La Salle players huddle during last season's 71-66 loss to Howard. The Explorers will have a new look and new gym this season. (Photo archive: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
December 30, 2023
Big5Hoops.com
PHILADELPHIA – There is the big picture and the small picture for La Salle after Saturday’s 71-66 loss to Howard at Gola Arena.
First, let’s zoom in to the defeat.
A pair of more than four-minute stretches without a basket after halftime ultimately doomed the Explorers. They fell behind by nine, battled back. Fell behind by nine again, battled back again.
The long scoring droughts were just too much to overcome.
“I thought we got the ball to the middle, but not quickly enough,” La Salle coach Fran Dunphy said. “When we did have open looks, we didn’t knock it out as well as we have been. It comes down to a play or two. They made them and we did not.”
La Salle’s talented and experienced backcourt of Khalil Brantley, Anwar Gill and Jhamir Brickus combined for 65 percent of the Explorers’ points. Brantley scored 17, Gill had 15 and Brickus 14. Daeshon Shepherd contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds.
The Explorers had a chance to go in front with 5:16 to play, but Andres Marrero’s 3-point try rattled out. Howard took control from there, scoring seven in a row before Gill’s dunk snapped a 4:31 drought and pulled La Salle within 68-61 with 2:30 left.
Ultimately, La Salle couldn’t make enough plays or get enough stops down the stretch.
“In many ways, Howard deserved it more than we did,” Dunphy said. “Sometimes you get what happens to you. They deserve it. We weren’t as ready as we needed to be, and that’s on me.”
With big man Rokas Jocius saddled with foul trouble, picking up his fourth foul with 16:55 left, La Salle couldn’t stop the Bison big men in the second half.
“We just didn’t make enough good decisions defensively for sure, especially in the second half,” Dunphy said.
Marcus Dockery scored a game-high 21 points for Howard (5-9). Bryce Harris had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Seth Towns chipped in 18 points and 12 boards. Howard is better than its record. The Bison won the MEAC last season to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament and were picked to finish first in the league this season.
Sure, it’s a disappointing defeat for the Explorers and their fans.
But let’s zoom out to the season.
The Explorers finished their nonconference schedule 9-4 and look as promising as any La Salle team since 2012-13 when Tyreek Duren, Ty Garland and Ramon Galloway led them to the NCAA Sweet 16.
That was La Salle’s only trip to the Big Dance in the last 31 seasons. It’s unlikely that the Explorers, who were picked to finish last in the 15-team Atlantic 10, will get the league’s automatic bid this season. But the Explorers are in good shape to make some type of postseason tournament, and that will be a big success at the moment for the program.
They are 7-1 at home, which is going to get a major upgrade when a new arena breaks ground in March.
There are positive signs all around the La Salle program.
Much of what has gone well this season was on display against the Bison. Brantley, Brickus and Gill are dynamic guards who all can score. Gill plays above the rim. Brantley is a blur of quickness. Brickus is as smooth as they come. The trio will be a problem for the A-10 this season.
Shepherd is a tenacious force inside, hungry for rebounds like his lunch money depends on it. Love the way he plays.
Those four give La Salle a legitimate chance to be competitive every night.
They fight to the finish, as we saw in the amazing buzzer-beating overtime victory over Penn in the Big 5 Classic third-place game earlier this season. The Explorers did that against Howard on Saturday, somehow getting within four points and had a possession with 40 seconds to play to get even closer.
They couldn’t. It left Dunphy disappointed.
Asked about the big picture, he said, “I’d feel a whole lot better if we found a way to win this game today.”
Understandable, for sure. What coach ever would be happy after a loss?
Still, though, the Explorers have much to celebrate after nearly two months of competition.
The program has shown signs of life.
They have a backcourt that can compete with anyone.
They have a big man who won’t back down from anyone.
They likely aren’t going to be the best team in the A-10, but they will be a handful for most opponents every night.
An NCAA trip is highly unlikely, but a postseason game is definitely possible.
The small picture, after Saturday’s defeat, was disappointing for Dunphy and the Explorers.
But the big picture, even after Saturday’s loss, still is encouraging.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.