Winners
Who Never Quit: Analyzing the 2005-06 Season
A
Winning Season Gives Hope to Bright Future.
4/23/2006
by Hoops Tick
The
season for the Explorers ended pre-maturely in-part by
the loss to Fordham in the A10 Tournament and in-part due
to a poor decision by the NIT selection committee to include
Penn State and exclude La Salle.
The season started out with many positives. The Explorers
beat Drexel in hard fought contest on December 3rd to improve
to 4-0. Steven Smith had 26 points and 15 rebounds to lead
the Explorers. On December 18, the Classic 4 Overtime Game
against Central Connecticutt State took place. The game
is important because it was officiated down to the final
second (something most games are not these days). Darnell
Harris clinched the game with 2 free throws and no time
remaining, an improbable 107-106 win. The Explorers endured
a lop-sided 98-57 loss to rested Villanova - La Salle
had
played 5
overtimes in the previous 3 days. The Explorers at 8-1,
were doing very well and Paul Johnson was progressing.
Grade for the team for first third of season: A (Outstanding)
The Explorers
ran into a "gotcha game" against Hoftstra, on December
30, as the officiating was poor and some of the coaching
decisions late in the second half cost La Salle a 71-70
decision. The new year started out with 2 Atlantic 10
Conference wins over Duquesne and Richmond. Paul Johnson
and Marshall Taylor picked up back-to-back Rookie of
the Week honors. Trouble started in the Charlotte game
on January 11 as Steven Smith twisted his ankle and the
Explorers lost 64-52. In a bizarre 4pm start against
Rhode Island the officials had thought it was a 7pm start
and were not in the arena. Rhode Island protested and
threatened to remove their entire team from Gola. Then,
when the refs finally arrived and the game started, the
officials took out their frustrations on La Salle in
handing the Rhodeys a 71-68 win. On January 21 the Explorers
lost a game they should have won easily. La Salle held
a 27-16 halftime lead. Then, in the second half, the
Explorers collapsed under the pressure of the Hawks to drop the game 66-54.
The Penn Quakers were the opponent on January 25 and
Quaker coach Fran Dunphy was looking for win #300. Little
did anyone know that Dunphy
would be handed his 300th win (73-65) by a corrupt officiating crew. I was
told that AD Brennan took my advice and sent the video for the A10 and Ivy
Leagues
to review. La Salle was assured that these refs would not officiate again
at the division one level.The Explorers record of 3-6 in this stretch pushed
them to 11-7 overall and a not-so-great 3-4 in the A10.
Some La Salle alums were giving up on the team and making
ridiculous statements. Grade
for team for second third of season: D (Below Average)
Then the Explorers used their controlled anger and frustration to pound the
opponents both at home and on the road. The Explorers won their first Big
5 game for the senior class by beating Temple on February 4 by 62-56. The
Explorers then registered road wins against UMass and Xavier and clinched
the winning season. The Explorers only unexpected blemish in the final third
of the regular season came against Fordham in a 83-74 loss on March 1. With
the win against Saint Louis on March 4, La Salle clinched third place in
the Atlantic 10! La Salle finished the final third of the regular season
at 7-2 and 18-9 overall with an above average 10-6 record in the A10. Grade
for team for final third of season: A (Outstanding)
The A10 Tournament: Unfortunately and inexplicably the
Explorers were not ready to take on and defeat an inferior
opponent (Fordham) as they fell behind by an almost insurmountable
margin in the first half. The team did not quit and nearly
pulled an impossible upset but they missed a shot that
would have tied the game as time expired. The entire coaching
staff, after seeing all of the other top
seeds
in the tournament
lose,
has to take most of the responsibility for the 64-62 loss.
Grade for A10 Tournament: F (Failure)
Steven Smith won his second consecutive A10 Player of the
Year Award and was named to the All-Big 5 First team. Jermaine
Thomas received honorable mention in the A10 and was named
to the All-Big 5 second team.
Doctor John Giannini deserves much of the credit for turning
the program around in just 2 seasons.
Overall
Grade for the season: B (Above Average)
On behalf of all of the Explorer faithful, I want to
thank Steven Smith, Jermaine Thomas and Lewis Fadipe
for enduring more then any college student should have
to in their 4 years. They truly are special individuals
who are "Winners Who Never Quit" no matter
what happens.
Analyzing
the Officials from 2005-06 - Special Bonus Exclusively
for LaSalle-Explorers.com
The
Good, the Mediocre, the Inconsistent and the Horrible.
3/16/2006
by Hoops Tick
My
report is intended to ensure that Linda Bruno and Jim
Satalin get the message that
the good officials need to be rewarded, the mediocre and
inconsistent officials need to show improvement
and the below average and horrible officials need to be
terminated from officiating A10 games. Remember, these
individuals earn over $300 per contest for about 2 hours
work. For that kind of money, the officials need to be
professional and make the correct and obvious calls in
every game.
To summarize, there were 22 officials who appeared in at
least 2 La Salle games this past season. 3 of these officials
distinguished themselves as the best, while 4 of this group
deserve immediate termination without review and 4 others
of this group deserve
to be removed
from A10 officiating after review. In addition, there are
2 other officials who have officiated bad games in previous
season and need to be dismissed as well.
Jim Satalin, A10 Coordinator and Assignor of Officials, must take action
in
the
off-season and announce the officials who have been removed which must include
Hughes, Scagliotta
and the others rated as the worst. Otherwise, the fans will demand that Satalin
resign; we are holding the A10 accountable for poor, inept and corrupt
officiating.
The analysis is based on my grading system:
A (Superior) - the refs called the game near perfect and worked together
as a team.
B (Above Average) - the refs did their
job and made no major errors in the contest.
C (Average) - the refs made some errors equally for
both sides and the errors did not affect the outcome of
the game.
D (Below Average) - the refs made more errors heavily in favor of one
team over the other and possibly costing the less favored team a victory.
F (Failure) - the refs made major errors
affecting the outcome of the game (such as major errors
in the final 2 minutes of a close game) and need to
be fined and/or suspended by the Atlantic 10 immediately
after the game.
The Best A-10 Officials - Promotion Needed
| Official |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
La Salle Record |
| John Larocca |
B 1/29 W |
B 2/22 L |
1-1 |
| Fran Connolly |
B 11/20 W |
B 2/11 W |
2-0 |
| David Walker |
B 1/29 W |
A 2/15 W |
2-0 |
Notes: Larocca,
Connolly and Walker rated the best for those officials who
were involved in 2 or more La Salle games and deserve to
officiate more A10 games next year.
