City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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One last time, La Salle has a chance to build up steam going into the postseason.

All the Explorers have to do is stay healthy.

“Some teams -- Villanova in the Big East and Dayton in the A-10 -- seem to be able to absorb injuries,” head coach John Giannini said. “Most of the rest of us, it affects us. You’d like to say next man up, but that’s not easy for a lot of teams, for the majority of teams.”

Redshirt junior B.J. Johnson and redshirt sophomore Pookie Powell both missed time during a rough stretch for the Explorers, where they lost six of eight after a 5-1 start to Atlantic 10 play.

Johnson missed one game, against George Mason, but the sprained ankle that cost him that game has also limited his practice ability. Powell, who missed six games, returned on Wednesday but wasn’t himself in his first game back.

Now, La Salle is back at full strength. And once again, the Explorers look like a team that could do some serious damage in the Atlantic 10 postseason -- if nobody else gets hurt.

It’s true that the Saint Joseph’s squad that La Salle beat by a score of 83-68 on Saturday afternoon is one that’s almost dinged up beyond recognition, with its starting backcourt amongst four players who are out for the season, including three projected starters.

“The healthier team won today,” Giannini said to start off his press conference. Most teams in the country could say that when compared to the Hawks.

But St. Joe’s injuries aside, La Salle was impressive, especially during a first half where it knocked down seven 3-pointers and led by as many as 25.

“When we’re healthy we’re good, and we’re not as good when we’re not healthy, like most teams,” Giannini said. “You can theorize is it offense or is it idefense, is it confidence -- no.”

Saturday’s hot start can be attributed to a near perfect first half from redshirt junior Amar Stukes who ended the first half with 15 points on 5-6 shooting from the floor with two threes, 3-3 from the free throw line, three assists, and no turnovers.

Powell also looked like the guard who had become a key part of a deep La Salle perimeter, going for 13 points and collecting seven rebounds, three assists and three steals against one turnover. Johnson had 18 points, tied for the team lead with redshirt senior Jordan Price.

“Next man up is a nice thing to say, but like I said, the only teams I see that lose top-level guys and keep going are the championship-level teams,” Giannini said. “And if we were that level team, we would have been winning, but we stumbled, and we’re still aspiring to that.

“But it’s a lot easier when you’re healthy.”

With the win, La Salle moves to 14-11 on the season, and 8-6 in Atlantic 10 play.

Despite the rough stretch, the Explorers are tied with George Mason and St. Bonaventure for fifth place, though both the Patriots and Bonnies hold the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to win during the Powell-less stretch. Ahead of them are Rhode Island and Richmond with 9-5 league records; St. Joe’s lost to Richmond but already has one win against Rhody with a game against the Rams coming up on Tuesday.
With four games left in the regular season, La Salle could conceivably finish anywhere from third to ninth or 10th.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us,” Stukes said. “I’m very confident in my team, the coaches, I think we can win out the rest of our games, it’s really important for us to do that. The league is so tough that every game matters, so we’ve just got to get the next game, we’ve got to get Rhode Island.”

Saint Joseph’s (10-16, 3-11) has lost six in a row, and looks destined for a bottom-four spot in the league. That means a first-round game in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Pittsburgh next March, though one doesn’t expect their stay there to be long.

Without Shavar Newkirk and Lamarr Kimble, without Pierfrancesco Oliva, there’s not much Phil Martelli can do about it.

“It’s the cards that we have and we have to play the hand,” the longtime Hawks coach said. “We’ll keep going, we’re not collecting uniforms yet.”

A top-four seed would earn the Explorers a double-bye in Pittsburgh, saving them from potentially having to play as many as four games in four days to earn that automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. An at-large selection is already out of the question.

“It’s a big deal,” Giannini said of the potential of a top-four finish.

With so many scenarios up in the air, La Salle is paying close attention to the standings after every game.

But the only thing they can do is win each of the four they have left, starting with that visit from Rhode Island on Tuesday (6 PM, CBS SN).

“We’re very concerned about our seeding,” Giannini said. “You look at the standings and what you have to do in the next game. And after that, you do the process over again.”