Jan. 9, 2008
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The La Salle Explorers (4-9, 0-1 A-10) dropped their fifth straight game in a 75-74 loss to the Richmond Spiders (8-6, 1-0 A-10) at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday afternoon. Richmond's Dan Geriot had a game-high 31 points and three rebounds for the Spiders, while La Salle's Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA) led all Explorers with 23.
The Explorers fell behind in the first half as Richmond went on a 7-1 run to start off the contest. Senior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD) nailed a three-pointer to close the gap and a lay-up by freshman Jerrell Williams (Paterson, NJ) got the blue and gold within one (8-9) at 12:31. The Spiders stayed ahead but another clutch three at 9:06 by freshman Kyle Griffin (Allentown, PA) again put the Explorers within 1. The Spiders would not relinquish the lead as they went on a 10-3 dash to close out the first stanza leading 29-17.
The Spiders held their biggest lead of the game 31-17 at 19:55 in the second half, Harris caught fire from deep and made all four three-point attempts in a six minute minute stretch to give the Explorers their first lead at 49-46 with 6:07 to play. Richmond's consistent free-throw shooting (7-7) in the final minutes of regulation kept the Spiders astride while Geriot hit two with 21 seconds remaining to tie the game at 57-57 and force the first overtime.
The Explorers fell behind by as many as five in the first OT, but Green sunk two free-throws to tie it 62-62 and a missed jumper by Richmond would force the second overtime.
La Salle's Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ) hit a jumper to get the Explorers on the board in the second OT and even the score at 64. Mekongo Mbala would finish the night with 11 points and six rebounds. A Richmond three by Ryan Butler would put the Spiders ahead, but Griffin answered with a triple to even the score 68-68 with 53 seconds left in the second overtime. The Explorers held defensively and gave Harris a chance to win it but his shot went wide to force overtime number three.
Butler opened the third and final overtime with another three to put Richmond up 71-68, but a jumper by Green gave the Explorers back the lead 72-71 with under three minutes to go. Three made free-throws by Green would keep the Explorer's hopes alive with the clock ticking down.
With a one-point lead and 25 seconds left Griffin had the ball knocked free and in the ensuing scrum Richmond's Gaston Moliva found himself alone for what turned out to be the game-winning dunk to make the score 75-74. After a series of inbounds plays Griffin's three-point attempt missed as time expired.
Free-throw shooting proved critical as the Explorers missed 13 shots from the line to finish 23-36.
Although the Explorers turned the ball over 20 times - 11 of those in the first half - they played the final one minute and 50 seconds of regulation and the duration of the first two overtimes turnover-free before Harris and Griffin lost possessions in the final 3:58 of the third overtime.
The Explorers will hit the road for their next match-up on Saturday, January 12th at Saint Bonaventure for a 7:00 PM tip-off.
