Men's Basketball: Explorers hold own against G.W.

By Kevin Hall
Collegian Staff
March 1, 2006

The Explorers rode into Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 22, searching for victory in a pivotal game against the best team in the Atlantic 10 Conference this year, George Washington University.

Sophomore Sherman Diaz puts up a foul shot in last week’s
tight 74-71 victory over Dayton. - Gwen Tuxbury

It was a game that the Explorers would most likely need to win if the team wanted to have any chance at all of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. A win would also help La Salle keep pace with its other conference foes in search of one of the top four spots which receive a bye during the A-10 playoffs.

“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made,” head coach John Giannini said. “But we feel like we are one win away from helping our tournament chances.”

The Explorers started off hot on the sixth ranked Colonials, mounting an 8-4 lead with a little under 15 minutes to play in the first half. Defensively, however, it was tough for La Salle to keep up with George Washington, especially Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who made his presence known underneath early and brought the Colonials back on top 12-10 just a few minutes later.

Things remained close in the next several minutes, mostly because of the Explorers’ inability to capitalize on numerous Colonial mistakes. In addition, poor ball handling also proved problematic, forcing the team into tight situations and creating turnovers.

“If we didn’t turn it over, we probably would have had a chance to win the game,” Giannini said.

Senior Jermaine Thomas tried to put some space between the two teams by hitting a big three to put
the Explorers on top, 24-21, with seven minutes to go, but Carl Elliot came right back for the Colonials and answered with a trifecta of his own.

As the half approached, La Salle was able to call on freshman Paul Johnson for a rare three-pointer, followed by a contested layup from senior Steve Smith, to give the Explorers the lead 35-31.

Smith, who had 12 points on the night, was defended well by the Colonials throughout the game, even without the team’s star forward, Mensah-Bonsu, who left with an injury for the second half.

Johnson and Smith started out the second half the same way they ended the first, with back-to-back buckets to increase the La Salle lead to seven. However, G.W. was able to surge back and take the lead 41-40, with a shot from beyond the arc from Maurice Rice at the 15:42 mark.

It was the size and speed of the Colonials that allowed them to come back so quickly, something that the Explorers seemed to have trouble dealing with all night. A dunk by Regis Koundjia that electrified the large Colonial crowd in attendance, who replaced Mensah-Bonsu, put the Colonials up five with around eight minutes to go in the game.

Just minutes later, a three-pointer from Maureece Rice placed G.W. up 10 with a little under six minutes left, basically putting out any flame of success that the Explorers may have had.

With 41 seconds to go, Darnell Harris capped of his night of 19 points with a three-pointer of little consequence as the Explorers lost by a score of 77-65.

The men will attempt to get a much needed win against an inconsistent Fordham team tonight at 7:30 p.m. as they continue to strive for a good spot in the A-10 tourney. They will then take on St. Louis at the Tom Gola Arena on Saturday, March 4, to close out the regular season.

hallk3@lasalle.edu