Jan. 23, 2010
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PHILADELPHIA - Charlotte's An'Juan Wilderness hit an off-balance contested jumper with no-time remaining to beat La Salle, 84-82, on Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena. Senior Rodney Green scored a career-high 32 points while Yves Mekongo added 20 for La Salle.
"I loved our heart," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "Our kids played as hard as they possibly could and that is pleasing. They played hard enough to win."
La Salle took its first lead, 77-76, since the opening minutes on Mekongo's slam with five minutes left in the contest but Charlotte (14-5, 4-1 A-10) scored the next six points to open up an 82-77 advantage with 2:03 on the clock.
But Green made two foul shots and Mekongo connected on a three with 59 seconds left to tie the game and put the home crowd on its feet. After a missed Charlotte three-pointer with 25 seconds left, Giannini called timeout and set up a pick-and-roll play with Green and freshman Aaric Murray.
The play worked to perfection, but the pass was slightly deflected and went off Murray's fingertips and out of bounds with 4.5 seconds left. Wilderness then dribbled the length of the court and despite being closely guarded by Green and falling off-balance, connected on an improbable shot as the buzzer sounded.
Playing without two seniors (Kimmani Barrett and Ruben Guillandeaux) that have combined for over 1,800 points, the Blue and Gold fought valiantly with a rotation of just seven players. The hosts trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half but slowly chipped away on the backs of Green and Mekongo.
Green, who passed Tim Legler and Jack Hurd to move into 13th place on the all-time scoring list with 1715 points, scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half. Mekongo had 11 of his 20 in the second stanza and now needs 37 points to become the 48th Explorer, and third in the senior class, to reach the 1,000 point milestone.
Murray battled foul trouble all game and had 10 points in 16 minutes of action. He did block two shots and needs three to set the program record for blocks by a freshman, currently held by Travar Johnson (52, 1996-97).
Junior Jerrell Williams filled the boxscore with eight points, a career-high nine assists, and seven rebounds. Freshman Devon White came off the bench to score eight points in 24 minutes.
Four players accounted for 76 of the 84 Charlotte points, led by Shamari Spears' 22. Chris Braswell added 21 and 13 rebounds, while Derrio Green had 20 and seven assists. Wilderness chipped in with 13.
The final second shot ruined a festive atmosphere at Tom Gola Arena as La Salle honored five inductees into the Hall of Athletes (Speedy Morris, Sheila Klick, Todd Witzleben, Kerri McGahey and Jennifer Zenszer Ngo).
In addition, the Explorers celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1989-90 men's basketball team, led by National Player of the Year Lionel Simmons, that went 30-2 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
La Salle (10-9, 2-3 A-10) is back in action on Wednesday when it visits Fordham at 7 PM.
NOTES: Giannini coached in his bare feet to raise awareness for Samaritan's Feet and Haiti earthquake relief. It was announced before the game that Barrett with have surgery next week to repair a fractured bone in his right foot. He will be out six to eight weeks.
