City of Basketball Love

By Jeff Griffith
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Wednesday night featured a loaded schedule for the city’s men’s and women’s Division I teams, with six in action in early conference contests. 

Here’s a quick look around the city, recapping the evening’s Big 5 action:

D-I Men’s: St. Joseph’s 97, Duquesne 90 (OT)

The Hawks needed this one, and they got it. 

A St. Joe’s team that dropped its first two Atlantic 10 games picked up a key home win over Duquesne, its first Division I win since December 18. Jaiden Glover-Toscano and Derek Simpson combined for 50 points — a bucket by the former forced the extra frame with five seconds left — all but six of which came in regulation. During the added period, SJU outscored Duquesne 14-7, including, at one point, an 8-0 run to pull away.

Austin Wilford (5.7 ppg) added a season-high 16 points off the bench, while adding four rebounds. Dasear Haskins also contributed a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. 

The challenge? It won’t get much easier from here — St. Joe’s plays its next four A10 games against Richmond, St. Bonaventure, VCU and Dayton, all of which rank in the KenPom Top 125. 

If the Hawks want to fight for a solid final placement in the league, they’re going to have to make some noise against one of these likely-favored foes. 

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D-I Men’s: La Salle 79, Rhode Island 72

The Explorers didn’t just win on the road — a challenge in itself — they looked pretty solid on the road. La Salle had lost five straight and eight of its last nine entering Wednesday, so a double-digit upset win at Rhode Island was certainly a nice change of pace. 

A now five-win La Salle team (5-11, 1-2 Atlantic 10) punched far above its perceived weight class Wednesday night, winning by a comfortable margin thanks to stout second-half defense. Ultimately, a period of six minutes during the second half that saw the Rams score just one point — La Salle scored nine in that span, the spurt running from the 16-minute mark to the nine-minute mark — helped create La Salle’s breathing room. 

It helped La Salle’s cause that the Explorers were also incredibly efficient shooting the ball, going 61 percent from the field and 54 percent from beyond the arc. Off the bench, senior Truth Harris had by far his best game as an Explorer, posting a season-high of 19 points — missing just one field goal — to go with three boards, two assists and four steals; he entered Wednesday averaging 1.9 points and 0.9 rebounds in seven appearances.

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Gavin Griffiths couldn't miss in Temple's Wednesday-night home win (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL).

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D-I Men’s: Temple 75, East Carolina 67

The Owls took care of business against a struggling ECU team, riding the coattails of a dominant first-half to a comfortable victory. 

Temple (11-5, 3-0 American) struggled to put ECU (5-10, 0-2 American) away, leading 36-21 at the break but watching its lead crumble to just five in the final five minutes, but a litany of key free throws by the likes of Derrian Ford and Babatunde Durodola helped maintain the advantage. Ford had 16, but Gavin Griffiths was the top scorer for Temple, dropping 24 while connecting on five of his seven three-point attempts. 

With Wednesday’s win, Temple has now picked up seven consecutive wins — and opened a 3-0 start in AAC play —since a middling 4-5 start. Obviously, with five losses already on the ledger, there likely isn’t much to discuss revolving around the Owls’ at-large postseason hopes, but a 3-0 start in conference is never a bad thing in terms of jostling for eventual conference tournament positioning. Two of Temple’s conference wins have come against teams rated outside the KenPom Top 250, but undefeated is undefeated. 

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Women’s: George Mason 62, La Salle 47

It’s been a special season so far for the La Salle women — who have enjoyed their best start in over a decade. That doesn’t have to end, but the brakes on it got pumped Wednesday in a decisive road loss to George Mason. La Salle struggled to find a rhythm offensively, shooting just 35 percent from the field and 23 percent from deep.

The Patriots (9-6, 4-0 Atlantic 10) remained unbeaten in league play, and handed La Salle (10-5, 3-1 Atlantic 10) its first conference loss. This was La Salle’s first contest against a team with a winning Atlantic 10 record. 

La Salle will have its opportunities to right the ship and get back on track, but they won’t be easy ones; the Explorers visit St. Joe’s Saturday — a Hawks team that also is fresh off of a loss — before a pair of home games against Saint Louis (8-8, 2-1 A10) and Davidson (12-5, 4-0 A10). 

In defeat, Aryss Macktoon scored 17, while adding five boards and five steals. Ashleigh Connor added 10 points. The pair, though, shot a combined 12-of-36 from the field. 

Gabby Casey scored 19 in defeat for St. Joe's against Davidson (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL).

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Women’s: Davidson 48, St. Joe’s 36

Speaking of Atlantic 10 women’s teams that struggled to score on the road against undefeated conference opponents — enter St. Joe’s. The Hawks failed to break 40 points in a loss to Davidson, and mustered just two points in a second quarter that helped the Wildcats gain breathing room. 

St. Joe’s (11-4, 2-2 A10) shot a dismal 1-of-11 from beyond the arc, 7-of-13 from the free-throw line, and 31 percent overall. It also turned the ball over 23 times, which didn’t help; eight different Hawks accounted for at least two giveaways. Gabby Casey served as the Hawks’ leading scorer, with more than half their points, tallying 19. 

For St. Joe’s, the loss snapped a five-game win streak that included a pair of conference wins against teams that were winless in Atlantic 10 play prior to tonight. Wednesday’s results set up for a pivotal home matchup with La Salle Saturday, as both teams look to regain footing and prove themselves while the conference slate is still in its early stages.

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Men’s: Creighton 76, Villanova 72

The Wildcats had high hopes against Creighton, with an unblemished conference mark and having won 12 of 13 entering Wednesday night, but came up just short. Three players — Acaden Lewis (20), Tyler Perkins (18), and Duke Brennan (16) accounted for 54 of the Wildcats points, good for two-thirds. 

Villanova (12-3, 3-1 Big East) is still among the league’s top contenders as far as the standings are concerned, and will look to bounce back on the road against a struggling Marquette team Saturday. 

CoBL will have further coverage of Villanova’s Wednesday night loss to Creighton.