City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Heading into La Salle's Tom Gola Arena on Saturday, Bruiser Flint had a simple message for his team.

"Forget the scoreboard, forget the game plan--just go out and get one," he said. "Throw everything out the window and get a win because you need one.”

They did indeed. And the 66-53 win they emerged with, though it represents only one step in the right direction, was a much-needed result for a team that had struggled to provide much optimism over the season's opening four weeks.

It had been a tough first six games for the Dragons, who lost by one at Saint Joseph’s to begin the year, then got beat at home by High Point and Monmouth before heading up to Alaska for an 0-3 trip that included a loss to D-II host Alaska-Anchorage.

While there had been some positive signs along the way, Drexel hadn’t yet come close to putting together a full 40 minutes. While they weren’t all the way there on Saturday, it was a much more complete effort: they shot a season-best 21-of-24 (87.5 percent) from the foul stripe and won the rebounding battle 41-32, two categories they’ve struggled with all season long.

“I thought, especially in the last couple of games, we played pretty well defensively,” Flint said. “(Today) we did some other things--we made some foul shots, we rebounded better, and in the heat of the game, although we had a couple of minutes here and there, we didn't crack.”

The Dragons benefitted from a 25-point outing by 6-foot-7 wing Tavon Allen, about whom Flint didn’t mince words afterwards, saying his only scholarship senior had been “awful” over the opening stretch of the season, mostly because of his play on the defensive end.

Allen was instrumental in helping lock down La Salle’s leading scorer, Jordan Price, who at 27.0 ppg entering play on Saturday was the second-leading scorer in the country. Though Price managed to score a team-high 19 points for the Explorers, he was constantly bothered by double-teams and shadows that forced him into 5-of-14 shooting and five turnovers.

“I thought Tavon probably had the best he's ever had as a Drexel player, to be honest with you, on both ends of the floor,” Flint said. “He played great defensively, played great offensively. He did a good job against Price, he really did.”

In total, La Salle turned it over 17 times and shot 37 percent overall, not the Explorers’ worst numbers of the season in those categories but certainly far from their best.

The loss was the third in the last four games for La Salle and their third in a row against Division I opponents, with a blowout win over D-III Rowan the only positive result for the Explorers over the last three weeks.

“I don’t think in my lifetime I’ve done a worse job of coaching. I don’t think we’re where we are where we should be as individuals or as a team, and that’s completely on me,” Giannini said. “I just have to do a better job. Is it going to be easy? No, but I just have to get us playing better and I’ve got to get certain individuals playing better.”

Drexel also benefitted from a strong game by forward Rodney Williams, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds in the win, shooting 4-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-6 on foul shots. The junior forward is the Dragons' best offensive threat in the post but has spent too much time on the bench with foul issues, and the team's offense has struggled as a result.

"We need him to be that type of player," Flint said. "He can be a double-double player, but he hasn't been. A lot of it has been that his foul shooting has been horrendous so he hasn't been able to do that."

Sophomore guard Rashann London was the final Dragon in double figures with 12 points, while redshirt junior guard Cleon Roberts had 11 for La Salle.

Both teams have tough games coming up after somewhat-extended layoffs. La Salle has eight days off before traveling to No. 8 Villanova (7-0) on a nationally-televised game (Dec. 13, 5 PM, Fox Sports 1) while two days later, on Dec. 15, Drexel will head down to South Carolina to take on the 7-0 Gamecocks at 7 PM.