City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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This year’s La Salle Explorers are certainly living up to their nickname.

In what quickly became a dismal season after they went two months without beating a Division-I opponent, the team from 20th & Olney spent most of the season searching for a solution to their frustrating issues.

Exploring, if you will.

With just two games left before the survive-and-advance Atlantic 10 tournament, their winning formula came in an emotional way from one of their leaders, who just before a Saturday afternoon matchup with George Mason had been at a funeral for a loved one, Sergeant Johnny Harris, a member of the Philadelphia police force, who passed away this past Tuesday.

As La Salle head coach John Giannini would attest, Harris had friendly connections with the entire team, but was most notably close with junior guard and leading scorer Jordan Price.

“It was very emotional, but going to the funeral it was more like a celebration, just heard good things about Uncle Johnny,” Price said. “I just wanted to come out here and just play for him, honor him today.”

Despite the emotional events that transpired just hours before La Salle’s game, Price was able to flip the switch mentally and lead his team to a much-needed victory, as his 24-point afternoon catapulted the Explorers to a 76-68 home win over George Mason.

According to Giannini, it was a true testament to the faith-driven character he exemplifies on a daily basis.

“Today was a first for me,” said Giannini. “I’ve never had a player go to the funeral of a family member in the morning of a game and come back and lead his team to a great win.”

“Jordan will tell you his faith is a big part of it, it really is,” he added. “It’s inspirational to see people who treat people great and stay strong no matter what and their faith is real, not just words, it’s terrific.”

It didn’t take long for Price to get going on the court after such a meaningful off-the-court experience.

A three-pointer by him gave La Salle its first lead, 17-16 with 11:15 in the first half, since they had scored the game’s very first basket. From their, he would go on a tear, finishing the first frame with 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from downtown.

His early hot hand sparked a 13-5 run to close the half and send the Explorers to the break up 37-29.

By that point, the crowd at the Tom Gola Arena--which was larger than one might expect for a last-place team--was fully engaged and could feel its team playing some its best basketball. The players fed off of that in the second half, opening up a 51-41 lead ten minutes in.

“I’ll say that the number one characteristic of a really good program is having the home-court advantage, and a great home-court record,” said Giannini. “Going into this year, we had a great home-court record, especially in the non-conference. Fans inspire players, we’ve had some great fans and we haven’t given them enough to cheer about this year, but we plan on changing that completely going forward and making this once again one of the toughest places to play in the A10.”

Although Price was the leader throughout, as the fans grew louder and the clock wound down, it was Amar Stukes as well as Tony Washington who each played large roles in a 10-2 run that all but sewed up the La Salle (7-20, 3-13 A-10) win, making it 66-55 with just over three minutes left.

Stukes--as he would attest--and the rest of his teammates fed off of Price’s example as a mature, emotional leader in his 12-point, 6-rebound performance.

Washington also apparently fed off of Price’s example, as he came close to a double-double with 8 points and 11 rebounds.

“Following Jordan’s leadership, if I see Jordan out there playing hard,” Stukes remarked. “We go as he goes, so I just tried to make any play I could, rebounds, steals, getting on the floor, whatever my team needed, I just tried my best to do.”

As for George Mason (10-19, 4-12 A-10), their top performers were Otis Livingston II, who led the way with 18 points, and Shevon Thompson, who had a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Although Mason, largely thanks to Thompson, outrebounded La Salle 48-38, Giannini recognized the importance and recent improvement of Washington in snatching almost a third of his team’s boards.

“Tony’s last two games, he’s gone up against really high-level seniors,” Giannini said. “This is his first year playing, he wasn’t supposed to play last year...we groomed him for this year, and he’s getting better. He’s a really valuable piece to our program moving forward. At this time next year, he’ll be an experienced big man who is a proven double-figure rebounder and a guy who’s proven to shoot a high shooting percentage, and those guys are hard to find.”

All in all, beating George Mason meant a lot more to Price and the Explorers than just a seventh ‘W’ on their ‘L’-ridden schedule. Winning not just for teammates or fans, but for a lovingly-remembered friend like Harris is certainly something to brighten even the most dismal of seasons.

And while the victory on the court was certainly an event to smile about, spending time celebrating Harris and his life will without a doubt be what Jordan Price and his teammates remember when they think back on February 27, 2016.  

“I’ll tell you what, we’re a catholic school, and let me just say this was a really uplifting celebration of life with a lot of people who are alive in their faith and really demonstrated it in their beliefs today,” Giannini said. “Jordan and his teammates were among those. As tough as it was, it was so uplifting and emotional.”