a shot-clock
violation? Did he and his coaches tell every player on
the court that they had just 16 seconds to get a shot off? Why
was freshman Steve
Zack (14 minutes, zero points, 1 block and 3 fouls)
in the game, let alone handling the ball at the end of
the
game? La
Salle
inbounded
the
ball
but
Zack ended
up taking a few dribbles as the shot clock wound down to
zero. Then Richmond got a layup (which most of their baskets
were) with 5.8 seconds left. Ramon Galloway was
hacked in the arm and the ball went out of bounds as time
expired. John went running after the official up the tunnel
but why did it have to come down to the last shot? How
did John and his entire coaching staff allow the Explorers
to get out-rebounded 45 to 27 by the worst rebounding team
in the A10 and 327th in Division One?
Athletic Director Tom Brennan has to be
terminated if this team fails to play well down the stretch
and at least get into the real post-season.
Why are none of the big men getting
better as the season progresses? Is anyone going to be
held accountable? How
long do we have to hear John make dumb statements about
how all the A10 teams are above average instead of talking
up his own team? How much longer can this mess continue? Will
this team at least make the NIT Tournament?
The Richmond announcers even mentioned how uptight the Explorers coaching staff was on the sidelines throughout the game. Why? Were they expecting to lose? Do they realize that they are over-matched? Doesn't the coaching staff realize that they would be undefeated in A10 play if they kept the team focused on defense and made the correct substitutions?
Ramon
Galloway (15 points on 3 for 11 shooting, 7 boards, 9 assists)
played out-of-control a few times and it really hurt the team. Tyreek
Duren (17
points on 7 for 13 shooting) needed to drive to the basket
after the timeout with 37.5 seconds to go. Earl Pettis (9
points) only played 26 minutes due to picking up 4 fouls. Sam
Mills chipped in with 16 points. Jerrell
Wright (11 points on 4 for 7 shooting, 4 fouls)
should have been on the floor in the last 37.5 seconds instead
of Zack.
The Explorers must win on Saturday against a 19-win Saint Louis
team.
Richmond
78, La Salle 76 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer of the Game:
Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle
shot 46% from the field on 26 for 56 (and
59% from beyond the arc
on
10 for
17)
and
70%
from
the foul
line (14 for 20). John Giannini again failed
in recognizing proper substitutions. In the
first half the Explorers built a 32-21 lead at 6:06 and
should have buried Richmond into a deep halftime deficit.
Instead
he kept Devon White on the floor too long and in just over
2 minutes of game time the score was tied at 32 with 3:52
showing on the clock! We desperately need coaching for
this team. Coaching
Grade: F
Up Next: Saint Louis on Saturday 2/11 at Gola Arena 2pm.
Officials:
Jeff Albright, Gary Prager, Gregg Durrah.
Albright Prager Durrah
There were a couple of bad calls against both teams in the
first half. The refs didn't call the game for the last few
critical seconds. They allowed the Spiders to get away with
far too much contact in the lane.
Grade
for Officials: F
(Failure) - due to not officiating the game until the
last second. The
crew made many bad calls including an awful call against
Pettis in the second half where he was run over but called
for a blocking call at 16:24 for his third foul. They
also allowed Derrick Williams of Richmond to have a career-best
22 points and 11 rebounds by allowing him to swing his
arm around the Explorer defender and push them out of
his way. The worst offense obviously was the game-changer
at the end of regulation when Galloway was fouled with
hard contact while attempting to launch a trey; it happened
right in front of ref Durrah who tried to pretend like
he didn't see or hear the contact by the Spiders player
on Galloway's arm. Coach G ran after him off the court
but obviously the official had no interest in doing his
job for the full 40 minutes as required by the rules.
Hawks Get Win As Dr. John Displays "Court Non-Sense"
February
4, 2012
by Jack
Atlantic 10 Inexplicably Assigns DJ Carstensen To Key
Game.
La
Salle (17-7, 6-3) didn't have a good feeling prior to
the game as DJ Carstensen was announced
as one of the refs (he intentionally made numerous incorrect
calls against La Salle in the two A10 Tourney games last
year
and should have
been
removed
from the A10 rotation after last season). Saint
Joseph's
(15-9,
5-4)
still just barely escaped with the victory.
A Saint Joe's sophomore named Kanacevic - he came into
this game
averaging
less then 8 points - somehow managed 18 points, 15 boards,
4 assists,
two blocks and two steals! The refs decided to make him
a superstar as he was allowed to travel in the lane, charge
into Explorers
getting
fouls
called
against LaSalle and then pushing Jerrell Wright (5
points, 4 fouls in 11 minutes) without a call at the other
end. Carstensen gave the La Salle coaching staff a smirk
as he walked by their bench. I was extremely disappointed
that Doctor
John Giannini didn't pick up an early
technical to change the pace and let Carstensen know who
the better team is this
year. Instead John allowed it to continue and the Explorers
trailed 42-33 at the break.
The second half was a frenzy that the Explorers battled
through. Earl Pettis (17 points on 6 for
18 shooting) nailed a trey at 4:41 to cut the lead to 61-60.
Then Sam
Mills (11 points on 4 for 12 shooting) had
a really rough stretch in a game where he missed easy baskets
that
ultimately cost
the Explorers the victory. Mills commited a foul at 4:16
where the Hawks converted two free throws. At 4:00 he picked
the worse time to have his only turnover of the game but
the Explorers got a turnover right back and Mills missed
a layup at 3:53. Pettis got him the ball and he missed
a trey at 3:45. The Explorers cut it to one again with
11 seconds remaining on a Pettis dunk. But with a few seconds
remaining and the Explorers needing a trey, Pettis missed
a forced trey attempt instead of trying to find an open
teammate. The Explorers lost one they could have pulled
out despite the very poor first half officiating.
Ramon
Galloway (14 points on 4 for 13 shooting, 7 boards, 4 assists)
was out of control at times today. Tyreek Duren (9
points on 3 for 10 shooting) was not his usual confident self
today and it really hurt the team.
The Explorers hurt their post-season chances by failing to
hold onto first place in the A10 conference. The season will be more
of a battle then most of us had hoped at this point as it
gives other teams like the Hawks confidence that they otherwise would
not have. This game has to serve as a wake-up call for everyone on
the team, especially the coaching staff.
Saint
Joseph's 70, La Salle 66 FINAL. Explorer
Top Performer of the Game: Earl Pettis.
LaSalle
shot very poorly from inside the arc for
33% from the field on 22 for 66 (and 44% from beyond the
arc
on
11 for
25)
and
79%
from
the foul
line (11 for 14). John Giannini failed
to take charge of the game by getting an
early "T" and letting his team know that
he is fighting for them. He also was out
coached in the crunch-time of the second
half when the Explorers could have pulled
out the game with a disciplined attack at
the end. It was disturbing
to see the team not play relaxed in this
game. How did the entire
coaching staff miss the fact it took over
5 seconds
at the end of the game for the Hawks to get
the ball inbounds, not once but twice? Coaching
Grade: F
Up Next: at Richmond on Wednesday 2/8 at 7pm.
Officials:
Joe Demayo, D.J. Carstensen, David Walker.
DeMayo Carstensen Walker
The first half was extremely one-sided as they allowed the
Hawks to shuffle their feet when they had the ball in the
lane (that "superstar" kid benefitted from a couple of those
non-calls) by Carstensen. At the other end DeMayo allowed
that same "superstar" to push Wright and hack his arm. The
Explorers were saddled with 21 fouls to just 15 fouls for
the Hawks. At the end of the second half these three allowed
Saint Joe's to call a timeout after 6 seconds when they could
not get the ball inbouinds. Then they let the Hawk inbounder
hold the ball for 4 seconds and then take 3 additional seconds
to run the baseline and inbound it. Coach G's basketball
IQ isn't the best and he asked about running the baseline
(which was allowed after the made bucket) instead of the
time it took. The Hawks had 15 turnovers to just 12 for La
Salle which makes
you
wonder
how the more
disciplined
team
had
more fouls. The foul shots had an even wider margin at the
Hawks had 29 free throws to just 14 for the Explorers. Why
wasn't Carstensen removed from the A10 rotation after last
season?
Grade
for Officials: F
(Failure)- due to scheduling incompetence by
the A10. The NCAA needs to hold the officials
accountable if the conferences fail to do so. So far
Reggie Greenwood (see photo below) has
failed us like Jim
Satalin did before
him.
There is Blue and Gold There in Olney!
February
1, 2012
by BK Seginsda
Explorers Beat Charlotte 49ers To Remain in First Place,
All Alone As UMass and Saint Bonaventure Lose.
The
La Salle University Explorers (17-6, 6-2 for 1st Place
in A10) beat a scrappy Charlotte 49ers
(10-11, 2-6) squad. The Explorers were forced to go to
the bench early due to Earl Pettis (committed
second foul at 7:39) and Ramon Galloway (committed
second foul at 3:40) foul troubles. The
teams traded baskets but the Explorers
were
able to leave at the half with a 39-36 advantage.
The second half began with the Explorers scoring 7 straight
capped by Pettis' layup at 16:13 for a 48-36 lead. The
49ers fought back to within four but DJ Peterson (6
points) nailed a trey for a 51-44 advantage. Then the
49ers scored 6 straight.
