By Sean Kennedy
Yesterday’s Action
Just as Philadelphia’s professional team would later in the day, La Salle dropped a double overtime contest, losing 99-90 to Manhattan. The Explorers sent the game to overtime on the strength of a 13-3 run at the end of regulation and almost won the game in the first overtime, but the Jaspers’ Rhamel Brown put back Emmy Andujar’s miss with 5 seconds remaining to tie the game. Manhattan would pull away in the second overtime, sinking 11-12 free throws in the frame to stifle any hope of one more Explorers comeback.
We knew going in that Manhattan would have the advantage in the frontcourt and did they ever exploit that advantage, out-rebounding La Salle 51-33 and securing more offensive rebounds (24) than the Explorers had defensive rebounds (19). Just to drive that point home, that means any time the Jaspers missed a shot, they were more likely to grab the miss than La Salle. The Explorers will encounter plenty of teams this season bigger than them, and will have to do a better job of team rebounding to combat this problem in the future.
Tyrone Garland led La Salle with 28 points, doing a nice job repeatedly getting to the line (12-14 FT) to help overcome a rough shooting night. Duren also struggled with his shot but earned plenty of trips to the charity stripe as well to help accrue 17 points, to go with a game-high 9 assists. The Explorers remain at home to take on Quinnipiac Tuesday night.
Despite a large charge by Pennsylvania, Temple squeaked by with a 78-73 victory in the season’s first City 6 battle. After trailing by 15 points in the second half, the Quakers surged back to take a 2-point lead in the closing minutes, as Tony Hicks scored 8 straight points in a one-minute span. However, Anthony Lee and Dalton Pepper scored on back-to-back possessions for The Owls, to close out the game and avoided the disappointing collapse.
The main incumbents from last year’s Owls squad both put forth solid performances with Will Cummings registering 18 points and a team-high 4 assists, and Anthony Lee hitting the glass on his way to 12 points and 12 rebounds. However, the real eye-opener was the 19 points and 9 rebounds off the bench from Dalton Pepper. The former West Virginia transfer displayed his versatility, scoring in a variety of ways including a 3-6 performance behind the arc. There was a huge scoring void on the Owls after their strong graduating class departed and it looks as though Pepper may be the guy to fill that role.
For the Quakers, Tony Hicks got his sophomore season off to an outstanding start, dropping a game-high 28 points, including his late-game surge. Fellow sophomore Darien Nelson-Henry came off the bench to record a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Penn’s future continues to look bright with those two rising to the occasion.
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks got their 2013-14 season off to an outstanding start, jumping all over Vermont on their way to a 17-point halftime advantage, before coasting to a 74-64 victory. The Hawks did a nice job on the glass, holding a 41-28 rebounding advantage and restricting the Catamounts to just 6 offensive boards. Playing solid defense to limit your opponent to just 39.2% from the field and keeping them from getting second-chance opportunities is a good formula for success.
Ronald Roberts Jr. and Langston Galloway paced the Hawks with 21 points apiece, with Roberts Jr. adding a team-high 9 rebounds and Galloway draining 3 three-pointers. These two will be counted on for plenty of production this season and they did not disappoint in the initial test of the season. Vermont is a quality opponent that many project to win their conference, so this was the type of victory that could help boost the Hawks’ tournament resume toward the end of the season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
