City of Basketball Love

Jerome Taylor (@ThatGuy_Rome)

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When the Big 5 announced their new tournament, it essentially wanted to restore the feeling. Well, in the first game of “pod play,” the tone has been set. 

Two local guards playing well. Check. 

A tightly contested game. Double check. 

So tight that La Salle’s six-point margin of victory in a 67-61 win over Drexel on Tuesday was the largest degree of separation that the game saw all evening. 

“Anytime you play city games they’re great, and the fact that we came out on the winning side, it’s just a really good win for us,” La Salle Head Coach Fran Dunphy said, after joking that he likes opening the year up against Big 5 teams because they won this game. 

La Salle's Jhamir Brickus (2) works to get a hand off from Rokas Jucius (35) during Tuesday's game against Drexel at Tom Gola Arena. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

The turning point to secure the La Salle win (1-0, 1-0 Big 5) came with four minutes remaining in the game. Anwar Gill pushed the ball upcourt off a steal before handing it off to Jhamir Brickus, who buried a three from the top of the arc, giving La Salle a 59-56 lead.

“I just let [the game] come to me. That's really my game, I don't rush anything, I don't force anything,” Brickus said. “So, once the game came to me, I stepped up.”

The transition three started a run of nine straight Brickus points down the stretch for the Explorers en route to the victory over Drexel (0-1, 0-1 Big 5).

The senior found his rhythm in the second half, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the frame. Brickus and junior Khalil Brantley (13 points), a backcourt pairing dubbed the “Killa Bs,” will be vital if the Explorers want to continue their ascent up the Atlantic-10 rankings this season. 

Before the Coatesville product’s big second half, Gill (15 points, 4 assists, 2 steals) and 6-10 sophomore Rokas Jocius (10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) led the way for the Explorers. 

Like Gill, Jocius emerged again during a crucial moment in the second half. With one minute remaining, after Brickus knocked down two free throws to give La Salle a 63-60 lead, Jocius blocked a floater by Drexel sophomore Justin Moore.

After 36 straight minutes of one-possession basketball, that was the last time the game would be that tight. 

And it ended a personal streak for Brickus. 

“That was my first time beating Justin Moore. He beat me last year. And then he beat me my last year in high school,” Brickus said while noting the local ties in the game. 

“[We’ve] been going at it for a long time,” Moore said. “[Brickus] is real talented, he can finish at the basket, shoot the three, plays in the pick and roll really well, he's a tough cover. He made big plays this game.” 

La Salle's sophomore Rokas Jucius, left, blocks a shot by Drexel senior Amari Williams, right, during Tuesday's game against Drexel at Tom Gola Arena. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Speaking of Moore, the sophomore garnered high praise from his head coach. 

“I don't talk to Justin Moore like he's a second-year basketball player. I talk to Justin Moore like he's going to be a pro and treat him that way, and he responds that way,” Drexel head coach Zach Spiker said. “His growth and leadership from year one to year two have been big.”

Moore finished the game with 15 points, five assists, three steals, and his six free throw attempts (5-6 FT) were indicative of his aggression throughout the game. 

“It definitely adds more fuel to the fire playing a city team, especially being from the city,”
Moore said. “There's guys from the city on both sides. I played Jhamir since I was in high school. Me and Daeshon [Shepherd] went to the same high school (Archbishop Wood). It's always good to go out there and play against them.”

For Drexel, the reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Amari Williams, also played well. He had 16 points and seven rebounds. But offensively, the team couldn’t get going from outside (4-for-17 from 3). The Dragons' 3-point shooting was a big question coming into the year, and it’ll have to be better for them to achieve their goals of ascending higher than fifth in the CAA this year.

Drexel now has to win against Temple on Nov. 14 to avoid the 5th-place game in the Big 5 Tripleheader on December 2nd.  But before that Temple matchup, they’ll take on Winthrop this Saturday. 

La Salle, on the other hand, is just one win away from competing in the first-place game at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 2. Their second pod matchup will come against Temple on Nov. 29. Before that, they’ll take on Northeastern this Saturday at Tom Gola Arena.