However, Pettis answered with a couple of buckets to push
the lead back to 5 points at 55-50. Charlotte tried to
get close but Jerrell
Wright (18 points on 8 for 10 shooting, 2 boards,
1 block and 1 assist, zero turnovers, in 23 minutes) helped
seal
the
victory
with an emphatic dunk for a 70-59 lead with 4:38 remaining. Tyreek
Duren (22 points, 4 boards, 6 assists to 4 turnovers
and 2 steals) played a very good game. Sam Mills contributed
with 13 points. The Explorers last 11 points came via
the
free-throw
line.
Ramon
Galloway (8 points, 6 assists, 5 boards) was
limited to 27 minutes due to foul trouble. Earl Pettis
(13 points, 6 boards) was limited to 33 minutes.
The Explorers are alone in first place in the
A10 with a 6-2 record. Both UMass and
Saint Bonaventure lost tonight.
| A10 Standings | Conference Record | Overall Record | A10 Tournament |
| La Salle | 6-2 | 17-6 | Bye |
| Temple | 5-2 | 16-5 | Bye |
| Xavier | 6-3 | 15-7 | Bye |
| Massachusetts | 5-3 | 16-6 | Bye |
| Saint Louis | 5-3 | 17-5 | 1st Round Home |
| Saint Bonaventure | 5-3 | 12-8 | 1st Round Home |
| Saint Joe's | 4-4 | 14-9 | 1st Round Home |
| Duquesne | 4-4 | 13-9 | 1st Round Home |
| Dayton | 4-4 | 14-8 | 1st Round Away |
| George Washington | 3-5 | 8-14 | 1st Round Away |
| Richmond | 3-5 | 12-11 | 1st Round Away |
| Fordham | 2-6 | 9-12 | 1st Round Away |
| Charlotte | 2-6 | 10-11 | Season Ends |
| Rhode Island | 2-6 | 5-18 | Season Ends |
Video
Highlight
La
Salle 85, Charlotte 72 FINAL. Explorer Top
Performer of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle
shot 53% from the field on 29 for 55 (and
48% from beyond the arc on 10 for 21) and 85% from the
foul
line (17 for 20). John Giannini and
his staff didn't have the answers defensively
in the first half but to their credit the made
some halftime adjustments that led to the 49ers
not scoring until 15:20 was left in the half.
Coaching
Grade: A
Up Next: Saint Joe's on Saturday 2/4 at the Palestra, 12pm. Televised on The Comcast Network.
Officials:
Officials: Alfred Smith, Kevin O'Connell, Jeff Janosik.
This crew allowed hand-checking (this was banned decades
ago) on Duren for most of the game and only called it a foul
when the Charlotte
player
smacked his arm. The crew missed obvious travels against
both teams. They allowed far too much contact against both
teams.
Grade
for Officials: D
(Below Average)-
the officials allowed a Charlotte player to dunk a ball
well after the whistle without a technical; later they
allowed a Charlotte to angrily throw the ball at the
officials
knees and
only gave him a warning. Then in the last seconds they
called a Charlotte player for a meaningless technical
because he hung on the rim; the game had already been
decided.
Ramon Galloway Wins A10 Player of the Week Award
January 30, 2012
Ramon
Galloway averaged 21.5 points and 7 assists in a couple
of wins for
the Explorers this past week. Ramon scored a career-high
28 points on 11 for 12 (92 percent) shooting against George
Washington, including 6 for 7 (86 percent) from beyond the
arc. He also
had 6 rebounds
and handed out 4 assists versus the Colonials. Galloway followed
that up with a 15 point, 10 assist double-double
at Duquesne, shooting 50 percent from the field (6 for 12)
and from 3-point range
(2 for 4). He scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half
at Duquense to spark a 9 point comeback. He made the game-changing
basket on a traditional 3-point play to put La Salle in front
69-66 with 1:03 remaining. La Salle is tied for first place
with two other teams in the Atlantic 10 standings at 5-2.
Duquesne Put Up Dukes But Lose Fight With Explorers
January
28, 2012
by BK Seginsda
Explorers Beat Duquesne To Remain in First Place
The
La Salle Explorers (16-6, 5-2 in A10) won a hard-earned
road contest against the Duquesne Dukes (12-9,
3-4). The Explorers built an early 17-10 lead by holding
the Dukes scoreless for over 5 minutes. The Explorers
were outscored 17 to 11 the rest of the half and went into
the half ahead 28-27.
As the second half
began it appeared as if the Explorers would not be able
to win this one as the Dukes built a 41-32 lead with 16:06
left. Then the Explorers went to work. Jerrell
Wright (10 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals)
hit a pair of free throws to close out a 20-10 run as La
Salle
pulled ahead 52-51 with 9:08 remaining. Earl Pettis (20
points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 4 turnovers) then hit a trey
and a layup for a 57-56 Explorer advantage at
6:40. The Explorers thought
they had the game under control when Wright made a layup
at 2:26 for a 66-59 advantage. The Dukes kept fighting though
and tied the score at 66 with 1:23 remaining on a dunk by
a Dukes player named Jerry Jones (I doubt he is related to
the much despised Cowboys owner). Ramon Galloway (15
points, 3 boards, 10 assists, 4 turnovers) was fouled by
Jones at 1:03 after converting a layup. Ramon hit
the
free throw to give La Salle a 69-66 advantage. Sam
Mills
(8 points) made a couple of free throws for a 71-68 advantage with just 7 seconds
left. Then, Jerry Jones saw his potential game-tying three-point shot blocked
by Tyreek
Duren
(7 points, 6 boards and 1 critical block) with
2
seconds
remaining.
The Explorers won on the road which should give them confidence in future A10
road games this year.
The Explorers are still tied for first place in the
A10 with a 5-2 record. However, only two other teams are
tied with them (UMass and Saint Bonaventure).
Video
Highlight
La
Salle 71, Duquesne 68 FINAL. Explorer Top
Performer of the Game: Ramon Galloway.
LaSalle
shot 52% from the field on 28 for 54 (and 43%
from beyond the arc on 6 for 14) and 90% from the foul
line (9 for 10). John Giannini and
his staff did well in getting the team ready
for this game. When Duren picked up his second
foul in the first half and had to sit it made
it tough Coach G to run his plays. Coaching
Grade: B
Up Next: Charlotte on Wednesday 2/1 at Gola Arena, 7pm.
Officials:
Tony Crisp, Gary Pucino, Evon Burroughs.
There were missed calls on both teams. There weren't too
many whistles as the refs let the teams play. 15 fouls were
called against La Salle and 13 against the Dukes.
Grade
for Officials: C
(Average)-
the officials were noticed in the first half but then
started calling the game more consistently in the second
half.
Explorers
Pound Colonials To Match Win Total From Last Season
January
25, 2012
by Chinkster
Explorers Reach 15 wins, move up in A10 Standings
The
Explorers (15-6,
4-2 in A10) controlled the game after falling behind early
to the George Washington Colonials (8-12, 3-3). Ramon
Galloway (21 first half points
on 8 for 9 shooting) got everyone fired up on a trey to
give the Explorers
a
19-18
lead. Steve Zack (career-best 9 points,
3 blocks) got Gola Arena excited with 8 first-half points
on perfect 3 for 3
shooting
(and
2 for
2 free throw shooting). Earl
Pettis (15 points, 3 boards) made a layup to close
out the first half Explorer scoring for a 51-38 lead at
the break.
The second half
saw the Colonials cut the lead to 66-49 at the 12:12 mark.
The Explorers clamped down on defense and closed out the
game with relative ease. Tyreek
Duren (9 points, 4 steals) had an awesome alley-oop
assist to Galloway (career best 28 points on 11 for 12
shooting, 6 boards and 4 assists) at 16:28 to make it 59-42.
Jerrell
Wright (12 points, 3 boards and a block) played
well and Sam Mills (5 points, 5 assists
and 6 boards) played good second half defense.
The Explorers are now tied for first place in the A10 with
a 4-2 record. 4 other teams share the lead with the Explorers.
Video
Highlight
La
Salle 78, George Washington 63 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Ramon Galloway.
LaSalle
shot 58% from the field on 30 for 52 (and 57% from
beyond the arc on 8 for 14) and 77% from the foul
line (10 for 13). John Giannini and
his staff did great in getting Jerrell Wright and
especially Steve
Zack prepared for this game. Devon
White missed his second straight game
as a precaution due to the concussion he
may have
suffered against
Temple. Coaching
Grade: A+
Up Next: at Duquesne on Saturday 1/28 at 7pm.
Officials:
Jeff Albright, Evon Burroughs, Justin Porterfield.
Bob Donato was ill and did not officiate the game as scheduled
so Justin Porterfield filled in (the official box score needs
to be corrected). The officials missed a few calls and allowed
too much contact
at times.
Burroughs
made
a
bizarre
travel
call
on
Mills
when it
was either a charge or blocking foul that could have been
called. Wright was fouled hard a couple times in the second
half but no call was made.
Grade
for Officials: C (Average)-
the officials were not noticed for most of the game.
Tyreek Duren Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
January 23,
2012
Tyreek Duren averaged 19.5 points,
5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists last week. He
shot 14 of 21 (67 percent) from the field
and 2 of 3 (67 percent) from 3-point range. Tyreek
scored 18 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out two
assists in a close game at Temple. He followed that
performance with a 21 point, 5 rebound, 5 assist
outing in an 80-66 win over Rhode Island. Duren has scored
in double-figures in nine straight games and he added three
steals and a block in last week's two games.