The
A-10 Level Officials - Average or Above
| Official |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
La Salle Record |
Bernard Clinton
|
B 12/18 W
|
C 2/8 W
|
|
2-0 |
Curtis Blair
|
D 12/11 W
|
B 2/4 W
|
|
2-0 |
Duke Edsall
|
D 12/3 W
|
B 1/11 L
|
|
1-1 |
Jackie Sanders
|
B 1/7 W
|
A 2/15 W
|
D 3/9 L
|
2-1 |
Ken Turner
|
B 1/7 W
|
D 1/21 L
|
|
1-1 |
Notes: The 5
officials above rated average or above in 2 or more officiated
La Salle games. Need to sharpen their skills to reach
Top officials.
The A10 Officials Needing Improvement To Remain
| Official |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
Game 4 |
Game 5 |
La Salle Record |
Jeff Clark
|
A 11/30 W
|
D 12/22 L
|
D 1/11 L
|
C 2/1 W
|
B 2/22 L
|
2-3 |
Gary Prager
|
B 1/29 W
|
F 3/1 L
|
|
|
|
1-1 |
DJ Carstensen
|
C 1/4
W
|
F 3/1
L
|
|
|
|
1-1 |
Brian
O'Connell
|
A 2/15
W
|
F 3/1
L
|
|
|
|
1-1 |
| Jack Sweeney |
F 1/25 L |
C 2/1 W |
|
|
|
1-1 |
Ron
Tyburski
|
A 11/30
W
|
F 12/30
L
|
D 2/4
W
|
|
|
2-1 |
Notes: The officials listed above need to improve their consistency. They
need more training and must improve next season.
The Below Average Officials - Need to Be Replaced After Review
| Official |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
La Salle Record |
Frankie Bordeaux
|
F 1/18 L
|
D 3/4 W
|
|
1-1 |
Kevin O'Connell
|
D 1/21 L
|
D 3/4 W
|
|
1-1 |
Eric Anderson
|
D 11/26 W
|
D 1/14 L
|
C 2/18 W
|
2-1 |
George Harry
|
D 11/26 W
|
C 1/4 W
|
F 1/21 L
|
2-1 |
Wally Rutecki
|
D 2/18 W
|
|
|
1-0 |
Notes:
These refs have rated below average and need to be
replaced next season in the rotation. Wally Rutecki is on this list for his bad reputation from previous
seasons.
The
Worst A-10 Officials - Terminate Immediately
| Official |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
La Salle Record |
| John Hughes |
F 12/20 W |
D 2/8 W |
F 3/9 L |
2-1 |
| Frank Scagliotta |
F 12/30 L |
F 1/11 L
|
F 1/18 L
|
0-3 |
Ray Perone
|
F 1/18 L
|
|
|
0-1 |
Larry Scirotto
|
D 12/20 W
|
D 1/14 L
|
D 3/9 L
|
1-2 |
| Eugene Crawford |
D 1/4 W |
B 2/22 L |
|
1-1 |
Notes: John
Hughes treated 2-time A10 Player of the Year
Steven Smith like he was a fouling machine. When you review
all of the games this year, it was obvious Hughes had a
problem with Steven - Hughes has to be eliminated from
officiating Division One basketball. Frank Scagliotta officiated
in 3 games at Gola Arena and he noticeably went against
the Explorers in all 3 games - he has to go. Ray Perone should
have been terminated after his antics against La Salle
last season. The time has come for the forced retirement
of Eugene Crawford, I was told by many that I was overly
generous in giving him a B for the GW game on 2/22. Larry
Scirotto's grades put him in the termination list.
Special thanks to LaSalle Radio Network broadcasters and
the local media members who helped identify the officials
by name.
Upset
Thursday: Explorers Allow Mediocre Fordham To Escape
With Win
After Watching All 3 of the Bye Teams
Lose Earlier Thursday, La Salle Coaches Knew What to
Expect.
3/9/06 by Hoops Tick
Doctor Giannini knew
that La Salle needed to come out and build an early
lead to
eliminate Fordham from even thinking about an upset.
Instead we saw a disorganized offensive team that fell
behind 22-6 and trailed 30-15. The Explorers were able
to cut the lead to 12 at the half at 38-26. The offense
was not running through A10 Player of the Year Steven
Smith (10 points) who was only able to score
4 points in the half as he was forced to take some
awkward
shots.
Surely
the second half would start out with La Salle taking
it to Fordham. Instead Fordham built an 18 point lead
at 44-26! La Salle did respond with a 34-17 run to cut
the lead to 1 point on a Smith layup with 1:02 remaining.
Then Mike St. John (7 points) was whistled
for a foul on Dunston with 1 second on the shot clock
(usually
this would not
be called). Dunston gave Fordham 2 points at the line
for a 63-60 lead. Paul Johnson got a rebound and scored
to pull La Salle to 63-62 with 20.5 remaining. Jermaine
Thomas (11 points, 6 assists) was forced to
foul Stout with 12.3 seconds left. Stout converted the
first
free
throw
but
missed
the second
to give Fordham a 64-62 lead. A 3-pointer wins the game,
a basket sends it to overtime. St. John had the ball
stripped and it went out of bounds with 4 seconds left.
Darnell Harris (17 points) took the shot but missed.
The rebound also missed. Game over, 64-62 Final.
Paul Johnson (10 points) and Sherm
"the Tank" Diaz (7
points) made positive contributions but La Salle missed
5 free throws. With the score 59-52, Harris missed
2 critical free throws and Lewis Fadipe missed 2 in the
first half.
I still do not understand what the game plan was as I
expected the Explorers to come out on fire and more then
ready to beat an inferior team they had lost to just
a week prior by not playing good defense. The entire
coaching staff has to take responsibility for not winning
this game. What makes it even more painful is that both
GW and Charlotte were eliminated earlier making the NCAA
a strong possibility had the Explorers won.
Officials:
John Hughes, Jackie Sanders and Larry Scirotto.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: D (Below Average) Overall.
Notes: I
got that sick feeling when they posted John Hughes as an
official
for this game. Hughes has a problem with
A10 Player of the Year Steven Smith (see articles from Florida
International game and UMass road game from
this season). Jim Satalin heads
the selection of officials and he had to know that Hughes
has
made fraudulent
calls against La Salle's Smith in previous games this season.
