La Salle and St. Bonaventure tip off at Barclays Center on Wednesday. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
March 13, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – If you lined up La Salle and St. Bonaventure’s men’s basketball players shoulder to shoulder and then put each on a scale, it would be laughable to think the Explorers would have any chance to compete with the Bonnies.
But if you peered inside the hearts of every player and measured the determination within their minds, you wouldn’t be surprised with the level of compete from undersized, outmuscled La Salle.
The 10th-seeded Explorers really shouldn’t have been in the game against the taller, stronger, deeper Bonnies, the No. 7 seed. Somehow, some way, through remarkable grit and fortitude that is so emblematic of the city in which they represent, the Explorers went down with a fighting spirit for which every La Salle alum and fan can – and should – be proud.
In the end, toughness and heart came up short on the scoreboard if not in the respect board, and La Salle lost to the Bonnies, 75-73, on Wednesday in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament here at Barclays Center.
The Explorers (16-17) did just about everything they could in the first half and yet the Bonnies held a 22-10 rebounding advantage, including a 12-4 edge in offensive boards. That La Salle was down 42-34 at the break was somewhat of a miracle.
You just thought the Bonnies were too big and too strong for the Explorers. But somehow La Salle not only whittled away at the lead but went in front by as many as three points after halftime.
“We know we’re not the biggest team, we know we’re not the strongest team, but we’re always going to come in and play with a chip on our shoulder,” said Anwar Gill, who scored 10 points.
Toughness is something that their coach, Fran Dunphy, has repeated throughout the season. The veteran coach knew all along that La Salle would be outsized but felt that would have to be overcome with how hard the Explorers played.
And, man, did they ever do that.
“Couldn’t be more proud of them,” Dunphy said.
The Explorers had a chance to tie or win the game late. Jhamir Brickus, who was brilliant with 18 points and five assists, tried a 3-pointer in the final seconds over strong Bonnies defense that fell short. Daeshon Shepherd, whose late-season resurgence helped La Salle win four of its final six regular-season games and a first-round game against GW on Tuesday, grabbed the miss and had a chance to dunk it home but wasn’t able to finish.
“It’s just a sad ending,” Brickus said. “There wasn’t much time, so I had to get something off.”
Besides Brickus, La Salle also got a strong game from Rokas Jocius, who overcame a size and strength matchup inside and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. In the end, the Bonnies only finished with a 34-30 edge on the glass.
“I thought Rok played really well,” Dunphy said. “I thought he battled about as well as he could against their two big guys, who are good players. Very proud of him. He did what he could have done. He worked hard at it.”
Hard work is what the Explorers gave. All game. Every play. Every way they could.
They were as tough as they could be.
The scoreboard didn’t come out on their side.
But their heart and effort, for me, made them winners.
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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.