Explorers
Struggle Before Battering Rams
January 21,
2012
by Chinkster
Explorers Beat Bad Rhode Island Rams Team
The
Explorers (14-6,
3-2 in A10) put a scare in the Gola Arena crowd by allowing
the lowly Rhode Island Rams (3-17, 0-5) to hang around in
the first half. La Salle built a 14-7 lead on a Sam
Mills (10 points, 3 boards and 6 assists)
layup at 14:17. Earl
Pettis (19 points, 3 boards) made a jumper to increase
the Explorer advantage to 29-13 at 8:31. Then Mills made
a trey
at 7:10
for an Explorer 32-17 lead and the rout was on. However,
no one told Rhode Island that and the Rams went on an astonishing
18-3 run to tie the game at 35 at the break!
The Blue and Gold came out very focused in the second half
and made better decisions at boths ends of the court. Tyreek
Duren (21 points, 5 boards and 5 assists) got the
second half rolling with a trey at 19:39 for a 38-35 lead.
Rhodey was trailing 43-41 but Ramon Galloway (10
points, 3 boards) and Jerrell
Wright (17 points, 8 boards) went to work and helped
the Explorers push the lead to 51-43 at 13:01. Pettis (6
points
in a 90
second
stretch) and Duren (6 free throws in last
2:21) helped
close out the game. The crowd went home happy on Brother
Ed Sheehy (20th year as spiritual moderator
for the team) Bobblehead (Bobble Ed) day.
Video Highlights
La
Salle 80, Rhode Island 66 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle
shot 57% from the field on 30 for 53 (and 47% from
beyond the arc on 8 for 17) and 75% from the foul
line (12 for 16). John Giannini and
his staff did great in getting Jerrell Wright prepared
for this game. Steve
Zack still has some work to do in practice. Devon
White missed the game as a precaution due
to possible concussion he may have suffered against
Temple. Coaching
Grade: B+
Up Next: George Washington on Wednesday 1/25 at Gola Arena 7pm.
Officials:
Tony Dawkins, Alfred Smith, Jeff Janosik.
The game was called correctly for the most part. Rhodey had
14 turnovers and 16 fouls and visited the line 9 times. The
Explorers had 10 turnovers, 13 fouls and visited the line
16 times.
Grade
for Officials: B (Above
Average)-
the officials let some contact go but for the most part
called a good game.
Explorers Drop Game Against Owls With Poor Defensive Effort
January 18, 2012
by Jack
Explorers Fail To Beat Disorganized Temple
La Salle (13-6, 2-2 in A10) started the game against the Temple Owls (12-5, 2-2) by building a 11-5 lead on an Earl Pettis (12 points, 3 boards in 26 minutes) runner. However, the Explorers lost focus on defense and all of the sudden Temple was ahead 13-11. The Explorers did battle back for a tie at 27 when Ramon Galloway (17 points, 3 boards) nailed a trey. I felt sick when Wally Rutecki was announced as one of the officials before the game started and worse as the game progressed. He and his crew made a joke out of the game all the way through by making incorrect calls against both teams in the first half. The Explorers trailed 37-33 at the half.
The second half started good with Galloway cutting the lead to 40-38 with a trey. The Explorers then lost their defensive intensity and allowed an average Temple team to outscore them 17-10 to make it 57-48. The Explorers then came to life and scored the next 7 points as Sam Mills (7 points on horrific 2 for 11 shooting) trey cut it to 57-55. Unfortunately the Explorers played out of control at key moments that would have turned the game in their favor and deflated Temple. Galloway missed a golden opportunity with the score at 62-61. Galloway stole the ball and was driving to the basket but somehow got himself out of control and missed the chance to take the lead. The teams continued to trade baskets. Mills later missed an easy shot that would have given the Explorers the lead at 5:07 (the score was 66-65). Tyreek Duren (18 points, 6 boards) kept the Explorers close. Devon White made a couple of critical (and unnecessary) fouls that sealed the game for Temple. At the end of second half La Salle had 10 fouls to just 3 by Temple! The Atlantic 10 needs to find professional officials and rid us of guys like the disgraceful Rutecki.
Temple 76, La Salle 70 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle shot 45% from the field on 28 for 62 (and 33% from beyond the arc on 5 for 15) and 56% from the foul line (9 for 16). John Giannini and his staff did a better job to get Jerrell Wright (9 points, 6 boards, 1 block in 17 minutes) touches at the start of the game but didn't continue that as the game progressed. Steve Zack (no points) played a dismal 4 minutes and even had a shot blocked by someone 9 inches shorter! He is way to hesitant on the offensive part of the game. Devon White had 4 points and 4 boards before fouling out after 16 minutes. He did not play well when the team needed him to down the stretch. Devon's hesitation on the offensive end near the basket allows other teams to easily block his shot. His poor defensive play has cost this team. A coaching specialist for the big men needs to be hired this week. Also, Coach Giannini doesn't seem to have the basketball IQ to manage a close contest. He doesn't appear to know when to instruct his players to foul and when to tell them not to. Coaching Grade: D
Up Next: Rhode Island on Saturday 1/21 at 4pm.
Officials:
Wally Rutecki, Todd Williams, Jeff Albright
Temple was very disorganized and had 15 turnovers but were
only whistled for 12 fouls for the entire game! The Explorers
were much more under control and had just 8 turnovers
but were whistled for 16 fouls. Temple went to the line
22 times to just 16 for La Salle.
Grade for Officials: F (Failure)- due to total incompetence by officials and the A10. The joke continues for at least another season. After Devon was fouled and hit his head on the floor, Rutecki stood there dumbfounded instead of immediately calling for La Salle's trainer who couldn't see what happened at the other end of the court. We need to have the NCAA implement NFL-style rules and ALL REFS must be reviewed after EVERY GAME. If they get a below average rating they must sit out the next 3 days. The AD for each school must provide details and video of bogus calls so that the NCAA can review and take appropriate action including termination at any point of the season for multiple violations. Each conference must also have enough common sense to avoid scheduling incompetent and/or corrupt officials.
Explorers
Can't Overcome Lack Of Interior Defensive Play Combined With
Poor Officiating Calls at Dayton
January 14,
2012
by Jack
Duren, Mills, Galloway and Pettis Fight Until The
End
The
Explorers (13-5, 2-1 in A10) were forced to play portions
of the first half against the Dayton Flyers (13-5, 3-1) without
Tyreek Duren (13 points, 4 turnovers in
29 minutes) and Earl
Pettis (19 points, 3 boards) due
to some obvious home cooking at
Dayton
Arena. It made me sick to my stomach when I heard
Scagliotta was one of the officials at the start of this
game. Duren was whistled for two fouls that should have
been called against Dayton (the first was an obvious offensive
foul that should have been called against the Dayton player
that ran him over; the second was one that should have been
a defensive call against Dayton). La Salle fell behind early
but Ramon
Galloway (18
points, 4 boards, 2 turnovers) cut the deficit to 11-7 on
a trey at 15:59 of the first half. Pettis cut the lead to
one
at
28-27
with
4:31
remaining. I was surprised to see that Dayton allowed their
3-point specialist Chris Johnson play tonight as he suffered
a concussion recently. It was disturbing to see that the
Explorer defense was not as
intense
as it
needed
to be
in
the first
half.
The
Explorers
trailed 40-29 at the break.
The second half was much better from a defensive standpoint
but the Explorers allowed a kid named Matt Kavanaugh (scores
under 8 per game) to score 17 second half points and 23 for
the
game! That is totally unacceptable. Not surprisingly Chris
Johnson (5 points in 17 minutes) had symptoms while warming
up for the second half and could not return to action. The
poor officiating continued in the second half. Galloway was
fouled
hard at
13:44 as
he was attempting a layup. It should have been whistled as
a flagrant foul but ref Ken Clark did not call it. Ramon
was so upset that he missed the first free throw after that.
Then a short while later, Explorer nemesis and unprofessional
ref, Frank Scagliotta emphatically called an obvious out-of-bounds
off of Dayton player as Dayton ball! Then he added to the
screw-up by whistling Galloway for a bogus foul at 12:20.
At 7:50 Scagliotta called Devon White for a foul to send
the Kavanaugh guy, who walked before the contact, to the
free throw
line again! Why did all of this matter? Because the Explorers
continued to fight and it was made much more difficult because
of the poor officiating. Galloway nailed a trey at 1:38 to
cut it to 78-75. La Salle then stole the ball and had a chance
to tie. Sam Mills (17 points) forced a trey
that had no chance of going in at 8 seconds remaining. Dayton
hit one of two free throws with 2 seconds left to end the
opportunity to win. This loss snapped the Explorers 6 game
winning streak. The team had better come out ready to play
at the start of the game against Temple on Wednesday and
the Atlantic 10 better assign professional officials.
Dayton
79, La Salle 75 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Earl Pettis.
LaSalle
shot 50% from the field on 24 for 48 (and 44% from
beyond the arc on 8 for 18) and 73% from the foul
line (19 for 26). John Giannini and his staff did
not have the big men ready to dominate. Steve Zack (2
points) played 20 minutes and missed 3 free throws while
getting pushed around by Dayton players in the lane. That
cannot happen again. Jerrell Wright played just
14 minutes and finished with 2 points and 2 fouls. That
cannot happen
again. Devon White played 11 minutes and fouled out with
2 points. That cannot happen again. If the coaches cannot
prepare the bigs to play then we need to hire a specialist
who can. Coaching
Grade: D
Up Next: at Temple on Wednesday 1/18 at 7pm.
Officials:
Jackie Sanders, Ken Clark, Frank Scagliotta.
