The non-conference portion of La Salle’s schedule was not too friendly as they finished with a 7-6 record. Tonight, against the George Washington Colonials, the Explorers faced their first test of Atlantic 10 play.
La Salle defeated George Washington 76-72 as the Explorers actually started to look like themselves from last season. They played fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball and shot the three ball exceptionally well.
Leading the Explorers in scoring tonight wasn’t Tyrone Garland or Tyreek Duren; it was actually senior guard Sam Mills. Mills scored 17 points and shot 5 of 7 from the three point line. Mills had 11 points in the first half and definitely sparked the Explorers tonight.
Also in this game, the Explorers had to depend on their bench a lot as Dr. John Giannini worked with different rotations tonight with big man Jermaine Davis getting in the game along with Khalid Lewis and Rohan Brown playing substantial minutes.
Brown as always made an impact in the game with his hustle points, he reminds me of Thad Young of the Philadelphia 76ers. Brown finished tonight with six points and six rebounds.
The Explorers’ big men got into trouble tonight as Steve Zack and Jerrell Wright both played with four fouls. Out of the two, Zack scored nine points, grabbed eight rebounds, but had five blocks. That is being a force on the defensive end.
On the other hand, the George Washington Colonials tonight played a tough game and will be a force in the Atlantic 10 this season. The Colonials leave Philadelphia 12-3 but they got good games from starters Isaiah Armwood, Joe McDonald and Patricio Garino off the bench.
Armwood scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while playing with four personal fouls. Off the bench, Garino had 15 points and kept the Colonials in the game. Colonials’ Maurice Creek was held in check by the Explorers only scoring eight points.
The La Salle Explorers’ defense got better tonight as they held George Washington to 38 percent shooting and 21 percent from three point range.
La Salle is now 8-6 on the season and 1-o in the Atlantic 10. The next time they play will be on Sunday against the Duquesne Dukes on the road. The Dukes will be coming into Sunday’s game with an 8-5 record.
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