By Sean Kennedy
South Florida 82, Temple 75
The comedy of the absurd is a modern form of comedy dramatizing the meaningless of the human existence. Temple’s injury woes are beginning to reach such a level of sad hilarity; why bother playing when someone else will surely be felled down. The latest victim is starting point guard Will Cummings, who appeared to suffer a concussion in the first half, leaving the Owls with just 7 dressed players (6 scholarship).
Still, the remaining group fought gamely until the final minutes in the loss to South Florida. Junior Jimmy McDonnell had 9 points on his career, but scored 10 in the second half (h/t @Aaron_Bracy) as the Owls actually broke out to a 10-point advantage after halftime. However, USF went on an 8-0 run to get back in the game, and eventually pulled away as the trio of Anthony Lee (22 points, 10 rebounds), Quenton DeCosey (20 points), and Dalton Pepper (17 points) weren’t enough to hold off the Bulls. South Florida was led by Victor Rudd, who recorded a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Temple still finds itself in search of their first conference win in the America, and the road won’t get any easier with Cummings potentially out with lingering concussion symptoms.
La Salle 76, George Washington 72
La Salle entered A-10 play still looking for its first win over a quality opponent; well, mission accomplished, although the Explorers gave their fans quite a scare late in the game. In-bounding the ball up 2 in the closing seconds, La Salle actually turned the ball over and GW had a chance to tie. Joe McDonald drove to the basket but Sam Mills did a phenomenal job to slide down and take the charge to save the game for the Explorers.
Not only was Sam Mills the defensive hero, but he also led the Explorers with 17 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc. La Salle exploited the 1-3-1 zone of the Colonials with good ball movement around the perimeter, draining their open three-point looks (9-20 on the night). George Washington was unable to find the range from outside but made up for by hitting the glass hard. Villanova transfer Isaiah Armwood was especially active down low, finishing with 15 points and 12 boards and showing off quick moves around the basket and a nice ability to pass out of double teams on the block. Ultimately though, Mills along with Tyrone Garland (15 points) and Tyreek Duren (13 points hit enough timely shots to keep the Colonials at bay. It was a great win for the Explorers and one they’ll look to build on Sunday at Duquesne.
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