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PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball sprinted to a 21-7 lead right out of the gate and cruised to an 80-54 victory over Wagner on Thursday evening at Tom Gola Arena. The frontcourt tandem of junior
Jerrell Wright (17 points, 7 rebounds) and junior
Steve Zack (12 points, 17 rebounds, four blocks) paced the Explorers, who outrebounded the visitors 50-29.
"I really believe there are certain games that make your team better," head coach
Dr. John Giannini said post-game. "Everyone knows Villanova is a ferocious offensive rebounding team. So, it was a point of emphasis all last week and we didn't deemphasize it going into Wagner.
"The big guys that we've recruited and coach get the message very clearly that we want them to be true big guys. It's one of the things that helps our role definition and our guys embrace being big guys and they embrace being tough."
La Salle (6-5) pulled down five offensive rebounds on the first possession of the game, culminating in a pair of made free throws from Wright to set the tempo for the evening. The Explorers utilized an 11-0 burst later in the period to open a comfortable 21-7 lead. The Seahawks did not close the gap to less than 12 (27-15, 6:41) the remainder of the contest.
Zack turned in a herculean effort in the first half, hauling in 13 rebounds accompanied by six points and three blocks. His previous career high was 14 rebounds, which he jetted past early in the second half.
"I played really poorly against Villanova and the coaches really challenged me to go out and rebound the basketball [tonight]," Zack said, who had two points and five rebounds against the Wildcats.
Wright and Zack were joined in double figures by senior
Tyreek Duren (11 points, 6 assists) and senior
Sam Mills (13 points). Mills went 3-5 from long range to burst out of a season-long shooting slump.
For the game, the Blue and Gold went 9-21 (43%) from behind the arc, its best mark of the season. Duren credited improved ball movement.
"It [ball movement] was a lot better," Duren said. "Coach G talked about that all week after the Nova game. We weren't really passing the ball as well as we have in the past. I think in practice everybody acknowledged that and tried to change that up."
"Shooting is shockingly contagious," Giannini said. "It's unbelievable how contagious it is."
The Explorers maintained a comfortable lead the entire second half, aided by a 15-29 mark (52%) from the field. They knocked home 43 percent (29-68) for the game and 13-20 (65%) from the free throw line.
Wagner (5-7) shot 39 percent (22-57) from the field, 40 percent (4-10) from behind the arc, and 75 percent (6-8) from the charity stripe. The Seahawks were paced by a game-high 18 points from Kenneth Ortiz.
In all, ten Explorers entered the scoring column, including freshman walk-on
Hank Davis, who placed a cherry on top of the victory with a put-back layup in the closing seconds.
"I'm really thrilled we had so many people contribute," Giannini said. "The big thing is - our mentality was great. Our unselfishness was great.
"When you like what everyone on your team did, it's a great night."
Giannini and his team will look for a repeat performance on Sunday at Miami at 3:00 PM. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.com.
NOTES: Zack's career-high 17 rebounds were the most by an Explorer since Rasual Butler had 20 vs. Morris Brown University on 11/18/01...Zack's double-double was his fifth in the past six games. He leads the A-10 in double-doubles....La Salle's three turnovers are the second lowest committed by a team in D-1 this season. St. Francis PA committed one vs. Duquesne on 12/17/13...La Salle tied a season-best nine three-pointers...La Salle is 11-2 coming off a loss since the beginning of the 2012-13 season...La Salle is 14-3 in December since the beginning of the 2011-12 season...La Salle has won its past 16 games when making at least nine three-pointers...La Salle is now 16-2 when dishing at least 15 assists since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.