In this game Hughes, who gets an "F" was no different.
Smith's second foul in the first half, made by Hughes, should
have been a no-call. Hughes then called Smith for a bogus
foul after the ball was in the basket
for
his
4th
foul
with
over
13
minutes
remaining!
Steven
was forced to sit for over 6 minutes and it obviously hurt
the Explorers chances. Hughes fouled out Fordham's second
leading scorer, Jermaine Anderson, with over 8 minutes to
go. Then, at the end of the game Hughes whistled Mike St.
John, who was run over by Dunston, for a foul with just one
second on the shot clock. The 2 free throws that Dunston
converted were the difference in the final score. Other
2 officials get "D" grades. Satalin
needs to be fired immediately.
Box Score
Steven
Smith Wins Second Consecutive A10 Player of The Year
Award
3/5/06
by Hoops Tick
The
Explorer averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds but also led
La Salle to a Winning Record and 3rd Place in the A10 standings.
All-American Steven
Smith admits that team goals always come before
personal goals. This season he has accomplished both.
Smith knew he could help the team get above .500 and
in the process
earned his second Player of the Year Award. The NBA is
waiting for Steven.
Explorers
Earn 3rd Place and Bye by Canceling Bills
3/4/06
by Hoops Tick
The
Explorers
Win 62-52 To Earn 3rd Place in Division and First Round
Bye in A10 Tournament.
La Salle (18-9, 10-6 for 3rd place) was led by All-American Steven
Smith (26
points and a career high 16 rebounds) in the win over the
Saint Louis Billikens (16-12, 10-6 for 4th place). Smith
made a jumper to give La Salle a 25-18 advantage with 3:38
to go in the half. The half ended with the Billikens scoring
the last 4 points to close to 25-22.
In
the second half Smith drilled an amazing 3-pointer as
the shot clock was running down to give La Salle a comfortable
margin at 43-35 with 5:25 to go. Jermaine Thomas (10
points) played awesome defense on Lische who was only
able to score
5 points. Lewis Fadipe contributed 4 points and 7 rebounds
making it a great day for the 3 seniors: Smith, Thomas
and Fadipe.
Others
who contributed great efforts include Sherm Diaz (11
points) and Tabby Cunningham (8 points on some clutch
free throws).
The Explorers face a yet to be determinded opponent
on Thursday at 8:30pm in the A10 Tournament.
Officials: Frankie Bordeaux, Kevin O'Connell
and Rudy Seneca.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: D (Below Average)
Overall.
Notes
on officials: Despite the fact that it was Senior Day
at La Salle, the calls still favored Saint Louis with 2
unacceptable calls in each half against the Explorers.
In the first half, Mike St. John was whistled
for pushing off on Vouyoukas even though he was not within
10 feet of him. Then less then a minute later, Mike was
called for a cheap touch foul on Vouyoukas. In the second
half, Mike was blatantly hit from behind by Vouyoukas and
no call was made. Then later on, Liddell had heavy contact
on Smith and no call was made.
Box
Score
Bad Defensive
Effort Hurt But Disgraceful Officiating Dooms Explorers
3/1/06
by Hoops Tick
The
Fordham Rams Used Bad Defense and Corrupt Officiating to
Win 83-74.
Not even God will be able to help Jim Satalin and Linda
Bruno if La Salle (17-9, 9-6) witnesses another corrupt
officiating crew on Saturday. Not even Michael Jordan got
away with the travelling that Bryant Dustin and Jermaine
Anderson did in this game. Dunston travelled at least 4
times leading to 9 Fordham points and Anderson walked at
least 3 times leading to 6 points. Dunston also got away
with taunting Mike St. John (7 points,
10 boards) while Anderson got away with running over Steven
Smith (33
points) and Smith was given a foul by Gary Prager! Take
away the corrupt officiating and La Salle wins a close
game. Fordham (13-15) is now 8-7 in the A10 standings thanks
to the gift from the 3 officials.
The bad defense by La Salle allowed Corey McCrae (averaging
5.3 points) to get a career best 25 points on 6 for 6 shooting
(all 3-pointers).
La
Salle closes
out the regular season on Saturday which is senior
day at Gola Arena. The opponent is the pesky Billikens
from Saint Louis.
Officials: DJ Carstensen, Brian O'Connell and Gary
Prager.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: F (Failure)
Overall.
Notes on officials: None of these "refs" should ever
officiate another game at any level as they are a disgrace
to officiating.
Dunston and Anderson (Fordham's two leading scorers) were
allowed
to
get away
with everything
including
Dunston covering 8 feet of floor without a dribble! In
the first half, Jermaine Thomas (17 points,
3 assists) got hit in the face by Dunston while dribbling
and nothing was
called. The good
news is that the game is on video thanks to Fordham's Webcast.
Box
Score
Explorers
Show Pop But #6 Colonials Have Strong Second Half
2/22/06
by Hoops Tick
George
Washington Colonials Trailed 35-31 At Half But Used Right
Combination in Second Half to Win 77-65.
La Salle (17-8, 9-5) led for a great portion of the first
half and even extended the lead to 7 points twice in the
early part of the second half. Darnell Harris
(19 points) hit consecutive 3-pointers to give La Salle
a 19-17 lead. Later on Paul Johnson (8
points) nailed a 3-pointer to give the Explorers a 33-29
lead and then Steven Smith (12 points,
6 boards) closed out the first half scoring with a layup
to give the Blue and Gold a 35-31 lead.
Paul
Johnson opened the second half with another 3-pointer and
the Explorers scored again to push the lead to 40-33 and
put a little bit of a scare into the GW (23-1, 13-0) team
and their fans. However, the Explorers made some poor decisions
and costly turnovers in the next few possesions to allow
GW to take their first lead, 41-40, since the mid-way point
of the first half on a Maureece Rice 3-pointer with about
15:30 remaining. La Salle battled but GW was very determined
and despite some heroics from Jermaine Thomas
(10 points, 4 assists) and Mike St. John
(8 points), the Explorers found themselves facing a 66-56
deficit. The Explorers ended up losing by 12 points.
La
Salle held Mike Hall to just 5 points.
Marshall Taylor was really missed in this
game as the Explorers lacked the good spark they get from
him coming off the bench in a close game.
La Salle gets a much deserved rest this weekend before battling
Fordham next Wednesday. The Explorers close out the regular
season the following Saturday (senior day at Gola Arena)
against Saint Louis.