These officials are some of the worst remaining in the Atlantic
10. A10 Director of Officiating Reggie "Jack-ass"
Greenwood was
one of the worst officials of his time and now A10 Commissioner Bernie
"Bird-brain" McGlade is officially the
worst commissioner in college basketball. Many of us are
sick of your ignorant arrogance Bernie. How dare you hire
Greenwood for the A10. GET
RID OF THE CORRUPT OFFICIATING. How many
more years do we have to see these incompetent and one-sided
refs?
Grade for Officials: F (Failure)- due to Assignment by A10. The refs made Kavanaugh (only called for 2 fouls) of Dayton look like a superstar. They allowed him to travel in the lane and push La Salle guys out of the way. The same was not allowed for Devon White or Jerrell Wright (7 combined fouls).
Explorers
Win Physical Battle Against Penn in Big 5 Contest
January 10,
2012
by ExplorerSteve
Special guest reporter
Duren, Mills and Pettis Lead The Way Over Penn
The
Explorers (13-4, 1-1 in Big 5) played their final out of
conference game this season by defeating the Pennsylvania
Quakers (7-9,
0-3 in Big 5). The Explorers led the entire game. The score
was 9-0 at the 15:15 mark of the first half. Penn drew to
within 6 but Sam Mills (12 points on 5 for
8 shooting) hit a trey to make it 20-11. Penn pulled to within
28-25 but Tyreek
Duren (21 points on 6 for 8 shooting) drilled a
trey at 2:49 to make it 31-25. The Explorers closed the half
with
a 39-29 advantage.
Ramon
Galloway (6 points, 3 steals) had an off-night shooting
but played solid physical defense. Ramon had a crowd awakening
dunk at 17:02 of the second half to give the Explorers a
45-35 lead. Penn cut the lead to 60-55 but this team knows
how to win. Earl Pettis (18 points, 4 rebounds
and 2 blocks in 25 minutes) calmly sank two free throws at
1:51 and Duren converted
a traditional three-point play to push the score to 65-55
with 1:23 remaining.
Penn's Zack Rosen came into the game averaging 19.4 points
but scored just 8, all in the first half.
Jerrell
Wright (4 points, 9 boards and a block) and DJ
Peterson (5 points, 2 assists and a block) were
solid at both ends of the court. Devon
White chipped in with 2 points
and 7 boards. This is the sixth win in a row for La Salle.
Galloway was hit in the nose in defending the basket,
the trainer came out but he was able to get to the bench
and come back in later in the half. The game against
Dayton on Saturday will be very interesting and
require
a very
focused team
effort.
La
Salle 68, Pennsylvania 57 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
Video
Highlights
LaSalle
shot 47% from the field on 22 for 47 (and 31% from
beyond the arc on 5 for 16) and 86% from the foul
line (19 for 22). John Giannini and his staff did an
awesome job in having the team ready to play on just one
day of rest. The fatigue was evident in some of the players.
Another big exam is coming up on Saturday and the coaches
know it will not be easy. Coaching
Grade: A
Up Next: at Dayton on Saturday 1/14 at 7pm.
Officials:
Earl Walton, Bill McCarthy, Jeff Janosik.
Walton and McCarthy missed some obvious calls for both teams
but at least they didn't make any horrendous calls. Janosik
let a ton of contact go in the lane.
Grade for Officials: C (Average)- The foul calls were piling up on La Salle in the first half and I was concerned when Mills picked up two very early fouls and had to sit for awhile. Pettis also had two first half fouls. Both players had no fouls in the second half as they played under much better control. The Explorers had 15 turnovers (due to fatigue) to Penn's 14. Penn committed 20 fouls to 18 for La Salle. La Salle went to the line 22 times to 16 for Penn.
Explorers
Blow Out UMass in First Half and Hang-On For Victory
January 8,
2012
by Jack
Pettis and Galloway Push Explorers
Past Massachusetts
The
Explorers (12-4, 2-0 in A10) played as well as any team
could have in the first half. They owned the Massachusetts
Minutemen (12-4, 1-1) by forcing 15 first half turnovers.
Ramon Galloway (14 first half points) picked
up where he left in the previous game by shooting great
and
defending
well.
You knew it would be a long day for UMass as they fell behind
11-2 after a Tyreek
Duren (12 points) lay-in
with 13:59 remaining. Galloway hit a huge
trey for a 38-20 lead with 4:25 to go in the half. DJ
Peterson (8 points, 2 assists
and zero turnovers) added a couple of treys including the
last points of the half
for
a 51-25
lead at the break.
The
second half saw La Salle play a little less focused then
most would have hoped. UMass battled the Explorers, to their
credit, throughout the second half. The Explorers lack of
focus created many turnovers and easy baskets for UMass but
the game was never in jeopardy. Earl Pettis (19
points, 5 boards and a big second half block) made sure of
that. He hit a key trey to give the Explorers a 65-50 lead.
Later Galloway (18 points, 6 boards) made two free throws
to push the game out of reach at 72-60 with 1:49 left. Jerrell
Wright (7 points, 12 boards and 4 blocks) picked
up a second half technical and missed 6 of his 9 free throws
which is a major area of concern. Sam Mills (11
points) and Devon
White (7 points) contributed
to the win. The team now realizes that you have to play the
entire 40 minutes in Atlantic 10 games. The
win was the eleventh in a row at Tom Gola Arena for the Explorers.
La
Salle 82, Massachusetts 75 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Earl Pettis.
Video Highlights
LaSalle
shot 47% from the field on 26 for 55 (and 44% from beyond
the arc on 12 for 27) and 67% from the foul
line (18 for 27). The coaching staff
did a great job in the first half but below average in
the second half. The coaches probably don't have to worry
about a letdown against Penn on Tuesday. Coaching
Grade: B
Up Next: at Penn on Tuesday 1/10 at 7pm.
Officials:
Michael Stephens, Jamie Luckie, Michael Roberts.
There were a couple of incidents in the first half that should
have been handled differently. Wright was poked in the eye
by a UMass player and no foul call was made very early in
the game. Wright had to eventually leave the game for a few
minutes. Later, Jamie Luckie missed the travel by a UMass
player but then called Duren for a foul immediately after
this even though the player that travelled hit Duren in the
neck!
Grade for Officials: C (Average)- The refs called a very inconsistent game. In the first half, they let almost all physical contact go but then in the second half thy started calling everything. You can't really compare the stats because the Explorers became disinterested in the second half for large stretches and began turning over the ball and not playing focused.
Explorers
Tell Holloway and Lyons to "Zip It!"
January 4,
2012
by Jack
Pettis, Galloway, Duren and Mills Lead Explorers
Past Sluggish Xavier
The
La Salle University Explorers (11-4, 1-0 in A10) won their
Atlantic 10 opener over the Xavier Musketeers (9-5, 0-1 in
A10) 80-70 at Tom Gola
Arena. Xavier was picked first in the A10 pre-season poll.
La Salle trailed early in the first half 14-8. The Explorers
then
hit three
treys
(by
Pettis,
Galloway
and
Duren)
to take a 19-16 lead, never to trail again. Tyreek
Duren (10 points, 5 boards and
7 assists) made a key basket to increase the score to 36-24
in the middle of
a
14-0 Explorer
run. Steve
Zack (4 points, 4 boards and a block in 6 minutes)
made a follow-up shot to build the lead to 40-26. Then with
8 seconds to go Ramon Galloway (16 points,
4 boards in 39 minutes) delivered the dagger trey for a 46-30
halftime lead.
The
second half started slow for La Salle as Xavier cut the
lead to 10 at 50-40 on a slam dunk. Sam Mills (10
points and 6 boards) then made a bucket (but missed foul
shot). Later DJ
Peterson (4
points, 3 boards in 16 minutes)converted a 4-point play as
he was fouled while converting a trey.
This built the lead to 57-42 with 12:43 remaining. Earl
Pettis (23 points on 9 for 23
shooting with 3 assists and 3 steals) made clutch baskets
including a trey at 6:48 to push the lead
back to
10 at 70-60. However, with 2:09 remaining Xavier's Tu Holloway
made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 74-66. Then,
with
1:45 remaining Xavier's Mark Lyons made a trey to cut the
lead even further to 74-69. The Explorer faithful started
to get nervous at Gola Arena. But have no fear, Devon
White was here and he made a
power dunk to seal Xavier's fate 76-69 at 56 seconds. After
that Holloway could only manage one more free throw and Lyons
missed a
dunk. The Explorer defense told both of them to "Zip
It!".
Holloway was forced into a horrific 2 for 12 shooting night
and held to just 15 points while coughing up 4 turnovers.
Lyons was held to just 13 points and he had 4 turnovers;
both were held below their season scoring averages.
The
entire
Xavier
team, especially Holloway and Kenny Frease, looked sluggish
the whole game.
La
Salle 80, Xavier 70 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer
of the Game: Earl Pettis.
Video Highlights
Tyreek Duren was named Big 5 Player of the week for last week. Duren
averaged 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game in a 2-0 week
for the Explorers. He shot 16-for-26 (61.5%) from the floor and 6-for-11
(54.5%) from beyond the arc in those games.
LaSalle shot 40% from the field on 26 for 65 (and 35% from beyond the arc on 9 for 26) and 79% from the foul line (19 for 24). The coaching staff did a great job but now must guard against a letdown against visiting UMass on Sunday. Coaching Grade: A+
Up Next: UMass Sunday 1/8 at Gola Arena 2pm. TV: Comcast Sports Net.
