By Sean Kennedy
Yesterday’s Action
In likely his final game against a hated city rival, La Salle’s Tyreek Duren had one last big-time performance in him, dropping 27 points to spoil St. Joe’s Senior Day and strike a blow to the Hawks’ tournament chances. Duren scored 9 points during a 16-1 first half run by La Salle that helped the Explorers jump out to a huge lead, from which St. Joe’s could never fully work their way back. Jerrell Wright added his 6th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while La Salle won the turnover battle 14-5 to help offset the great play of the Hawks’ Langston Galloway. In his final collegiate home game, the St. Joe’s senior recorded 27 points of his own, going 5-9 from behind the arc. Still, for Galloway and fellow seniors Ronald Roberts and Halil Kanacevic, Sunday’s defeat is a bitter pill to swallow and they’ll need to regroup in a big way this weekend.
Now having lost their last two games, the Hawks absolutely cannot afford a slip-up in the A-10 tournament. Ending the season on a three-game losing streak is exactly the sort of thing that bursts a school’s postseason bubble. St. Joe’s is likely to play Dayton after the Flyers face the winner of the first round play-in game; the Hawks swept the season series with Dayton, but they’ll still have a tough test ahead of them. Meanwhile, La Salle looks to be rounding into form as they have won 3 of 4 contests to end the season. The Explorers will take on St. Bonaventure Thursday.
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