Officials: Eugene Crawford, Jeff Clark,
John Larocca
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: B (Above Average)
Overall.
Notes
on officials: The calls did not affect the outcome of the
game. Crawford and Clark must have been put on notice.
Box
Score
Explorers
Shoot Down Flyers For 7th Straight Victory
2/18/06
by Hoops Tick
Dayton
Battled But Explorers Prevailed in 74-71 Win.
The Explorers (17-7, 9-4 for third place in Atlantic 10)
defeated their nemesis from Ohio for the first time in
a few seasons. La Salle started out quickly and built a
15-11 lead with 12:37 on the clock on a jumper by Steven
Smith (25 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists). The
Dayton Flyers (12-14, 4-8) were able to keep pace with
the Explorers
for most
of the
game
and
led the game 34-33 at the break.
Explorers defend against Dayton attack.
The second half started with Smith hitting a 12 foot jumper. The lead changes
continued for the next 11 minutes. Darnell Harris (16 points
and a steal) put
the Explorers into the lead for good with 9:05 remaining with a huge 3-pointer
to
give La Salle
a 2
point
lead at 55-53. Then something strange happened with 7:26 remaining and the Explorers
ahead 59-55. Norman Plummer got in Mike St. John's face because
he thought he
was low-bridged on a dunk attempt. Ref Wally Rutecki was only
going to give St. John (4 points, 3 assists) a technical but the other 2 refs
met
at
mid-court
and
changed the call
to include a technical against Plummer as well. The Gola Arena crowd of 3,600
was loud in their protest of the original call against St. John. Brian Roberts
(24
points)
cut the Explorer lead to a single point as he drilled a 3-pointer with 1:46 left,
72-71. Smith closed out the scoring with a couple of free throws.
Jermaine Thomas (17 points and 5 assists
and 2 steals)
gave the Explorers another great effort.
La
Salle held Monty Scott to just 2 points on 1 for 6 shooting.
Tabby Cunningham played for 2 minutes
but is still not healthy enough to play extended minutes.
#7 George Washington (1st place in A10) is the next opponent
in DC. The good news is that the Explorers have not lost
an
away
game outside of the Philadelphia area all season.
Officials: Eric Anderson, Mike Roberts and Wally
Rutecki
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: C (Average) Overall.
Notes
on officials: Wally Rutecki receives a "D", the
other two officials receive a "C". There were too many
off-the-ball foul calls.
Box
Score
Explorers
Unleash New Weapon For 6th Straight Win
2/15/06
by Hoops Tick
Explorers
Beat Bonnies 74-62
for 16th Win.
The Explorers (16-7, 8-4 in Atlantic 10)
took care of the 13th place St. Bonaventure Bonnies (7-16,
1-11) in an easy win at Gola Arena. The Bonnies battled
the Explorers in the early going and actually held a 21-17
lead over the Explorers before La Salle went on an 11-0
run as Sherman "The Tank" Diaz (11
points, 5 boards in 25 minutes) came to life by making
his first 3-pointer to give La Salle a 28-21 lead. Then,
the Tank hit another 3-pointer to give the Explorers
a 34-28 edge. The Explorers finished the half with a 13
point lead.
Sherman "The Tank" Diaz
In the second half Steven Smith (22 points,
6 boards, 6 assists and a steal in only 33 minutes) started
it out with a 3-pointer and a few minutes later the Tank
drilled his third
3 pointer of the game to boost the lead to 50-34. Jermaine
Thomas (17 points and 8 assists) nailed a 3-pointer
to reach 1,200 points and give bump the margin to 17 at
60-43
with
about
13 minutes
to
go. Ahmad Smith hit a meaningless 3-pointer to pull the
Bonnies within 15 at 70-55. Darnell Harris (12
points) closed out the scoring for La Salle with a reverse
jam.
Ahmad
Smith (17 points, 5 assists) and Michael Lee (15 points,
9 boards) led the Bonnies.
Tabby Cunningham is still nursing his
foot injury and did not play. Marshall Taylor was
rushed to the hospital to have his appendix removed on
Tuesday night. He will miss
at least two weeks. The Explorers need to remain focused
as a very winnable game is next as Dayton will visit
Gola Arena
on Saturday. With Fordham's loss at Xavier tonight, the
Explorers move into 3rd place in the division.
Officials: David Walker, Jackie Sanders and Brian
O'Connell.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: A
(Superior).
Notes
on officials: They called an excellent and accurate
game.
Box
Score
Three
Explorers Lead La Salle To Victory Over All The Musketeers
2/11/06
by Hoops Tick
Explorers
Take Xavier to the Cleaners in 79-70 Contest for 15th
Win.
La Salle is now 15-7 (7-4 in Atlantic 10) and appears headed
to the post-season. The Explorers kept the crowd of 10,038
mostly quiet and drove Xavier coach Sean Miller to draw
a technical in capturing their
fifth
straight
win. The victory ensures the Explorers of their first winning
season in 13 years.
The first half started with a sizzle
as both teams came out
shooting
very
well.
La Salle took a 26-24 lead on 3 pointer by Jermaine
Thomas (18 points, 8 boards and 6 assists) with 9:02 remaining.
The teams battled to a tie at 36 before
La Salle closed out the half with 4 unanswered points to
lead 40-36 at the break. The Explorers never trailed
the rest of the way.
The second half started with a 3-pointer by Dedrick Finn
of Xavier; Xavier did not get their next field goal until
almost 9 minutes later. Then Steven Smith (23
points, 11 boards, 5 assists and 2 blocks) scored on jumper
to start La Salle on a 18-6 run.
The stretch included great shooting from Darnell
Harris who had 18 points
and 6 boards. After Stanley Burrell hit a 3-pointer, La
Salle still led 58-47 with 10:27 remaining.
Xavier fought back to within two points at 67-65 with 4:15
remaining. Then Smith added a couple of free throws before
Marshall Taylor sealed the win with a layup with 2:07 to
go to put La Salle up 71-66. Thomas and Smith combined
to score the last 7 points for La Salle
from the
line. Smith, Thomas and Harris led the way to get the magic
number to zero.
MAGIC NUMBER = 0
A
scary moment occured in the first half as Brian Thornton,
Xavier's leading scorer and rebounder,
broke
his right ankle while going for a loose ball with 7:35
remaining. It appears Thornton will miss the rest of
the season. Please keep Brian in your prayers.