Officials:
Bill McCarthy, Larry Scirotto, Mike Kitts.
Larry Scirotto made a bad call in the first half where a
Xavier player threw the ball to where he expected a teammate
to move to but instead the ball went sailing out of bounds.
Scirotto saw something no one else did, he claimed the ball
hit an Explorer! Bill McCarthy made an awful call against
Duren giving him his fourth foul. McCarthy was not even looking
at Duren and only saw a Xavier player falling to the floor.
This foul forced Duren to miss about 5 key minutes of the
game.
Grade for Officials: C (Average)- Overall the officials did not affect the outcome of the game. They called the game correctly for the most part as Xavier had 14 turnovers to 7 for La Salle. Xavier had 18 personal fouls to 16 for La Salle and Xavier shot 20 foul shots compared to 24 for La Salle.
Explorers Fly Past Hawks
December 31,
2011
by Chinkster
Duren and Galloway Lead Explorers Past Winless Hartford
The
La Salle Explorers (10-4) beat former Explorer assistant
coach and now head coach of the Hartford Hawks (0-12), John
Gallagher,
by 18 points. The Hawks spent the greater part of the week
in Philadelphia practicing at Gola Arena. Hartford built
an early 17-13 lead (10:27 left in first half) and it looked
as though the Explorers could be in deep trouble. However,
the Explorers
turned up
their defensive intensity and held Hartford scoreless for
over 8 minutes as the Explorers scored 17 straight points
for a 30-17 lead. The
Explorers led 33-21 at the break.
The
Explorers built the second half lead up to 20 points, 52-32,
on a layup by Tyreek Duren (19 points on
7 for 12 shooting in 27 minutes) with 12:13 remaining. The
Hawks kept within striking distance until Ramon
Galloway (19 points on 7 for 16 shooting in 38
minutes) made a jumper with 4:24 left which increased the
lead to
68-50. Jerrell
Wright (7 points, 11 boards, 2 steals), Sam
Mills (10 points, 4 assists) and Earl
Pettis (11 points and 5 boards) played well.
This
team plays well at Gola Arena. “It is a big deal. We
have not won at home, but this group is different. This group
plays well at home and there is
no other way to have a good program; you have to win at home.” said
head coach John Giannini.
The
win marks the Explorers 10th out-of-conference win this
season. They need to continue to play well in January and
push
for a minimum
of 20 wins before the Atlantic 10 tournament starts in
March.
La Salle 73, Hartford 55 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle shot 51% from the field on 29 for 57 (and 38% from beyond the arc on 9 for 24) and 40% from the foul line (6 for 15). The team must work on its' free throw shooting and its' focus on offense. The coaching staff must get the big guys to play more consistently. Coaching Grade: B+
Up Next: Xavier Wednesday 1/4 at Gola Arena 6pm. TV: The Comcast Network.
Officials:
Ray Perone, Earl Walton, Lamar Simpson.
The guys on this crew missed several obvious travelling violations
by Hartford. These guys looked like they were disinterested
from the start.
Grade for Officials: D (Below Average)- They slapped the Explorers with 20 fouls to only 15 for Hartford. Yet Hartford had 23 turnovers to only 14 for the Explorers. Hartford also had 2 more foul shots.
Explorers
Take Care of Partin and Terriers
December 29,
2011
by Chinkster
Duren Takes Control As Explorers Beat Boston University
The
Explorers (9-4) handled the Boston University Terriers (4-9)
with ease. Tyreek Duren (23 points, 7 boards
and 5 assists) played a great game for the short-handed Explorers. Sam
Mills missed
the contest due to an ankle sprain. The Explorers built a
43-29 halftime lead.
La
Salle held former Explorer Darryl Partin to
12 points, well below his 20.8 season average. The Explorers
continued to play a solid game in the second half as they
played great defense.
Ramon Galloway (13 points), Devon
White (8 points, 8 boards and 2 blocks) and Jerrell
Wright (10 points, 8 boards, 2 blocks) all contributed
to the victory. Earl Pettis fouled out with
8 points in 21 minutes.
La
Salle recorded its 8th straight win at Tom Gola Arena, dating
back to last season, which breaks an all-time record
for
consecutive
victories at the arena. La Salle has started to take advantage
of the home court advantage it has. La Salle opened Gola
Arena in February 1998. The
Explorers had not played basketball on campus since leaving
Wister Hall in 1955, the season after their 1954 NCAA Championship
title. The Explorers played at the Palestra from 1955 to
1989, the
(no-longer existing) Philadelphia Civic Center from 1989
to 1996, and the (no-longer existing) Spectrum from 1996
until the arena
opened
in
1998.
A new on-campus basketball arena announcement is expected
prior to the end of the current season.
La Salle 70, Boston University 53 FINAL. Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle shot 46% from the field on 25 for 55 (and 35% from beyond the arc on 8 for 23) and 55% from the foul line (12 for 22). The team did not have a post-Christmas let-down like it has in the past few previous seasons under Coach G. Coaching Grade: A
Up Next: Hartford Saturday 12/31 at Gola Arena 2pm.
Officials:
Kevin Ferguson, Tony Crisp, Todd Williams.
This crew called the game correctly for the most part.
Grade for Officials: A (Superior)- The team with fewer turnovers was called for fewer fouls and had more free three attempts. This crew got it right.
Jerrell Wright Earns First A10 ROW Award
December 26, 2011
La Salle freshman Jerrell
Wright has been named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for December
19-25. Wright (Dobbins Tech) averaged
16 points and 8.5 rebounds in the week for the Explorers.
Wright had an 11 point, 8 rebound, 2 block effort against Delaware.
He followed that performance with a career-high 21 points
(to go with 9 rebounds and 3 assists) to lead La Salle
to victory over Central Connecticut State.
Jerrell
shot 14-of-22 (.636) during the week.
Explorers
Pound Blue Devils as Wright Has
Career-Best Game
December
22, 2011
by Jack
Explorers Take
Advantage of Central Connecticut State Injury
The Explorers
(8-4) responded after a poor outing by pounding the
shorthanded Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (5-6).
The Blue Devils were missing their best player due
to injury and only had 8 players available. Ramon
Galloway (15
points, 5 boards in 22 minutes) and Tyreek
Duren (10 points, 7 assists, 4 steals in 25
minutes) both recovered from bad performances against
Delaware. The Explorers led at the break by 30 points
at 52-22.
La Salle continued to take it to them in the second
half. Jerrell Wright played 26 minutes
and had 21 points (career high) and 9 boards. He is
becoming the inside presence that La Salle needs heading
into
conference
play.
La Salle 85, CCSU 59
FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Jerrell Wright.
LaSalle
shot 57% from the field
on 35 for 62 (and 50%
from beyond the arc on 8 for 16)
and 64% from the foul line (7 for
11). The coaching staff gets credit
for the improved play of Wright and
getting the team to focus. Coach John Giannini cannot
lose any more games to lesser opponents
the rest of the year. Coaching
Grade: A
Up Next: Boston University Thursday 12/29 at Gola Arena 7pm.
Officials: Robert
Testa, Harkeem Dixon, John Regan.
This
crew called the game as it played
out.
Grade for Officials: A (Superior)- I
noticed that the better team actually got to the free throw line more then
the other team (12 to 7) and the foul discrepency was about the same for teams
that were equal in turnovers.
Box
Score
Blue
and Gold Victimized By Lack of
Discipline and Poor Officiating
December
19, 2011
by Jack
Sloppy Mistakes
by Galloway and Duren Compound Aggressive
Officiating Against La Salle
This La Salle team better
realize fast that they cannot show up against an inferior
opponent and expect to win. I better not be writing
this again this year. The Blue and Gold (7-4) could
have overcome the home-cookin' officiating
against the Delaware Blue Hens (5-4) if they played
disciplined offense. Instead Ramon Galloway (11
points, 8 boards) launched 20 shots and only connected
on 4!
Tyreek
Duren (6 points in 25 minutes) had 4 turnovers
to just 2 assists. Duren needs to start playing with
the
same
passion
we saw
from him the first few games and stop reading the headlines
that he is a candidate for the Bob Cousy
Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award. The
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced
today that
Duren is one of 60 players eligible. Tyreek needs to
work on his game and prove he is a worthy selection.
Tonight he looked tired and sluggish. Same goes for
Galloway... you guys haven't won anything yet. La Salle
led at the break 33-27. I overheard AD Tom
Brennan
telling someone in the stands at the half: "I'll
take the six point win and walk away with it!" The
reverse jinx worked. With so many quality people out
of work, how is this guy still employed in such a high
salaried position?
In the second half, the Explorers failed to control
of the flow of the game by making the defensive stops
necessary for victory. This should have been a 10 point
victory for the Explorers. Instead it is a head-scratching
loss.
Devon
White had 15 points, 6 boards, 2 blocks and
a steal but committed 4 turnovers. Earl
Pettis contributed
12 points and 4 boards in 39 minutes but should have
played with more confidence. Sam Mills contributed
11 points as did Jerrell
Wright (8 boards).
Delaware 70, La Salle 66
FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Devon White.
LaSalle
shot 42% from the field
on 28 for 67 (and a dismal 13%
from beyond the arc on 2 for 16)
and 62% from the foul line (8 for
13). The coaching staff deserves
a reprimand as well. Coach John Giannini continues
to disappoint the Explorer faithful
by his inability to make in-game
adjustments. The team needs to close
out the year strong with three wins
to close out the year and start January
on a good note. Coaching
Grade: D
Up Next: At Central Connecticut State Thursday 12/22 7pm.
