La Salle defeated Rhode Island, 70-64, at Glaser Arena on Saturday. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
January 25, 2025
PHILADELPHIA – Early in the second half after La Salle’s Jahlil White passed the ball to Rhode Island for an easy Rams layup, Fran Dunphy thrust his head into both hands.
It was that kind of day for much of Saturday’s Atlantic 10 contest. Mostly, the Explorers were playing well, but there were fits and starts, a spectacular play here, a solid play there, and a few that left Dunphy exasperated.
And then the final four minutes happened, if not erasing all of the coach’s exasperation certainly pushing it well to the side.
It started with a sensational offensive rebound by White, a play born more out of hustle than skill, though a significant amount of both were needed. Add to it smarts, as White, prone on the floor, quickly called for a timeout before a Rhode Island player could tie him up for a jump ball.
“Phenomenal,” Dunphy said. “He made a Herculean effort to get that rebound.”
La Salle came out of the timeout and beautifully executed an offensive possession that ended with a Corey McKeithan finish on a bank shot after a drive, giving La Salle a four-point cushion in a game that was tight throughout. The Explorers kept making winning plays at winning time, a Daeshon Shepherd block, a pair of free throws by rookie Deuce Jones, a forced Rhode Island turnover, and then 8 of 8 from the line in the final 26.2 seconds, six of which came from McKeithan.
It all added up to a very good 70-64 win for La Salle over the Rams, improving the Explorers to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in the Atlantic 10. La Salle is just 1 1/2 games out of fourth place in the league, which would give them a double-bye in the A-10 tournament.
“I thought we did a good job of getting the ball to the right guys in the right spots at the end of the game,” Dunphy said.
Playing without Demetrius Lilley (lower body), La Salle got contributions from up and down its lineup. McKeithan scored 20; Jones had 13 points and eight rebounds; Shepherd added 11 points and 10 boards; Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi contributed 10 points; and White had eight points, six rebounds, and three blocks.
As a team, Dunphy liked how the Explorers guarded. Rhode Island shot 25 percent (7 of 28) from long range.
“We defended better probably than we have all year,” Dunphy said.
–Drexel 67, Delaware 54: At the DAC, Kobe MaGee had 22 points and Cole Hargrove added 10 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Yame Butler was forced to sit and watch for the opening 20 minutes after being suspended for the first half after receiving a Flagrant 2 foul in Thursday’s 70-61 loss at Northeastern. The Dragons held Delaware to its fewest points this season. Drexel improved to 12-9 overall and 4-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association
–Penn 93, Columbia 78: At the Palestra, Sam Brown exploded for a career-high 30 points, hitting 8 of 10 three-pointers, and Penn set a program record for most made three-pointers against a Division I opponent, hitting 18 of 35 (51.4 percent) from long range. Ethan Roberts added his fourth double-double of the season, with 15 points and 10 rebounds, for the Quakers (6-11 overall, 2-2 Ivy).
–UTSA 88, Temple 79: At UTSA, Temple finished 0 for 2 on its Texas road trip, falling 88-79 at UTSA on Saturday. Jamal Mashburn Jr. led four Owls in double-figures with 20 points. Steve Settle III added 18 points, and Zion Stanford contributed 17 for Temple (12-8, 4-3 American).
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.