The
Explorers held Xavier's third leading scorer, Justin
Doellman, to only 2 points in 26 minutes, all from the
foul line as he shot 0 for 6 from
the floor.
La Salle was without Tabby Cunningham for
the second straight game. Two of the bottom dwellers visit
Gola Arena as the Bonnies and Flyers visit Gola Arena next
week.
Officials: Earl Walton, Fran Connolly and Tracy
Woodson .
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: B
(Above Average).
Notes
on officials: Nothing out of the ordinary to
report.
Box
Score
Explorers
Take Everything But Life Out of Minutemen
2/08/06
by Hoops Tick
Explorers
Snap 12 Year Losing Trend With 14th Victory of the
Season.
La Salle (14-7, 6-4) ended UMass' 12 game home winning
streak with a 65-44 pounding of the Minutemen (10-10, 5-5)
and complete the 2 game season sweep. The William
D.
Mullins
Center crowd of nearly 3,900 was mostly silent as La Salle
held UMass to only 22 points in each half. La Salle started
out very
slow
and trailed 13-7. La Salle fought back and took a 16-15
lead on a Paul Johnson (8 points in 21
minutes) slam dunk with 8 minutes remaining in the half.
La Salle was
never
looked
back as they led
the rest of the game. With a little under 5 minutes to
go Steven Smith (10 points in 27 minutes)
was fouled with a hard elbow to the temple and had
to leave
the game
for
the remainder
of the half. The Explorers led at the break 27-22.
At the start of the second half the Blue and Gold pushed
the lead to 44-26 with about 13 minutes remaining. However
Smith was called for a questionable 3rd foul and
then a 4th foul with 14 minutes to go. He was forced to
sit. In the meantime, UMass
came to life as James Life (18 points) went on a 15 point
scoring tear (6 free throws and three 3 pointers) in under
4 minutes
to cut the lead to 46-41 with 7:45 to play. Smith's return
to
the
court
at
7:04
must
have
inspired the Explorers as they went on a 16-0 run to put
the game out of reach at 62-41 after a Jermaine
Thomas (12 points, 6 assists) traditional 3 point play with 2:06
left. UMass was only able to score 3 points in the last
7:45
of the
game
as
the Explorers closed out the game.
Mike
St. John (13 points) and Darnell Harris
(14 points, 9 rebounds) kept
extending the Explorer lead with 3 pointers while Lewis
Fadipe (6 points) kept the UMass
defense honest.
The
Explorers held UMass' leading scorer, Rashaun Freeman,
to just 4 points in 34 minutes, all from the foul line
as he shot 0 for 8 from
the floor.
La Salle was without Tabby Cunningham who
injured his ankle in practice on Tuesday. The good news
is that Marshall
Taylor (2 points in 17 minutes) returned for the
first time since sustaining an injury in the Saint Joe's
contest. The Explorers visit the hostile Xavier home court
on Saturday.
Officials: John Hughes, Bernard Clinton and
John Gwynn.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: C
(Average).
Notes
on officials: Even John Hughes, who receives a
"D", could not take this game away from the Explorers
even with a bogus call on Steven Smith for his third
foul which was magnified when Smith picked up his
fourth less then a minute later and still 14 minutes
remaining in the game. Also, as the head official,
Hughes allowed the team fouls in the second half
to get to 10 for La Salle to just
1 for
UMass with
about 10 minutes to go. The other 2 officials did
an average job and receive a "C".
Box
Score
Half
Way Checkup for Atlantic 10
2/07/06
Explorers Fighting Back To Top Half
of Division
A10 Standings as of February 6
| A10
University |
Conference Record |
Overall Record |
Top
A10 Opponents Remaining |
| George Washington |
8-0 |
18-1 |
at
Fordham 2/25; Charlotte 3/4 |
| Charlotte |
6-3 |
13-8 |
at
Fordham 2/18; at GW 3/4 |
| Saint Louis |
6-3 |
12-9 |
at
Charlotte 2/25; at La Salle 3/4 |
| Fordham |
5-3 |
10-11 |
Charlotte
2/18; GW 2/25 |
| La Salle |
5-4 |
13-7 |
at
GW 2/22; at Fordham 3/1 |
| Massachusetts |
5-4 |
10-9 |
at
GW 2/15; Charlotte 2/22 |
| Rhode Island |
5-4 |
11-9 |
at
Fordham 2/12; at St. Louis 2/22 |
| Temple |
5-4 |
12-8 |
at
Charlotte 2/8; at St. Louis 2/18 |
| Richmond |
4-4 |
11-10 |
at
Charlotte 2/15; GW 2/18 |
| Xavier |
4-4 |
13-6 |
at
Rhode Island 2/25; at UMass 3/4 |
| Saint Joseph's |
4-5 |
10-9 |
GW
2/11; at Xavier 2/28 |
| Dayton |
3-6 |
11-12 |
at
GW 2/8; at St. Louis 3/1 |
| Duquesne |
1-8 |
3-17 |
at
Rhode Island 2/8; at Charlotte 3/1 |
| St. Bonaventure |
0-9 |
6-14 |
Fordham
2/9; GW 3/1 |
The
top 4 teams gain a bye in A10 Tournament. The bottom
2 teams are not eligible to participate in the A10
Tournament. On February 15 there will start to be
separation and by February 18 the division will become
clearer.
Explorers
Use Full House Plus Ace To Send Owls Away With Big
5 Loss
2/04/06
by Hoops Tick
Explorers
Snap 15 Game Big 5 Losing Streak With 62-56 Victory Over
Temple as Smith Leads.
The sellout crowd of 4,000 was loud and helped the Explorers
(13-7, 5-4 in Atlantic 10) at key moments. Temple (12-8,
5-4) came into the game having won 3 in a row including
a victory over
#19
Maryland. The
Owls quickly built a 10-5 lead in this game. La Salle then
scored
on
a Darnell
Harris (19 points, 5 threes)
3 pointer and a Steven Smith (21 points,
5 threes) 3 pointer to make it 11-10 with
about
15:50
remaining
in the half. Mardy Collins (17 points) made
1 of 2 free throws to tie the score at 11. Then Darnell
Harris hit another 3 pointer to put La Salle ahead 14-11.
Temple was able to tie it again at 16 on a Dustin Salisbery
(7 points) jumper. Darnell Harris hit another 3 pointer
to put La Salle ahead for good at 19-16. The half ended
with
the
Explorers ahead 30-27.