Officials: Joe
Lindsay, Gene
Steratore, Larry Scirotto.
Delaware
went to the line 27 times compared
to 13 for La Salle. La Salle was
whistled for 21 fouls to 11 for Delaware.
How does that happen when Delaware
had more turnovers and was sloppier?
Grade for Officials: F (Failure) due
to corruption - The
second half saw the corrupt ref duo of Joe Lindsay and Larry
Scirotto whistle the Explorers for 12 fouls to only 5 for the home
team. Those two clowns should have been fined and pushed out of division one
years ago. Note to Reggie Greenwood: we better never see these jokers the
rest of the year in A10 play. The third official Gene Steratore was
sleep walking through the game, he should stick to the NFL.
Box
Score
To my friend J.J.J. Jr. - may you rest in peace;
I love you brother.
Explorers
Light Up The Dark Knights
December
10, 2011
by Jack
Galloway and
Pettis Lead Explorers to Win Against Army
The Explorers
(7-3) won their 5th game in a row and have turned Tom
Gola Arena into a home court advantage for the first
time in many seasons. The
Army Dark Knights
(3-7) battled all game but were no match for the Explorers
as they trailed throught out the game. Ramon
Galloway (26 points, a career best, on 10
for 12 shooting, 7 boards in 37 minutes) scorched Army
for
22 first
half
points
on
a perfect
8 for 8
from
the
field. Earl Pettis contributed 18
points and 4 boards in 25 minutes. La Salle held a
48-36 lead after 20 minutes.
In the second half La Salle built a 75-55 lead with
6:31 remaining as DJ Peterson (7 points)
converted one of two free throws. Sam Mills was
not feeling well before the game and committed 3 turnovers
(he only had 8 the entire season) but fought through
it and scored 10 points. Tyreek
Duren (6 points, 5 assists) played well. Jerrell
Wright and Devon White combined
for 9 points and 9 fouls as Wright fouled out after
just 14 minutes.
La Salle 76, Army 64 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Ramon Galloway.
LaSalle
shot 54% from the field
on 28 for 52 (and 52% from beyond
the arc on 15 for 29) and 50% from
the foul line (5 for 10). The coaching
staff needs to have the team work
on free throw shooting.
Coach John Giannini had the right combination
of players on the court today. Coaching
Grade: A
Up Next: At Delaware Monday 12/19 7pm. The Explorers will be taking
Final Exams this week and no games are scheduled.
Officials: Ken
Clark, Gregg Durrah, John Regan.
Ken
Clark made one bad call against each
team in the first half including
a phantom call against Devon White
at 11:46.
Grade for Officials: B (Above Average) - the
game was called correctly for the most part and there was not too many whistles.
There were 16 fouls against Army to 14 for La Salle.
Box
Score
Explorers
Grab Tigers By Their Tails and Never Trail
December
7, 2011
by Jack
Explorers Lock Down Towson
Tigers With Great Defensive Effort
The La Salle Explorers (6-3)
scored the first 13 points of the game against the Towson
Tigers (0-8). Sam Mills (18 points, 4 assists)
helped spark the Explorers as he scored 14 first half points. Earl
Pettis scored
all 15 of his points in the first half. La Salle
held a 48-28 lead at the break.
Tyreek Duren (12 points, 3 steals) and Jerrell
Wright (11 points, 8 boards and a block) got the Explorers
rolling in the second half. Ramon Galloway (15
points, 3 steals) and DJ Peterson (9 points
in 23 minutes) played well tonight. Reserve walk-on Matt
Sheehan (2 points and 2 boards
in 3 minutes) scored a layup and drew a foul at the
end of the game. The Explorer bench erupted as
they all jumped in the air when Matt scored. This team is hungry.
Video highlight
La Salle 89, Towson 51 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Sam Mills.
LaSalle
shot a sizzling 53% from the field on 33 for 62 (and
52% from beyond the arc on 14 for 27) and 60% from the
foul line (9 for 15). The coaching staff managed the
game well. Coach John Giannini lost it only once during
the game when he tore into Duren for failing to box out
on a missed free throw attempt by Towson that led to
a dunk by Towson. Coaching
Grade: A+
Up Next: Army on Saturday 12/10 at Gola Arena,
2pm. Military and Veterans receive free admission.
Officials:
Bryan Kersey, Wally Rutecki, John Gaffney.
The officials
allowed heavy contact at times which should have been
called.
Grade for Officials: B (Above Average) - the
game was called correctly for the most part.
Box Score
Galloway
Sets Pace as Explorers Have No Problem With Bison
December
3, 2011
by Chinkster
Explorers Control Bison
From Start to Finish
The Explorers (5-3) came out
strong against the Bucknell Bison (5-4) at Gola
Arena. Jerrell Wright scored the first six
Explorer points and gave the home team a 6-2 lead with
a dunk with 18:14
remaining in the first half. Wright finished with 6 points,
3 boards and 2 steals in 16 minutes. Earl Pettis (18
points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists) scored the last 6 points
of the half for La Salle for a 43-23 halftime lead.
Tyreek Duren (11 points, 2 steals) scored the
first 4 Explorers points of the second half. Later, Devon
White scored 7 consecutive Explorer points, including
a dunk that had the fans out of their seats, to build
the lead to 72-44 with 5:10 to play.
Ramon Galloway (20 points, 9 boards, 4 steals
in 33 minutes) had a
strong game and closed the game out with 6 consecutive
Explorer points to seal the victory at 78-52.
La Salle 78, Bucknell 52 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Ramon Galloway.
LaSalle
shot 49% from the field on 29 for 59 (and 44% from
beyond the arc on 12 for 27) and 100% from the foul
line (8 for 8). Coach John Giannini did a great job
of handling the substitions and keeping his team
focused. Coaching
Grade: A+
Up Next: at Towson on Wednesday 12/7,
7pm.
Officials:
John Regan, Jim Bruno, Michael McCloskey.
The officials
did an excellent job and called the game fairly for both
teams.
Grade for Officials: A (Superior) - the
game was called as it played out and the officials were
not noticed.
Box Score
Jerrell
and the Pit Bulls Tame The Huskies
November
30, 2011
by BK Seginsda
Explorers' Defense Too
Much For Northeastern Huskies
The Blue and Gold (4-3) started
out poorly against the Northeastern Huskies (3-2)
at Gola Arena. The Huskies came flying high after beating
St. John's on Saturday and built a 6-0 lead. The Explorers
continued to play sluggish and fell behind 12-5 before
The Defensive Duo (Zack and Lopez) started what became
an 11-0 run. Steve Zack made a tip-in basket
and Matt
Lopez made a layup assisted by Zack. Then it was time
for half of the Pit Bulls (Duren,
Galloway, Mills and Pettis) to
continue the run. Ramon Galloway provided the
spark that ignited the
team
with a block and a steal. Tyreek Duren and
Galloway combined for the next 7 points. Then it was
Jerrell Wright who got involved with three
free throws. Wright then assisted a Galloway basket.
Duren then closed the
half with a magnificent steal and layup. He was fouled
on the play with 1.1 seconds remaining in the half and
he converted the free throw. Northeastern then barely
missed a three-quarter court trey attempt at the buzzer.
La Salle led at the break 24-18.
Earl
Pettis and Sam Mills escaped their first half scoreless
droughts and combined for 20 points in the second half.
This was more fire power then the Huskies could handle
as the Explorers went from a 26 all tie to a 51-32
lead with 10:02 to go when Pettis drained his third
trey of the half. Pettis was cleared to play just minutes
before the game as his fractured finger was heavily
wrapped during the game.
Video
Highlight
La Salle 68, Northeastern 51 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Earl Pettis.
LaSalle
shot 50% from the field on 26 for 52 (and 45% from
beyond the arc on 9 for 20) and 54% from the foul
line (7 for 13). Coach John Giannini did a good job
of selling his team on defensive intensity which created
the offense in the first half. Coaching
Grade: A
Up Next: vs. Bucknell on Saturday 12/3,
4pm at Gola Arena.
Officials:
Bob Donato, Sean Hull, Bill McCarthy.
The officials
were very shaky at the start of the game when Hull called
Galloway for a charge after making hand gestures that
no one could understand. Donato was his usual self when
he bought a fake fall by a Northeastern player and gave
Pettis a bogus foul with 14:55 left in the first half
and Northeastern leading 8-5. In the second half Donato
made it up to Earl by allowing him to nudge a Northeastern
player out of bounds without making a blocking call.
But later "Bumblin' Bob" called Pettis for a blocking
foul even though Earl was within the circle under the
basket.
Grade for Officials: D (Below Average) - the
game was so far out of reach that many did not realize
that this crew had called 21 fouls against the Explorers
to just 15 for Northeastern. Northeastern also went to
the line double the amount of La Salle (27 to 13). Kind
of strange for that to happen when the Explorers played
more disciplined then the visitors.
Box Score
Explorers
Bounce Back Against Broncs
November
26, 2011
by
Chinkster
Explorers Handle Rider
Despite Pettis' Injury
The Explorers (3-3) rebounded
after one of their most sloppiest peformances the day
before by thumping the Rider Broncs (1-6) at the Palestra.
The Explorers led from start to finish in this contest.
La Salle built a 32-18 lead with 8:01 to go in the first
half. Earl Pettis was injured on a steal (he
dislocated his middle finger on his left hand) and had
to leave the game after just 8 minutes (he had 11 points).
