City of Basketball Love

Zach Drapkin (@ZachDrapkin)
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La Salle head coach John Giannini knew exactly why his team was able to impress in the second half of a 75-54 win over Saint Louis on Wednesday night.

“You know, we tried not to throw the ball to the other team,” Giannini said. “We passed the ball better and took better shots in the second half.”

After a shaky start, the Explorers (7-5,1-1) came out of the halftime break looking like a well-oiled machine, turning the ball over just twice during the final 20 minutes.

The team ran up their seven-point halftime lead to 25 in a matter of ten minutes, going on a 26-7 spurt at the start of the half to secure the victory.

Having turned the ball over 20 times in a defeat at Dayton on Friday, La Salle’s nine-turnover showing against the Billikens (4-10, 0-2) was certainly a refreshing way to bounce back.

Leading performers Pookie Powell (13 points, eight assists, four steals, four rebounds) and Jordan Price (16 points) both finished the game without committing a giveaway, rounding out a dominant team performance in virtually every phase of the game.

It’s the type of performance Giannini has come to expect from his side, which averages 11.5 turnovers per game.

“Dayton was more the aberration and this was more the norm for us,” he said. “Our defense was better, our rebounding was better, and in the second half, our passing was really good, which led to the good offense.”

La Salle held the Billikens under 30 points in both halves, refusing to surrender high-percentage looks and tracking the ball well.

While Saint Louis failed to register a fast-break point and recorded just three second-chance points, the Explorers were all over the hustle game, winning the battle of the boards 38-26 and racking up 26 combined points on second-chance opportunities and fast breaks.

Demetrius Henry’s return had a huge impact, as the big man gave La Salle great energy and an inside presence on both ends of the floor, corralling 12 rebounds to go along with his seven points.

Emphatic dunks in transition by freshman Isiah Deas (six points, two assists) and usual leading scorer B.J. Johnson (14 points) fired up the team, which really played a fluid game together as a unit.

“We had a lot of people contribute. I thought it was a legitimate team win,” Giannini said. “I just liked the feel of our team, I felt like we were out there with one common goal.”

La Salle as a whole racked up 18 assists on the night. Powell’s eight dimes, a team-high, were also his best effort of the season, and he did it without turning it over.

Over his last three games, Powell is averaging 18.7 ppg, with 17 assists against just three turnovers.

“His assist-to-turnover (ratio) is maybe not eight-to-zero but it’s been pretty high every game,” Giannini said. “This is actually pretty consistent with how he’s been playing.”

Giannini decided to have Price, who led the Explorers in scoring the last two seasons, come off the bench after struggling against Dayton, and the senior accepted the role and evidently thrived in it, scoring a game-high 16 points in 20 minutes.

“He decided to let me come off the bench and it was the best thing for us,” Price said. “Whatever is best for the team is the best for me.”

That goal was certainly to pick up the team’s first Atlantic-10 Conference victory of the ‘16-17 season, which the Explorers succeeded in achieving.

If Wednesday’s showing proves to be the norm for La Salle, there will be a lot more of those to come.

La Salle’s next game is against 8-7 Duquesne at Tom Gola Arena on Saturday night.