In the second half, Jermaine Thomas (9
points, 6 assists) nailed a 3 pointer to give La Salle
some breathing room at 37-33
with 15:10
remaining. Then Darnell Harris hit a 3 pointer to increase
the margin to 40-33. Then Steven Smith took over with a
3 pointer to make it 43-35 and later another 3 pointer
to give the Explorers a 46-39 lead with 11:50 to go. Steven
hit yet another 3 pointer to give his team a 52-44
lead with 7 minutes to go. He later hit 2 clutch free throws
to give the Explorers a comfort zone at 60-56 with 1:18
remaining. Mardy Collins, who was attempting to force contact,
travelled in the lane. Jermaine Thomas then missed the
free throw on a 1 and 1 attempt. Then La Salle finally
caught a break as Wayne Marshall (15 points) was whistled
for an illegal screen with 24.9 to go. Darnell Harris then
hit
2 free
throws to seal the victory at 62-56.
Steven Smith celebrates
Big 5 win with Jermaine Thomas
The
Explorers held Mark Tyndale to just 2 points.
La Salle has a three game winning streak and holds
8th place in the A10. The Explorers face their first A10
road trip of the year with visits to UMass on Wednesday
and Xavier next Saturday.
Officials: Curtis Blair, Dennis Arinello and
Ron Tyburski.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: B
(Above Average).
Notes
on officials: Ron Tyburski gets a "D" grade
for a couple of really bad calls. The other 2 refs
get a "B". Tyburski whistled Tabby Cunningham for a foul
in the second half.
Only problem was that Tyburski was completely screened
from the play as Tabby made a clean steal. No way
a ref can make that call. The second came at the
end of the game and it actually favored La Salle.
Wayne Marshall was called for an illegal screen
with 24.9 to go and La Salle ahead by 4 points.
If the call had not been made Temple would have
trailed by just 1 as the 3 point shot connected.
The call did not determine the outcome of the game
but an assist from a ref is always welcome at Gola
Arena for the home team.
Box
Score
Blue and Gold Show Nerves of Steel in Sweeping Dukes Away
2/01/06
by Hoops Tick
Explorers
Never Trailed in 75-66 Win Over Duquesne Dukes.
The Explorers played as a team and never allowed Duquesne
to closer then 9 points from the mid-point of the second
half on. La Salle (12-7, 4-4 in Atlantic 10) carried a
41-25 lead at the break. The Dukes (3-15, 1-7) got as close
as 13-12 but the Explorers went on a 6-0 run to go up 19-12
on Sherm Diaz jumper (8 points). Lewis
Fadipe had a big first half, scoring all 8 of
his points in the half. Darnell Harris had
12 points on 4 for 9 shooting from the field. Paul
Johnson contributed 9 points
on a couple of outstanding dunks. Tabby Cunningham had
2 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and only 2 turnovers. The
Explorers took both games in the season series against
the Dukes.
Steven Smith had a below average game,
at least by his standards, with 11 points and 8 rebounds
in 34 minutes.
Jermaine
Thomas has re-gained the magic that he had
at the end of last season and led the team with 20
points (7 rebounds) by drilling key baskets. Jermaine
nailed a 3-pointer to put the Explorers up by17 at
52-35. Later on, Thomas stopped a 9-0 Duquesne run
with 2 free throws to push
the lead back to 12 at 56-44 with 9:52 to go in the
game.
Jermaine Thomas
Senior Bryant
McAllister had 20 points to lead Duquesne.
The Explorers have a two game winning streak and moves
them into 8th place in the A10. The Explorers need to continue
the winning momentum and beat Temple on Saturday.
Gola Arena should be full.
Officials: Jeff Clark, Jack Sweeney and William
Bush.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: C
(Average).
Notes
on officials: Jeff Clark and Jack Sweeney get a
"C" grade. William Bush gets an "F". William Bush made
bogus calls for both teams including: Tabby Cunningham
get knocked to the floor right in
front
of him (no foul was called); ball
going off of Lewis Fadipe and Bush giving the ball
to La Salle in first half; ball went off of Dukes
player later in the half and he gave it to Duquesne;
in second
half Bush gave Lewis Fadipe an offensive foul on
an obvious dive by Bryant McAllister; later on, he called
Dukes for a phantom foul.
Box
Score
Explorers Are 40-Minute Men in Defeating UMass
1/29/06
by Hoops Tick
Solid
Team Defense And Plenty of Steven Smith Give La Salle 68-61
Win.
Coach
John Giannini had the team playing intense team defense
for most of the game and forcing 13 UMass turnovers. Steven
Smith came
up huge as he had 24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and
a steal in 36 minutes. La Salle (11-7, 3-4 in Atlantic
10) fell behind 9-3 before going on a 12-0 run to lead
15-9
on a
Steven
Smith hook shot. The Explorers never allowed the UMass
Minutemen (9-8, 4-3) to tie or re-take the lead for the
rest of the
game and went into the half with a 33-26 lead paced by
Smith's
13
first
half points.
#30 Steven Smith
The second half started with a flurry of points for both
teams. After the Minutemen pulled to within 6 at 40-34
on an NBA range 3-pointer by James Life (14 points), La
Salle went on a 10-3 run to lead 50-37. Life then put some
life back into UMass with another 3-pointer to make it
50-40. UMass did put a scare into the crowd when Chris
Lowe (12 points) cut the lead to 3 at 59-56 with 2:18 remaining.
The Explorers, however, were not going to let this one
slip
away as Jermaine Thomas (19 points, 4
steals and 6 rebounds) hit clutch free throws in the last
2 minutes. La
Salle protected the ball with only 9 turnovers for the
game.
#23 Jermaine Thomas
The Explorers ended a five game losing skid and look to
be playing better team ball and with the confidence we
saw earlier in the season.
Attendance was an awesome
3,132.
Officials: David Walker, Gary Prager and John
Larocca.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: B
(Above Average) for all 3.
Notes
on officials: It was good to see a fair and impartial officiating
crew who favored neither team. There were an equal amount
of non-calls against both teams. After the last 2 games,
having the foul calls being accurately called was a huge
relief.
Box
Score
Disrespecting Mr. Smith: Crazy, Corrupt Officials Calls
At End Tarnish Dunphy's 300th Career Victory
1/25/06
by Hoops Tick
The
Explorers Battled But Refs Took Game Away At End... Refs
Determined Outcome in Penn's Favor 73-65.