Pettis went to the hospital during the game for precautionary
x-rays. Hopefully there is nothing major. The Explorers
led at the break 45-41.
Dr. John Giannini learned
from the previous game and had his team much better prepared
to control the flow of the game. One major concern is
the play of Tyreek Duren who is either injured
or playing in some kind of funk that he needs to rectify
very soon. He is not playing with the same intensity
and desire to dribble-penetrate like he did in the first
few games of the season. He is deferring a little too
often. Duren finished with 9 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds
in 36 minutes. Devon
White got the message from the coaches about his poor
performance in the previous game and he finished with
17 points and 7 boards in 21 minutes before fouling out. Ramon
Galloway delivered the scoring punch in this contest
with 21 points (6 for 16 shooting, 8 boards,
1 steal in 40 minutes). Sam Mills had 13 points.
La Salle 82, Rider 70 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Ramon
Galloway.
LaSalle
shot 42% from the field on 26 for 62 (and 46% from
beyond the arc on 10 for 22) and 77% from the foul
line (20 for 26). Coach John Giannini can't get back
yesterday's loss but today he coached like his job was
on the line. Coaching
Grade: B
Up Next: vs. Northeastern on Wednesday 11/30
at 7pm at Gola Arena.
Officials:
Tim Clougherty, Wally Rutecki, Jeff Clark.
The officials
allowed some heavy contact in the first half close to
the basket. Rutecki missed an obvious travel call by
Rider and then compounded the mistake by allowing the
Rider player to slide with the ball on the floor and
call a timeout!
Grade for Officials: C (Average) - the
fouls called were about the same for both sides but
the officials did not affect the outcome of the game.
Box Score
Black
Friday Slopfest Exposes Coach G
November
25, 2011
by
Chinkster
Coach Giannini Fails To
Make In-Game Adjustments To Change Flow of Game
La Salle (2-3) is imploding
in large part to poor coaching. Dr. John Giannini was
outcoached by 31 year-old Robert Morris coach Andrew
Toole. The Robert Morris Colonials (4-1) shot a horrific
28% from the field (14 for 50 including 0 for 6 from
beyond the arc) and still won the game. The Explorers
played down to the level of their competition and NEVER
made second half adjustments to change the flow of the
game to their favor. Devon
White must have read the press clippings from other
games and thought he was some kind of superstar. Devon
picked up 4 fouls in 4 minutes. He played 7 total minutes
and had 1 rebound before fouling out. Earl
Pettis (5 points on 1 for 11 shooting, 4 turnovers, 1
assist in 35 minutes) stunk out the building with his poor
play; he needed to be benched. Tyreek Duren (2
for 9 shooting for 5 points in 40 minutes of non-enthusiastic
play) did not play well for the second straight game and
contributed to the sloppiness in the game. Jerrell
Wright (5 points, 7 boards, 7 turnovers in 20
minutes) was not strong with the ball like in previous games
and he allowed Robert Morris players to take the ball away
from him. The taller Explorers were outrebounded 42-24!
Sam
Mills (6
for 13 shooting for 15 points in 35 minutes) and Ramon Galloway
(4 for 7 for 8 points in 16 minutes) gave the best efforts
for La Salle but it was not enough.
Robert Morris 51, La Salle 44 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Sam
Mills.
LaSalle
shot 32% from the field on 15 for 47 (and 14% from
beyond the arc on 3 for 22) and 61% from the foul line
(11 for 18). Coach John Giannini is back on the hot
seat and one more of these types of games and he and
AD Tom Brennan will both be looking for work sooner
rather then later. Coaching
Grade: F
Up Next: vs. Rider on Saturday 11/25
at 4:30 pm at the Palestra on TCN
Officials:
Robert Riley, Bob Donato, Gary Prager.
The officials
contributed to the slop we saw on the floor. Donato was
guilty of late whistles throughout the game and a few
bogus calls. Prager made a key foul call against Pettis
late in the game that should have been called against
the Colonials. Pettis had knocked the ball loose and
was breaking for the ball and ready to go down the other
end of the floor when two Colonials players grabbed him. The second
half started with 5 Explorer fouls to zero for the Colonials.
The Explorer coaches had to remind Riley of the discrepency.
Grade for Officials: F (Failure) -
due to incompetence.
the Colonials were more aggressive and yet somehow were called
for only 16 fouls to the less aggressive Explorers that
were given 23 fouls.
Box Score
Panthers
Barely Escape Explorers' Traps
November
22, 2011
by
Jack
The Blue and Gold Give
#16 Pitt A Tough Fight
The Explorers (2-2) lost a close
one to the Pittsburgh Panthers (3-1). The Explorers started
out slow and fell behind 6-0. Devon
White had a tremedous first half as he contributed
10 points and 3 boards (12 points, 2 blocks, a steal
and 3 boards in 27 minutes). The Explorers trailed 24-14
with 4:35 when White scored on a layup and then made
a pair of free throws followed by a jumper to make
it 24-20 with 2:38 remaining. Earl
Pettis (22 points, 5 steals and 4 boards) then scored
on a jumper to cut the lead to 24-22. After 4 straight points
by Pittsburgh, Jerrell
Wright (8 points, 6 boards, 3 blocks and a steal in 22
minutes) had a slam followed by a Sam Mills (5
for 14 shooting for 12 points in 40 minutes) defensive rebound
and race down the court to beat the buzzer and send
the Explorers
to the half trailing 28-26.
The second half did not start out well as La Salle fell behind by 10 at 48-38 with 13:45 but there was no quit in the Explorers. Mills had a shot goal-tended but the official failed to call it. Pettis scored immediately after the missed call to tie the game at 52 with 8:16 remaining. Steve Zack (1 point, 3 boards in 10 minutes) was then fouled on a rebound attempt but converted only 1 of 2 free throws for a brief Explorer lead at 53-52 with 7:45 left. Tyreek Duren (9 points and 5 assists in 38 minutes) was fouled hard by Pitt and a flagrant 1 foul was correctly called by the officials. Tyreek hit both free throws but the Explorers failed to score on the extra possession. The Explorers continued to fight and Pettis made a layup to cut the deficit to two at 68-66 with 1:19 remaining. However, Mills made a foolish decision by fouling Pitt with 1:17 left in a one possession game. The Panthers converted both free throws and the Explorers could not pull this one out.
Video
highlight
Pittsburgh 73, La Salle 69 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Earl
Pettis.
LaSalle
shot 43% from the field on 26 for 60 (and 25% from
beyond the arc on 4 for 16) and 77% from the foul line
(13 for 17). Coach John Giannini lost his cool on
the sideline during a timeout screaming at some of
the players; perhaps a different approach will produce
better results. Coaching
Grade: B-
Up Next: vs. Robert Morris on Friday 11/25
at 4:30 pm at the Palestra on TCN
Officials:
John Cahill, Pat Driscoll, Jeff Anderson.
The officials
called the game as well as can be expected for a Big
East crew and much better then the crew that did the
Villanova game. They missed an obvious goal-tending that
Mills should have gotten points for and called a bogus
moving pick against White.
Grade for Officials: C (Average) - the fouls were
17 for Pitt (they had 21 turnovers) to 21 for La Salle
(12 turnovers). Pitt had 20 free throws to 17 for La
Salle.
Box Score
Explorers
Send Dukes Away With High-Powered Offense
November
19, 2011
by
Jack
La Salle Beats James Madison
Dukes With Inside Thunder and Outside Lightning
The Explorers (2-1) defeated
the James Madison Dukes (1-1) with the inside power of
Jerrell Wright (4 for 9 with 14 points, a block
and 12 boards in 21 minutes) and Devon White (3
for 9 with 9 points, 2 blocks and 7 boards). The Explorers
then added the outside firepower of Tyreek Duren (23
points on 3 for 3 in treys) and Sam Mills (18
points on 2 for 2 in treys). It was great to see
Wright have his career-best game as the Explorers get
ready to take on the Pitt Panthers on Tuesday.
La
Salle led at the half 39-33. Devon had a couple of
first half slams, the second gave the Explorers a 36-33
lead with 1:22 to go in the half. With only 9 seconds
left in the half Tyreek Duren snagged a defensive
rebound and raced down the court and made a beautiful
buzzer beating layup.
In the second half the Dukes made the game interesting.
The Explorers held a 53-51 lead before Duren hit two
treys to put the Explorers up 59-54 with 8:49 remaining.
Earl Pettis (15 points on 4 for 10 shooting
with 6 boards, 3 assists and zero turnovers) redeemed
himself from his bad plays in the Villanova game by
playing under control and helping to seal the victory
with key plays down the stretch including a layup with
2:46 remaining to give La Salle a 79-69 lead. The Explorers
closed the game out on the free throw line as the Dukes
kept intentionally fouling La Salle down the stretch.
Video
highlight
La Salle 92, James Madison 83 FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Tyreek
Duren.
LaSalle
shot 49% from the field on 30 for 61 (and 55% from
beyond the arc on 6 for 11) and 79% from the foul line
(26 for 33). The coaches did good to get Wright more
minutes and kept both White and Pettis focused. Coaching
Grade: A
Up Next: At # 9 Pittsburgh on Tuesday 11/22
at 7pm on ESPN3.com
Officials:
Mark Schnur, Raymond Styons, Dennis Allocco.
The officials
called the game as it played out. The foul discrepency
in this game (17 for La Salle to 28 for James Madison)
and the free throws (33 for La Salle vs. 16 for James
Madison) is due to the fact that the Dukes were intentionally fouling
the Explorers for the last four minutes.
