Nov. 28, 2009
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VILLANOVA, PA - Jerrell Williams and Aaric Murray put together career days and kept La Salle in striking range, but Villanova's stifling defense wore the Explorers down in an 81-63 Big 5 loss at the Pavilion on Saturday. The Explorers fell to 3-2 (0-1 Big 5), while the fourth-ranked Wildcats moved to 6-0 (2-0 Big 5) in winning their eighth straight over the Blue and Gold.
Villanova has now won 30 straight games at the Pavilion, and 20 out of its last 21 Big 5 games.
Williams scored 15 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, 12 of which were on the offensive glass, while Murray poured in 15 points and pulled down 14 boards in his first career Big 5 game. Kimmani Barrett led all scorers with 17 points.
Scottie Reynolds and Antonio Pena each scored 14 to lead the Wildcats.
The Explorers won the tip but the Wildcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Barrett opened the Explorer scoring and the teams traded baskets until Villanova was able to put together a few baskets to make it a seven-point game at 19-12 with 12:26 to go in the first half.
Murray made it a five-point game with a short jumper at 11:44 and both teams went cold. The Explorers and Wildcats combined for eight turnovers within a three-minute span before Reynolds broke the drought at 8:51 with a trey. Villanova pushed the lead to 31-17 on a 12-3 run but the Explorers responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap to six at 31-25 with two minutes left.
The Wildcats took a 38-30 lead into the half, and opened it up to 14 to kickstart the second half. The Explorers went on another 8-0 run capped off by a Williams tip-in of a Murray jumper at 16:04 to put the score at 45-39.
That was the closest the Explorers got down the stretch as the Villanova defense stifled any more comeback attempts. The Wildcats held a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the contest.
The Explorers continued to rebound well against Villanova, outrebounding the home squad 51-34. Williams and Murray nearly totaled the Wildcat rebounding total between themselves as they combined for 30.
"I thought our effort today was tremendous," Head Coach Dr. John Giannini said. "You can't rebound the way we did without putting forth effort."
However, the Explorers were forced into 27 turnovers, while the Wildcats committed 14 with 10 in the first half.
"Our turnovers were bad, but you have to give their defense a lot of credit," Giannini said.
The Villanova defense took away the perimeter game with the Explorers going only 1-for-10 from three-point range, and also limited Rodney Green to just seven points. That breaks a 30-game double-digit scoring streak for Green dating back to November 24, 2008 (vs. Valparaiso in the Paradise Jam).
The Explorers had their chance to keep the game closer with 37 free throw attempts, but converted only 20 for a 54.1 percent clip.
"The free throw shooting thing has become absurd. Our players are better than that," Giannini said. "If we had a few less defensive breakdowns and made a few more free throws, it [would have been] a close game."
The Explorers return home to Tom Gola Arena on Thursday night (12/3) when they host Lafayette at 7:00 PM.