I
was watching the game in Section 205, row 6 with 4 of my
fellow alums and I asked them before the game if we would
see
a good game.
They
all agreed that
it would be a close game that the Explorers should win.
What they did not anticipate was the Penn Quakers being
greatly assisted by the three people in striped
shirts.
The Quakers (10-5) were getting whistles in their favor
on "anticipation" foul calls against La Salle (10-7). Penn
went to
the line 28 times,
22 in the second half. La Salle went to the line
13 times for the game. Steve Danley of Penn went
to the line an amazing 12 times to only twice for reigning
A10
Player of the Year
and All-American and Naismith candidate Steven Smith (23
points). How does Danley get more respect from the officials
then Smith? Maybe ref Tim O'Brien thought
that Danley was on the All-American and Naismith lists; he
certainly blew his whistle like he thought that was the case.
The Explorers trailed 32-30 at the break. The Explorers actually
led 51-50 with 9:44 to go on a jumper by Darnell
Harris (14
points). The
Explorers kept the game close and just when it appeared
the momentum would go to La Salle you heard a whistle in
Penn's favor. The Explorers were poised to win the game
at the end as Mike St. John completed
a traditional 3 point play with 2:50 remaining to bring
the Explorers to within
3 at 65-62. The score remained that way until 1:15 to go
in the game. Steven Smith was backing down the lane and
Eric Osmundson of Penn with his arms on Smith's back. Instead
of calling Osmundson (17 points) for the obvious foul,
ref Jack Sweeney calls Steven for his
5th foul! Then as Smith was 15 feet of the court, another
ref, Bob
Martin,
compounded the mistake by calling Smith for an unwarranted
technical foul! What is going on? These 2 calls sealed
the victory for the Penn Quakers.
I am sure Fran Dunphy will admit that
this is not the way to celebrate your 300th victory - with
3 officials taking
your side for most of the key moments in the game and ensuring
the Quakers would win.
This game was televised so I strongly advise
La Salle AD Tom Brennan to get this
game video from CN8 to A10 and Ivy League offices and
even to the NCAA office. The
season is turning into a nightmare due to a combination
of poor team defense and bad/inept/corrupt officiating. There
were over 30 whistles for foul calls in the second half
alone in a game that was not that physical.
Officials: Bob Martin, Tim O'Brien and Jack Sweeney.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: F
(Failure) for all 3.
Notes
on officials: See article above. How do we react if we
ever see these 3 non-professional officials again
at a
La
Salle game? The NCAA really needs to crack down on the
conferences and ensure that the officials call what they
see and to not ruin games with crazy, corrupt, or inept
calls. This bad officiating really makes me ill. This poor
officiating will not be tolerated even if it means me going
to Indianapolis with A10 Head of Officiating Jim
Satalin and A10 Commish Linda
Bruno with video evidence.
Box
Score
Deja Vu All Over Again; What's Up, Doc?
1/21/06
by Hoops Tick
The
Explorers Fail to Hold Onto 27-16 Halftime Lead Against
a Weak Hawks Team.
The
first half could not have been played any better from a
defensive standpoint for the Explorers (10-6, 2-4 in A10).
If they had connected on a few more shots they could have
put Saint Joe's (7-8, 2-4) away for good. The first half
could not have ended any better for the Explorer fans as
Phil Martelli was crying to the refs the
entire half and he eventually got some unwarranted calls
in the first half. However, the Explorers appeared confident
and poised going into the half as Mike St. John
(7 points, 9 rebounds) got a buzzer beater layup. The Explorers
had surely learned their lesson from the Temple game, correct?
Wrong!
The shocking, unbelievable second half started with the
Hawks, not the Explorers, coming out with passion and fire.
La Salle led 30-20 on a Paul Johnson (6
points) steal and jam plus the foul. Then Saint Joe's continued
to score against the suddenly soft La Salle defense. Jermaine
Thomas (8 points but missed too many open shots)
still gets zero respect from the officials as he was whistled
for a foul when a Saint Joe player ran into him and then
later when he was fouled without a call which both helped
Saint Joe's get back into the game. Saint Joe's led for
the first time at 36-34 with 12:09 to go in the game. Stachitus
hit an open 3 pointer for Saint Joe's to give them a 43-38
lead with 8:14 to go. Then Jermaine was called for a foul
on a clean strip of the ball which was his 4th foul and
forced him to sit with over 7:30 remaining and La Salle
trailing 44-38 and the Explorers never recovered. Steven
Smith played well inside but his outside shot was
not falling. He ended up with 17 points and 6 boards. La
Salle lost because they did not play well in the second
half. The Explorers ended up being outscored 50 to 27 in
the second half! The Hawks were aided greatly in scoring
50 points in the second half which easy to do when you are
awarded 39 foul shots (most of those in the second half).
Martelli's whining during the first half seemed to have
paid the Hawks a huge second half foul shot advantage.
What
happened to the team chemistry in the second half? Does
Dr. John Giannini and the coaches need
to have inspirational speakers and team- bonding sessions
(paint-ball game anyone?) to get them to play the way they
did early in the season? Can the coaches get the team to
play with confidence and up to their potential? We, the
Explorer faithful, are reaching the breaking point.
Officials: George Harry, Ken Turner and Kevin O'Connell.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: D
(Below Average).
Notes
on officials: Whistle-happy George Harry gets a "F"
and the other two get a "D". George Harry made
some disgusting calls including: a foul called against Steven
Smith in the first half that should have been a "jump
ball"; a very bad call against Jermaine Thomase that
sent Jalloh to the foul line to keep Saint Joe's close with
a little under 4 minutes to go in the first half; second
half call against Tabby Cunningham were Dwayne Lee was so
out-of-control that he injured Tabby on the play! The officials
gave a struggling Saint Joe's team an "unheard of 39
foul shots" according to tv announcer Ed Stefanski.
How does a 6 win and 8 loss team get to the line that often?
How does that happen when the Explorers are a "clean
team" as they do not consistently push or hack the
other team? How did La Salle only get to the line 16 times?
Box
Score
Tardy Zebras Team-Up With Upset Rams to Ensure Explorers
Defeat
1/18/06
by Hoops Tick
Explorers
Fall to Rhode Island Rams 71-68 Due to Anti-La Salle Refs
Frank Scagliotta, Ray Perone and Frankie Bordeauz.