Grade for Officials: B (Above Average) - the officials
missed a couple of calls but in general they called the
game as it played out. Devon White got hammered on one attempt and
it should have been called a flagarant foul and they
missed a double-dribble by a Dukes player just before
that in the first half.
Box Score
Pettis
Throws Away Chance For Victory On Critical In-Bounds
Pass
November
15, 2011
by
BK Seginsda
Explorers Turned Victory
Into Defeat With Pettis' Bad Decision
The Explorers (1-1) were poised
to defeat the Villanova Wildcats (2-0) and help ease
the pain of a decade of losses to their Big 5 foe. You
could feel the sense of determination in the team. Unfortunately
coach John
Giannini has not learned his lesson from last season.
You cannot allow senior players (last year it was Guillandeaux
and Jerrell Williams) to play wildly out-of-control games
on the offensive end of the court. Earl Pettis (5
for 20 shooting for 12 points; he was even forcing shots
early in the shot clock) should have been benched in
the second half in favor of Jerrell
Wright and Matt Lopez. Pettis' pathetic
in-bounds pass to the backcourt at the end of regulation
could not have been any more perfect for the Villanova
player who stepped right in and got the easy layup to
tie the game at 61 with 55 seconds left in regulation.
The pass should have been faked to the backcourt and
thrown to
the frontcourt. The mistake ultimately cost the Explorers
a chance to seal the game. I can't even tell you how
nerve-racking this loss is for the Explorer die-hards.
The rest of the team played extremely well especially Tyreek
Duren (24
points, a career best) and Sam
Mills (a career high 19 points).
La
Salle led at the break 31-26 but gave up what proved
to be 4 critical points in the last 18 seconds of the
half (the last two came on an unforced turnover and
foul by Duren with 3.1 seconds left). This is the
type of mistake that hurts as well and can't happen
going forward.
The Explorers played tough throughout the game even
the overtime. Devon White (5 points, 3 blocks
and 8 boards) tied the game at 63 with a jumper at
2:41 left in the overtime but the Explorers had a couple
of critical calls go
against them and
Villanova went away with the victory with the aid of
a 30-13 foul call advantage and 30 free throw advantage
(41-11). La Salle had 10 steals to 5 for Villanova. The Explorers
also had 13 assists to 12 turnovers. Villanova had
a whopping 20 turnovers to only 8 assists.
Video highlight
Villanova 76, La Salle 69 OT FINAL.
Explorer Top Performer of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle
shot 37% from the field on 26 for 70 (and 33% from
beyond the arc on 8 for 24) and 82% from the foul line
(9 for 11). The coaches need to bench a guy for at
least a few minutes if he is playing out-of-control like
Pettis was for most of this game. The game could have
been won had Earl been more focused. Coaching
Grade: D
Up Next: James Madison at Gola Arena on Saturday 11/19
at 3pm
Officials:
Michael Stephens, Joe Lindsay, John Gaffney.
The officials
did a good job in the first half and parts of the second
half. They failed to call the game properly on some key
possesions in overtime and burdened the Explorers with
30 fouls which was more then double the 13 given to Villanova.
Even more disturbing was the fact that there were only
4 fouls called against Villanova in 25 minutes of play!
Grade for Officials: D (Below Average) - the officials
did not determine the outcome of the game but they certainly
aided Villanova in getting the win.
Box Score
Explorers
Run Past Leopards in Season Opener
November
11, 2011
by
BK Seginsda
Explorers Beat Lafayette
Leopards
79-53; Ramon Galloway Injured
This season has a different "feel"
to it then the past few seasons. You could
sense the desire to succeed by coach John Giannini who
was drilling his players on fundamental offensive skills
shortly after 6pm. The Lafayette bus pulled
up to Gola Arena around 5:10 pm and you could sense that
they didn't have a chance once they set foot in the building. The
2,322 in attendance were entertained by the Explorers
as Duren got the season off on the right note (see video
highlights below).
The La Salle Explorers (1-0) started
off the season on a good note by defeating Lafayette
Leopards (0-1) rather easily. Tyreek
Duren led
La Salle with 17 points and 6 assists, 4 steals and 6
boards in 29 minutes. Earl
Pettis added 16 points and 4
boards. Sam Mills contributed
10 points and 3 assists. Ramon Galloway was
injured with a couple of minutes left in the half. The
game was delayed about 10 minutes as a stretcher was
brought out and he was taken to a local hospital for
further examination. Our thoughts and prayers are with
him. Ramon had 5 points, a rebound and an assist in 15
minutes.
Freshman Jerrell
Wright made his Explorer debut with
6 points, 4 boards, 3 blocks and 3 assists in just
13 minutes. The Explorers carried a commanding 43-20 lead
into halftime.
The bench provided some spark for the Explorers as
well. Devon
White chipped in 9 points and 9 boards
in 19 minutes. Taylor Dunn was impressive
as he scored 12 points in 27 minutes. The second half
was also dominated by the Explorers.
Video
Highlights - special thanks to Explorer
Steve for uploading highlights.
La Salle 79, Lafayette 53 FINAL. Explorer
Top Performer of the Game: Tyreek Duren.
LaSalle
shot 49% from the field on 30 for 61 (and 56% from
beyond the arc on 9 for 16) and 71% from the foul line
(10 for 14). Coaching Grade:
A+
Up Next: at Villanova 11/15 on Tuesday at 7pm
Officials:John
Regan, Ken Clark and Dan Anderson.
The officials
did a good job except for the start of the second half
when they whistled the Explorers for
8 fouls to just one for Lafayette. You could tell they wanted to keep
Lafayette from being totally embarrassed.
Grade for Officials: B (Above Average) - for the
most part they called the game fairly both sides. The
outcome was determined by halftime.
Box Score
Explorers
Beat Carleton Again in Exhibition Game
November
4, 2011
by
Chinkster
Explorers Steal Game Away from Carleton Ravens
74-56 in Exhibition Game
The Explorers beat Canada's best
team for the second straight exhibition game. Tyreek
Duren led
La Salle with 14 points and 5 assists, 2 steals and 2
boards. Sam Mills
contributed 13 points and 3 steals. Senior Earl Pettis added
10 points and 3 steals. Ramon Galloway had
10 points, 4 steals and 4 assists. Freshman Jerrell
Wright added
10 points in just 14 minutes. The biggest surprise was the improved
play of Devon White who contributed 14 points and 2 blocks
in just 23 minutes.
The season starts November 11 against Lafayette at Gola
Arena, tipoff is 7pm.
Our annual A-10 standings and post-season predictions for the Explorers follow:
| ExpMod | 7th - none |
| BK Seginsda | 6th - NIT |
| Chinkster | 8th - none |
| Mascot | 8th - none |
| The Oz | 5th - NIT |
| ExplorerSteve | 7th - none |
| Jack | 10th - none |
The A10 Coaches Poll has the Explorers picked for 13th.
Explorers Beat Canada's Defending Champions
Tuesday August 9, 2011
by Jack
Explorers Beat Carleton Ravens 66-64 in Exhibition Victory
La Salle completed its 3 game Canadian trip with a 66-64 victory over the host Carleton Ravens from the Raven's Nest. Earl Pettis led the Explorers with 18 points (8 for 12). Sam Mills made 7 of 10 shots on the way to 17 points. The Ravens have won seven of the last nine Canadian National Championships. Freshman Jerrell Wright added 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Explorers defense held Carleton to 27 percent shooting in the second half. Coach John Giannini was happy with the performance at the defensive end. “The process of becoming a good team is in progress. We have a way to go but I like this team and they like each other,” Giannini said.
La Salle finishes with a 2-1 record in
the Ottawa exhibition games as they shot 61% in the second
half to rally back from
a 37-33
half-time deficit.
Next game: Season opener vs. Lafayette on November 11 at
7pm.
Explorers Battle Against Carleton Alumni Team
Monday August 8, 2011
by Jack
Explorers Battle Carleton Alums to 80-77 Exhibition Loss
Jerrell Wright had a perfect game from the field as he shot 7 for 7. He scored 19 points in 21 minutes (5 for 7 from the foul line). The Explorers lost an 80-77 exhibition game to a veteran Carleton Alumni team.
Sam Mills contributed 14 points and 7 boards. Tyreek Duren and Devon White each scored 10 points. The Explorers missed a chance to tie the game when a last second trey missed.
The Explorers had a 7 point lead with five minutes to go but could not finish with the win. The coaching staff said they will use this as a learning experience for the young team.
Explorers Win First Exhibition Contest In Canada
Sunday August 7, 2011
by Jack
Explorers Beat Ottawa GeeGees 75-61 In Exhibition
Freshman sensation Jerrell Wright opened his Explorer career with 8 points. Senior Earl Pettis led the Explorers with 15 points. Devon White added 13 points while Tyreek Duren chipped in with 11 points. Taylor Dunn looked sharp in his debut with the Explorers as he added 8 points.
No Explorer saw more than 28 minutes of action. Nine players played at least 16 minutes each. The Explorers led 34-24 at the half over the Ottawa GeeGees.
For the contest, La Salle shot 46% from the field and held a 32-26 rebounding advantage. The Explorers start out 1-0 in the three-game exhibition trip to Ottawa, Canada. Tomorrow night La Salle will take on the Carleton Alumni team followed by a contest on Tuesday versus seven-time Canadian National Champion Carleton.