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Date Posted: 08:55:27 12/09/04 Thu
Author: J.J.
Subject: Great game!

Just what the Devils needed to get back on track. Sounded like a great all around-effort. Gives hope for a competative game vs. UConn and a more focused effort for the entire NEC schedule. The local write-ups were good, but here's a great one from the Philly Daily News:

Smith, Explorers can't find way to basket
By BOB COONEY
cooneyb@phillynews.com

Many expected wins to be few and far between for La Salle this season. Last night's 60-48 loss to Central Connecticut State at the Tom Gola Arena emphatically drove home that expectation.

La Salle junior forward Steve Smith was held to only four points, his lowest point total since scoring three in his third collegiate game, and the Explorers were physically manhandled by the smaller Blue Devils in falling to 1-4 on the season.

"We're obviously very embarrassed by what happened," first-year coach John Giannini said. "We were not ready to play. Overall, our effort was tremendously poor, as evident from the rebounding stats [33-22 CCSU]. I'm at a loss. I'm not sure we had the tremendous respect they deserve. They've played a tough schedule. It's a sign of an immature team when they get excited to play certain opponents and not excited to play others. And we have struggled too much to play that way."

Sometimes, the numbers simply don't lie. La Salle buried four of its first six shots against the Blue Devils (2-4), including three-pointers by Darnell Harris, Jermaine Thomas and Tabby Cunningham, and trailed by only 13-11 with 15:26 remaining in the first half. However, the Explorers then turned frigid, as they hit only two of their next 14 in falling behind by as many as 19 points. At the break, the score was 41-25.

Conversely, CCSU's precision passing continuously turned open outside shots into layups, and its creativity off the dribble led to even more openings. For the half, the Devils hit 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) from the floor, outrebounded La Salle, 15-8, and forced 10 turnovers - most coming because of forced entry passes into Smith.

"That was the worst game I ever played," said Smith, who has scored in double figures in 45 of 51 career games. "I just put the blame on me, I guess. I was trying to play within the system, but it just didn't work very well. When I did get the ball, I tried to get it to my open teammates, but it just didn't work very well. I don't know. It's my fault."

Said Thomas, who led the team with 14 points: "We want to play through Steve; he's obviously our go-to guy. When things aren't working through him, it seems like guys start standing around and we don't get any movement."

Pinning most of the damage on La Salle was 6-4 sophomore forward Obie Nwadike, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds against the much taller front line. Nwadike, a powerfully built sophomore out of St. Anthony's in Jersey City, N.J., had his way inside all night. In fact, much of the Blue Devils' offensive success came in the paint, as they outquicked the Explorers when Giannini tried to go with a big lineup, and outmuscled them when he went small.

DeMario Anderson scored 14 for the Blue Devils, many coming after nice ball fakes, and Rich Pittman added 10. For most of the night, CCSU floored a team that had no player taller than 6-4.

And when the main offensive threat on a team that has few doesn't produce, it bodes for a whole lot of trouble.

"Central Connecticut did a tremendous job on Steve," Giannini said. "I think we had some players that looked disinterested in scoring and passing. While concentrating on Steve, they left people open. We just didn't take advantage of that."

Any hopes for the Explorers to mount a second-half comeback against CCSU, which blew a 17-point, second-half lead to St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, quickly disappeared when La Salle shot 3-for-12 in the first 9 ½ minutes of the period and fell behind, 52-33.

"When you have guys who are bigger and stronger with very low rebounding numbers, that's not the system," Giannini said. "When a team shoots 70 percent on you in one half, that's not the system. This is a team that was not ready to play, that did not respond to this challenge in a mature way.

"Maybe I could go back to the drawing board again, but I can't go back to the drawing board for a team that gives up 70 percent in a half. That's why I'm saying our effort was embarrassing."

Last night, the numbers didn't lie. And neither did the head coach. It was that bad.

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Replies:

[> Re: Great game! -- E-Z Mac, 10:12:29 12/09/04 Thu

It was a great way to get on track. I'm not that worries. They have been playing well for one half in each game. They just have to do what they did against LaSalle and keep it up in the second half. Uconn is going to be a brutal game. We don't have enough size.


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[> Re: Great game! -- inside, 11:31:07 12/09/04 Thu

did anyone listen online?


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