By: James Williamson
Photos by: Mike Nance
PHILADELPHIA –“In typical Big 5 fashion, anything can happen…”
These were the words of La Salle University head coach, Ashley Howard, after his team’s 83-69 victory over St. Joseph’s University, a game in which both teams shot better than 48 percent on at least 26 three-point attempts.
With this win, the Explorers secure their first, and only, Big 5 win on the season and move to 5-4 in the Atlantic 10. This is also La Salle’s second consecutive home win after starting the season 0-8 at home.
SJU vs. La Salle - Photos by Mike Nance
SJU vs. La Salle - Photos by Mike Nance
This loss drops St. Joe’s to 3-7 in the A-10 and gives the Hawks a winless record in Big 5 play. Sophomore forward Lorenzo Brown led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, 6-6 from three, in his second career start for St. Joe’s.
La Salle took the lead early and never looked back. The Explorers went up 21-9 after the opening eight minutes thanks in large part to their passing and ability to find open shooters. La Salle recorded 20 assists on 29 field goal attempts in the game.
St. Joe’s was able to narrow the gap with about six minutes remaining in the first after going on a 12-2 run. Three of Brown’s six three-pointers came during this run. The Hawks pulled within six at the half with the score set at 39-33 as the two teams went into the break.
A well-rounded attack from La Salle would prove too much for St. Joe’s in the second half. The Hawks were able to pull within as much as eight, but were never able to find the stop they desperately needed. Four Explorers finished the night with at least 14 points, including a career-high 18 from Traci Carter - 14 of which came in the second half.
Despite the gaudy numbers from three-point land, team defense won the game for the Explorers. They were able to hold St. Joe’s to just 36 percent on shots at the rim and sent the Hawks to the charity stripe only five times. Three of St. Joe’s starting five combined for just nine points on 3-19 shooting from the field. They were also held to just two second chance points.
“Proud of our guys effort on the defensive end. Second game at home in a row, where I felt we gave a solid 40-minute effort on the defensive end,” said La Salle head coach Ashley Howard. “I think Charlie Brown is a future NBA player and we did our best to contain him. You can’t stop a player of his caliber, you can only hope to contain him. I felt like we did a solid job of that tonight.”
Charlie Brown, the A-10’s leading scorer, scored the opening five points for St. Joe’s, but was held to just seven for the remainder of the first half. He would go on to finish with 19 in the game, but it was too little too late.
After starting the year on a ten-game losing streak, the Explorers have now won four straight and seven of their last eleven. They are now above .500 in the A-10 for the first time this season and seem to be rounding into form at just the right time.
“We always talk about every day, just keep getting better,” said Carter. “I think we’re at a point in the season where all of our guys are just playing with unbelievable confidence and we’re in the gym everyday getting better. We’re putting in the work and our confidence is rising.”
Post game press conference with La Salle head coach Ashley Howard and Traci Carter:
Post game press conference with St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli:
La Salle's Pookie Powell hits a long range three:
SJU's Charlie Brown Jr. drives to the basket for the Hawks:
When asked about his team’s sudden turnaround, Howard was quick to acknowledge the team’s improved effort of the defensive end of the court.
“When we had our break between the Penn game and Alabama A&M, I told our guys, ‘I haven’t been like old-school, Gene Hackmen in Hoosiers with theses dudes’ and that’s what that week was,” said Howard. “Just defense, shell, conditioning and it started from there and our guys have gotten better and now that we’ve been able to experience a couple wins. I think our guys are really starting to value defending, following the scouting report, being connected on the defensive end. It’s pretty cool to see.”
As La Salle begins to rebound from their slow start, the struggles of St. Joe’s continue. This loss puts the Hawks’ record at 1-7 on the road this year. Martelli seemed distraught after the loss despite his team shooting 53 percent from three. When asked about the A-10 tournament, Brooklyn seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind.
“We have practice tomorrow and we have a game on Friday. I can’t think to Brooklyn or the Atlantic 10 or who do we have left on the road. We’ve got to win tomorrow so we can win on Friday,” said Martelli.
La Salle will look to extend their winning streak as they head to George Mason this Sunday. St. Joe’s will host Saint Louis tomorrow evening at 7 PM.