Photos/Videos: Ed Morrone & Ryan Nix
By: Ed Morrone
PHILADELPHIA — In the first half of Monday’s Big 5 tilt at Saint Joseph’s, Clifton Moore kept La Salle in the fight.
Then, in the second half, Jack Clark finished it.
Not too shabby for a couple of local boys who know exactly what a win like this means to a program trying to find consistent footing in both the Big 5 and Atlantic 10.
Moore, a redshirt senior from Ambler who attended Hatboro-Horsham, scored 11 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes. And the Explorers needed every single one of them considering the Hawks, paced by four three-pointers from Taylor Funk, took a 33-24 lead into the break in front of a lively Martin Luther King Day crowd of 1,795 at Hagan Arena.
Unfortunately for St. Joe's, Clark, a sleeping scoring giant when he’s feeling it, woke up in a big way, connecting on four of his five three-pointers en route to 18 second-half points.
Clark, of Cheltenham and Cheltenham High School, scored a game-high 21 points when all was said and done. The redshirt junior had historically struggled from deep in Big 5 contests, so this was a most welcome sight for La Salle (6-8, 1-3 A10, 2-2 Big 5) in the Explorers’ 75-64 victory.
SJU vs. La Salle Highlights -PSD VIdeo by Ed Morrone
“I was not aware of that,” Clark said when reminded of his shooting struggles in the local showdowns. “But it felt good, especially playing against St. Joe’s on their court. It felt especially good seeing the ball going through the net. These games mean a lot, and winning the second half by 20 points (51-31) and actually winning the game, it showed us a lot. We hope it becomes a statement game for us.”
Clark shot 7-for-15 overall and 5-for-10 from deep while also adding six rebounds. The four second-half three’s all came at big moments, too, as the first one pulled La Salle to within 36-29 and the fourth gave the Explorers a 47-43 advantage with just under 10 minutes to play. Clark wasn’t a one-dimensional threat, either, scoring six more points after that in the form of two free throws, a jumper and a steal that turned into a fast break dunk.
“Honestly I was just playing off my teammates,” Clark said. “Going into halftime they were telling me to stick the open shots, and I just went out in the second half and shot with confidence. My teammates got me open and Cliff set some great screens. Once I got open, I stuck the shots.”
Meanwhile, Moore was a force to be reckoned with down low, adding 10 rebounds and two blocks (plus zero turnovers) to his 16 points in a team-high 34 minutes. Moore was strong defensively as well, which is key when playing St. Joe’s as the Hawks start two forwards in Funk and Jordan Hall with feared three-point shots as well as a more typical big man in center Ejike Obinna. Funk was solid in hitting the aforementioned four three’s but was quiet in the second half, and the explosive Hall never got into an offensive rhythm (4-for-12, 3-for-9 from deep). Obinna had nine points but only took six shots, and while Moore didn’t stop all three of these guys on his own (Clark did more one-on-one work on Funk and Hall), he certainly set the tone defensively in the front-court.
SJU vs. La Salle - PSD Gallery by Ryan Nix
“This is a big rivalry game, and we took it very seriously,” Moore said. “Honestly, I felt off in the first half, so I just tried to focus on my defense and rebounding. The rebounding really helped my offense today, and it was just about me staying aggressive, as well as getting Jack open off screens because he was really hot today. Our rebounding opened the game up for both of us, and we just focused on moving the ball.”
The Explorers won the battle on the glass, 43-34, and also forced 13 turnovers (leading to 18 points), with 10 of those being steals. They outscored the Hawks 34-16 in the paint and also converted 15 second-chance points, and La Salle got additional offensive contributions from Josh Nickelberry (19 points in 25 minutes off the bench) and Khalil Brantley (10 points).
“I’m happy for them,” La Salle head coach Ashley Howard said of local standouts Clark and Moore. “One of the reasons why you come to La Salle is to be a part of the tradition and history of the Big 5. These local guys understand that, whereas a New York guy like Khalil doesn’t have the same feel of what it really means.”
La Salle Post Game Press Conference with head Coach Ashley Howard - PSD Video by Ed Morrone:
SJU Post Game Press Conference with Head Coach Billy Lange - PSD VIdeo by Ed Morrone:
Post Game press conference with La Salle's Jack Clark (L) & Clifton Moore:
Howard said that he doesn’t even talk about scoring with guys like Moore and Clark, the second- and third-leading scorers on the team, respectively. Rather, Howard hones in on defense and rebounding with the idea being that if his players focus on those two aspects of the game, they’ll stay on the floor for longer periods. When that happens, the offense comes organically via osmosis.
“I tell Jack all the time that when you go into games focusing on defense and rebounding, the offense will come,” Howard said. “Our whole conversation was about how he needed to guard Hall and Funk to the point where we didn’t talk about offense at all. When you do a good job on the defensive end like he did today, he plays for longer extended periods of time with the opportunity to get some buckets.
“As for Cliff, he’s really coming into his own. He works relentlessly with our staff and does everything we ask of him. He’s been through a lot with injuries, transferring (from Indiana), the pandemic…Cliff battled through it all, and he’s getting rewarded for the work he’s put in. Now he’s in a position where we depend on him as our big guy and communicator who keeps us together. These are two guys who we have plans for in our program.”
Not much went right for St. Joe’s (7-8, 1-3, 2-2), especially after halftime. The Hawks shot just 36 percent from the field in the game and also missed eight of their 17 free throws. It was the team’s third straight loss and third in four games, and despite blowing a lead that reached as high as 14 points in the first half, third-year head coach Billy Lange remained a believer in his squad.
“We gave up 12 offensive rebounds, which has not been us this season,” Lange said. “There was no offensive rhythm, and it’s up to us to make sure we fix that. But I have zero concern. We just have to keep getting better, keep teaching, keep learning. The focus is on helping them, not blaming them. This group has to stay elevated, stay focused on serving each other, be more fundamental and detailed. It doesn’t matter how badly we feel about losing this game. We just have to clean it up and get ready for the next game.”
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La Salle had a quick turnaround and picked up a road loss to A-10 opponent Rhode Island on Wednesday evening. Moore tallied 10 points and Clark added nine. The Explorers host Richmond back at the Tom Gola Arena on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
The Hawks rebounded with a win on their home court on Wednesday, as St. Joe’s defeated George Washington 72-61. Funk fueled the offense with 22 points and was aided by freshman Erik Reynolds II’s 19 points. The Hawks will travel to play VCU on Saturday at 2:30. Game will be aired on USA Network.