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La Salle 81, South Alabama 73: Notes & Quotes (Nov. 16)

11/16/2017, 9:30pm EST
By Josh Verlin & Austin Petolillo

Amar Stukes (above) and La Salle held off South Alabama to improve to 3-0 on Thursday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Austin Petolillo (@AustinPSports)
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La Salle had to fight off South Alabama to extend its win streak to three to open the season, after an easy first half for the Explorers became a challenging second in an 81-73 win on Thursday night.

Here are some notes & quotes from Tom Gola Arena:

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Second half letdown

The Explorers absolutely owned the opening 20 minutes of competition against the Jaguars.

La Salle began the game on a 7-0 run and opened up a 21-point lead just about 14 minutes in, taking a 47-27 lead into the break. There wasn’t much John Giannini’s group was doing wrong -- They hit nearly half their shots, owned a 22-12 rebounding advantage and committed just three turnovers while limiting South Alabama from getting much going offensively whatsoever.

But instead of coasting to an easy win over a team that lost its season opener to Texas Tech by 25, La Salle instead allowed its opponent to get back into the game. South Alabama shot the ball much better in the second half, going 9-of-17 from 3-point range to cut the deficit to as few as five in the game’s closing minutes.

“It’s hard to play with a lead sometimes,” Giannini said. “Frankly, everyone in the gym thinks one team’s going to win, and that team usually lets up and the other team gets some confidence. I’ve seen it many, many times and South Alabama took advantage of it.”

B.J. Johnson, who finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds to pave the way for the Explorers, helped stem the tide with a couple big put-back buckets down the stretch, as well as a few rebounds. But it wasn’t until Amar Stukes knocked down a 3-pointer with 64 seconds for the game’s final points that the threat was finally over.

“I wish we played better in the second half; at the same time, I’m glad we were challenged and we withstood a run, and we had to finish a game out under some pressure,” Giannini said. “That’s invaluable experience early in the year.

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La Salle goes small for long stretches

Coming out of the under-16 media timeout in the first half, La Salle subbed in guard Isiah Deas, but he wasn’t subbed into the game for a guard/wing, he was subbed in for La Salle redshirt senior center Tony Washington. That left the Explorers with a lineup of Deas, wing B.J. Johnson, guard Saul Phiri, guard Amar Stukes, and guard Pookie Powell, a smaller lineup that ended up playing big minutes in the victory.

Washington and fellow center Miles Brookins combined to play 15 minutes in the game, only scoring four points and hauling in four rebounds, after combining to play at least 38 minutes in the teams’ first two games. The only other player who saw time for La Salle was another guard, Johnnie Shuler, who played 15 minutes.

The change was due to South Alabama going small for long stretches, with its tallest player on the floor 6-7 forward Josh Ajayi for most of the game. Usually, forwards Rozelle Nix (6-11, 330 lbs) and Kevin Morris (6-8, 265 lbs) earn about 25-30 minutes combined for the Jaguars.

“I’d rather have Tony or Miles out there,” Giannini said. “We’re more comfortable, we can do more things offensively, using our big guy as a screener.”

La Salle’s smaller lineup outscored South Alabama 26-18 in the first half but got outscored 35-25 in the second as the Jaguars got hot from 3-point range in the second half, going 9-17 (52.9 percent) from deep. Giannini didn’t have a chance to go back to his bigs.

“I don’t think it would be wise to have a 6-10 guy chasing a 6-6 shooter around the court,” Giannini added. “Our guards struggled with it, much less a 6-10 guy. I think if we would have played big we would have lost.”

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Saul Phiri (above) has put together a double-double in each of his last two outings. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Sophomores step up in scoring column

The biggest offseason question mark on La Salle’s roster was how its two sophomore wings, Saul Phiri and Isiah Deas, would transition to becoming key members of the rotation after playing sparingly a year ago.

Through the first two games of the season, it looked like Phiri had surged ahead. The 6-4 wing out of Putnam Science (Conn.) scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds through 66 minutes; Deas, a 6-5 wing out of Coastal Academy (N.J.), scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in 20 minutes.

On Thursday night, they both had plenty of time to shine, combining for 29 points in 60 minutes in La Salle’s win.

Phiri fouled out with 16 seconds left, but not before he scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. It’s the second double-double in a row for Phiri, who also had 12 points and 11 rebounds against Penn.

“He’s a tough kid,” Giannini said. “Anything that has to do with toughness, it doesn’t surprise me if Saul does it well.”

Deas also set his new career best in scoring, with 15 points, going 5-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-10 from 3-point range. However, he didn’t add a single rebound or assist.

“I think Isiah really helped us, he made a huge 3-point shot, but it was not one of his best games, either,” Giannini said. “He was out there and he did some good things, but it wasn’t of his best games. I know he could play better.”


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