City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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La Salle senior Ryan McTamney is earning himself a reputation as a clutch shot-maker.

Just a few days after his triple sent a game against Roman Catholic to overtime, McTamney one-upped himself, hitting a 3-pointer with eight seconds left in overtime to lift the Explorers past the Friars of Bonner-Prendergast, 63-62, on Friday night.

“He made me look really smart,” La Salle coach Joe Dempsey said over the phone on Friday night. “Ryan’s been our best scorer, he’s been our best player and he’s been our most consistent player, so you’ve got to go with what you know.

McTamney got his opportunity after Bonner missed a pair of foul shots with 26 seconds remaining, and the Explorers called a timeout with 17 seconds remaining to draw up the final play.

“We got the ball in to Jarrod [Stukes] and all we did was a little pick-and-pop action and he drew both of the defenders,” McTamney said over the phone. “I was wide open, and it went right through.”

Those were the last three of his team-high 21 points, leading the way on an afternoon where the Explorers were without starting guard Matt Paulus due to bronchitis and freshman wing Konrad Kiszka earned his first start. Senior forward Shane Stark added 15 and eight rebounds, while Stukes had 11 points, five assists and three steals.

A 6-foot-5, 200-pound wing, McTamney is being pursued heavily by D-IIIs Scranton, Catholic U and Ursinus. His frontcourt mate, Stark, is already committed to Ursinus.

Bonner-Prendie (9-8, 2-6 PCL) went up by two with 32 seconds left in the extra session on an and-one by junior wing Dylan Higgins, who finished with 11 points. The Friars were led by junior guard Christian Lane's 20 points, while Keith Washington had 13.

The win creates some much-needed momentum for La Salle (14-3, 6-2), who otherwise would have dropped two straight heading into a big Monday night clash at Archbishop Carroll (15-2, 7-1); the Patriots are fresh off a loss of their own to Neumann-Goretti in a battle for first place in the Catholic League on Friday.

If the Explorers win that game, they’ve got a chance to finish as high as second place in the PCL.

“It’s a big win, especially heading into Carroll, that’s going to be a tough game,” McTamney said. “We’re just going to have to be ready for Carroll and come out strong.”