The
game was delayed 55 minutes due to the refs assuming it
was a night game starting at 7pm. After 45 minutes, Rhode
Island's coach was so upset, he threatened to leave Gola
Arena with his team. Ray Perone (see 2
Duquesne losses last season) finally showed up with 14 minutes
to go in the first half. Frank Scagliotta was
another official and has shown his dislike for La Salle
in previous games this season (La Salle is now 0-3
in the 3 games he has officiated at Gola Arena
this year). La Salle (10-5, 2-3 in A10)
fell behind 30-23 with 7:23 remaining in the first half.
Shortly after a made jumper by Jermaine Thomas
(16 points, 4 assists), he was pushed to the floor by Jamaal
Wise and no foul was called by either Scagliotta
nor Perone who both were looking right at Jermaine. Later
in the half, Dawan Robinson grabbed and held Jermaine Thomas
on the shoulder as he was shooting and no foul was called.
Only 1 team foul had been called on Rhode Island (9-6, 3-1)
to this point to 5 for La Salle. The foul totals for the
first half were 7 for La Salle and only 3 for Rhode Island.
The Explorers trailed 34-28 at the half.
In the second half La Salle had a 12-1 run to lead 45-39
with 14:13 to go in the game on a tip-in by Darnell
Harris (14 points, 2 steals). Then with the Explorers
up 47-46 the ball went out of bounds off the hands of Will
Daniels of Rhode Island. Ray Perone is right next to the
play and signals Rhode Island ball! Then with 9:21 left
and La Salle leading 50-46, an out-of-control Dewan
Robinson (18 second half points, 20 total) ran
over Marshall Taylor (11 points) but Frankie
Bordeauz decided to not only call
a blocking foul but to reward Robinson incorrectly with
free throw shots. Neither Perone nor Scagliotta corrected
the error. Then again with 5:41 to go and La Salle ahead
54-53, Robinson was again out-of-control and should have
been whistled for a charge but Scagliotta decided to call
a block and neither Perone or Bordeauz overturned the error.
Rhode Island now led 56-54. With 4:17 remaining Steven
Smith (16 points, 6 rebounds) had has shirt pulled
out on a break away by Terrence Mack (9
points) and should have been whistled for
an intentional foul. Instead Ray Perone
calls a regular foul. La Salle now leads
58-57 on one of two free throws made by Smith. The
Explorers should have been up by at least 6 points had the
correct calls been made. On the very next possesion
Rhode Island's Kahiem Seawright clearly
traveled, no call was made and Robinson scored to put Rhode
Island ahead 59-58. The Explorers continued to battle and
Thomas connected on 2 free throws to put La Salle ahead
60-59. Darnell Harris hit a 3 pointer to
tie the score at 63 with 1:42 remaining. Marshall Taylor
then fouled out and then Thomas made a costly turnover.
But instead of being ahead by 3 or more points at this point
in the game, they trailed by 3 points due to the bad calls.
The tired Explorers ran out of energy and ended up losing
71-68. Rhode Island (only 13 fouls called on them) had 26
free throw attempts compared to only 12 for the Explorers
(21 fouls for the home team).
If anyone thinks I am whining then I would challenge them
to go back and watch a video of the game and show me where
I was wrong.
The Explorers only had 9 turnovers for the game and deserved
a better ending.
Questions:
1. Should the A10 Head of Officiating be immediately
terminated for allowing Scagliotta and Perone to work at
Gola Arena after past incidents?
2. Will A10 Commissioner Linda Bruno hold both
the A10 Head of Officiating and the refs accountable for
a series of incorrect second half calls with 95% favoring
Rhode Island? How are "professional"
officials late for a game?
3. Do I need to become a ref to "understand
and ensure" integrity in officiating?
4. Why is it always the same half dozen or so refs
who are improperly officiating the games?
Officials: Ray Perone, Frank Scagliotta
and Frankie Bordeauz.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: F
(Failure).
Notes on
officials: All 3 get Failing Grade. See article above.
Box
Score
Disappointing Outcome Against Owls
1/14/06
by Hoops Tick
Explorers
Turnovers Led to 25 Temple Points in 68-52 Loss.
La
Salle (10-4, 2-2 in A10) fell behind 8-2 and then went on
an 11-0 run to lead 11-8. Darnell Harris
(17 points in the first half and zero in the second half)
hit 3 straight 3 pointers in the run. The Explorers went
into halftime with a 35-30 lead over the Temple Owls (8-6,
2-2) but should have been up by more as they had 7 turnovers
and most of these were unforced.
19 turnovers against a good defensive team like Temple is
not going to get the Explorers a victory. Needless to say,
the team must work on protecting the ball in practice this
week.
Jermaine Thomas had a very disappointing game
(entered the game averaging 11.2 points per game) only scored
3 points on 1 for 6 shooting from the field in 37 minutes!
Most of his shots were uncontested and he looks like he
did when he had the Graves disease in his sophomore season.
The medical staff needs to make sure Jermaine is taking
his proper medication.
Mike St. John had a good effort with 9
points and 8 rebounds. Steven Smith (15
points and 7 rebounds) did not play one of his better games
mainly due to an ankle injury. Although some of this was
due to his teammates not getting him the ball. The coaching
staff needs to get the Explorers back to winning on Wednesday
against Rhode Island.
Justin Salisbery was given too many open looks and he capitalized
by scoring 23 points. Mardy Collins was held to 17 points.
Officials: Eric Anderson, James Breeding and Larry
Scirotto.
Hoops Tick Grade for Officials: D
(Below Average) .
Notes on
officials: The A-10 needs to clean-up the officiating including
this crew. James Breeding receives a "F", the other
2 get "D" grades. Jermaine Thomas had a clean pick
(all ball) against Mardy Collins with a little over 10 minutes
to go in the half. The bogus call by Breeding gave Jermaine
his second foul and swung the momentum of the game back to Temple.
Then just minutes later, Wayne Marshall was clearly over the
back of Jermaine Thomas but no call was made. With 3:48 remaining
in the half, Wayne Marshall then got away with another non-call
as he hit Steven Smith across the arms and Temple took the ball
with Breeding looking directly at the play. In the second half
another bogus call was made against Steven Smith as Collins
kicked him while attempting a 3 pointer and fell to the ground.
Collins got 3 foul shots. Somehow Temple got the line 21 times
while La Salle only had 7 visits!
Box
Score
Explorers Allow Goldwire and 49ers to Discover Road Win
1/11/06
by Hoops Tick
La
Salle Rushed
