La Salle started right where they left off Wednesday night, coming out shooting 18-31 in the first half, including 6-11 from three, on their way to an 18-point lead. However, the second half was a different story as the threes stopped falling for La Salle and Kansas State used the energy of the Kansas City crowd (in what was essentially a home game for them) to quickly get back into the game. With 7 minutes left, after there had been zero ties or lead changes to that point, and La Salle’s largest lead having stood at 19, Kansas State took their first lead of the game with 7 minutes left, 57-56.
With 30 seconds left and Kansas State holding the ball and a one-point lead, Wildcats’ leading scorer Rodney McGruder saw a three-point attempt rim in and out and Jerrell Wright was fouled on the rebound. Wright calmly sank both free throws to regain the lead for the Explorers. Then, after Jordan Henriquez missed a short jumper for the Wildcats, Wright made one of two free throws to stretch the lead to two. Without using the team’s final timeout, Kansas City point guard Angel Rodriguez dribbled the ball into the corner and threw up a wild floater that never had a prayer. La Salle held on to win 63-61 and earn two wins in an NCAA tournament for the first time since 1955.
Jerrell Wright was the man for the Explorers all game long, finishing with a game-high 21 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field and 9-10 from the foul line. He was the only La Salle player able to get anything on the offensive end in the second half when the perimeter players went cold from the outside. Also, the efforts of Ramon Galloway in the first half should not go unmentioned as the Explorers’ leading scorer dropped 15 of his 19 points by halftime.
6’11” big man Jordan Henriquez was an absolute monster for the Wildcats in this game, recording season-highs with 17 points and 12 rebounds, in addition to 5 blocks. Henriquez affected every La Salle shot within the paint and was a safety valve for Kansas State guards on drives for an alley oop or lay-in option. Based on the skill set and athleticism he showed in this contest, I’m not sure how Henriquez wasn’t more of a force in the Big 12 this season.
The Explorers will move into the third round of the tournament to take on Ole Miss and social media sensation Marshall Henderson. Today’s game showed the two sides of this La Salle team. If their outside shots are hitting, there’s no team in the country the Explorers cannot hang with. On the other hand, if La Salle is not shooting well from the perimeter, they can really struggle to get good shots on the offensive end. Explorers fans will have to hope the team keeps up its hot shooting from this week on Sunday.
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