Monday, December 01, 2003
Leopards Beat La Salle
If LC hits their threes, they're dangerous. The La Salle victory isn't as big a deal as some would like, but it's still a nice notch against an A-10 team (albeit an 0-4 A-10 team without their best player that already lost to three other mid/low-major teams).
Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
November 30, 2003 Sunday SECOND EDITION
SPORTS, Pg. C5
Poised, accurate Lafayette too much for La Salle ;
Hot hands and a big rebounding edge help craft an 82-63 blowout.
By Andre D. Williams Of The Morning Call
The major changes at Lafayette College this season are in defensive toughness, rebounding and depth.
But the one component in the Leopards' game that has not changed is perimeter shooting.
The Leopards are still hot as the desert from the outside, especially seniors Justin DeBerry, Winston Davis and Mike Farrell whose jumpers kept La Salle buried in a double-digit deficit in a non-league matchup Saturday at Kirby Sports Center in Easton.
The three sharpshooters converted a combined 18 of 27 field goals in an 83-63 victory
Overall, the Leopards shot a season-high 61.4 percent -- 27-for-44 -- from the field. They were 11-for-20 on 3-pointers and 18-for-23 from the free-throw line, both areas in which they ranked in the top three in the Patriot League last season.
"All these guys have a lot of experience," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon. "They have been in big games before. They are playing with poise. They are playing with confidence. They know how to win, but every game has been different.
"The know our style of play, our system, and they take advantage of it. They know each other very well from playing together so long. The chemistry is there."
Lafayette (2-1) lost to Rutgers of the Big East, 71-65, in its season-opener on the road, then escaped with a 74-71 victory over St. Peter's in their home opener Monday night.
The win over La Salle was the Leopards' best overall effort because it was manufactured with more than the acute shooting of Davis (19 points, nine rebounds), DeBerry (15 points, seven assists) and Farrell (13 points, six rebounds).
The blowout was also the product of a hustling, pesky defense and tenacious crashing of the boards, which the Leopards controlled by a 36-23 margin. That's an encouraging sign for a Leopards team that was outboarded by a 4.2 margin last season, which was second-to-last in the Patriot League.
"We've talked about being able to defend better," O'Hanlon said. "We have early in the season, and I think that we are rebounding the ball better. A lot of it is that we have more options, and they can stay a little fresher." Even though the Leopards turned the ball over 16 times to La Salle's 10, it didn't seem like it. That's because there was never any doubt who the better team was, as Lafayette, led by Davis, DeBerry and Farrell, helped turn the Explorers' first visit to Easton since 1981 into a nightmarish experience.
Farrell set the tone by going 5-for-5 from the field in the first half and 6-for-7 overall. DeBerry was 6-for-10 from the field, Davis 6-for-10.
La Salle, playing without injured guard Gary Neal (18.6 ppg), was a horrific 24-for-62 from the field, which included numerous missed layups and dunks. Against a scorching Leopards team, that type of shooting display seemed to spell sure defeat the moment Lafayette's lead stretched to 61-39 on a Davis 3-pointer with 10:51 remaining.
"When you have a young basketball team, that compounds things," said La Salle coach Billy Hahn, the former University of Maryland assistant in his second season at La Salle. "Young teams sort of rely on how their offense goes. When the shot didn't drop for them, then they don't understand that you have to go down and rebound, play defense.
"I look at Lafayette's team, and you can just see the poise and the confidence of a veteran team, compared to a team like ours. They are very well coached. They are precision-like in their offense.
@ 11:47 AM
If LC hits their threes, they're dangerous. The La Salle victory isn't as big a deal as some would like, but it's still a nice notch against an A-10 team (albeit an 0-4 A-10 team without their best player that already lost to three other mid/low-major teams).
Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
November 30, 2003 Sunday SECOND EDITION
SPORTS, Pg. C5
Poised, accurate Lafayette too much for La Salle ;
Hot hands and a big rebounding edge help craft an 82-63 blowout.
By Andre D. Williams Of The Morning Call
The major changes at Lafayette College this season are in defensive toughness, rebounding and depth.
But the one component in the Leopards' game that has not changed is perimeter shooting.
The Leopards are still hot as the desert from the outside, especially seniors Justin DeBerry, Winston Davis and Mike Farrell whose jumpers kept La Salle buried in a double-digit deficit in a non-league matchup Saturday at Kirby Sports Center in Easton.
The three sharpshooters converted a combined 18 of 27 field goals in an 83-63 victory
Overall, the Leopards shot a season-high 61.4 percent -- 27-for-44 -- from the field. They were 11-for-20 on 3-pointers and 18-for-23 from the free-throw line, both areas in which they ranked in the top three in the Patriot League last season.
"All these guys have a lot of experience," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon. "They have been in big games before. They are playing with poise. They are playing with confidence. They know how to win, but every game has been different.
"The know our style of play, our system, and they take advantage of it. They know each other very well from playing together so long. The chemistry is there."
Lafayette (2-1) lost to Rutgers of the Big East, 71-65, in its season-opener on the road, then escaped with a 74-71 victory over St. Peter's in their home opener Monday night.
The win over La Salle was the Leopards' best overall effort because it was manufactured with more than the acute shooting of Davis (19 points, nine rebounds), DeBerry (15 points, seven assists) and Farrell (13 points, six rebounds).
The blowout was also the product of a hustling, pesky defense and tenacious crashing of the boards, which the Leopards controlled by a 36-23 margin. That's an encouraging sign for a Leopards team that was outboarded by a 4.2 margin last season, which was second-to-last in the Patriot League.
"We've talked about being able to defend better," O'Hanlon said. "We have early in the season, and I think that we are rebounding the ball better. A lot of it is that we have more options, and they can stay a little fresher." Even though the Leopards turned the ball over 16 times to La Salle's 10, it didn't seem like it. That's because there was never any doubt who the better team was, as Lafayette, led by Davis, DeBerry and Farrell, helped turn the Explorers' first visit to Easton since 1981 into a nightmarish experience.
Farrell set the tone by going 5-for-5 from the field in the first half and 6-for-7 overall. DeBerry was 6-for-10 from the field, Davis 6-for-10.
La Salle, playing without injured guard Gary Neal (18.6 ppg), was a horrific 24-for-62 from the field, which included numerous missed layups and dunks. Against a scorching Leopards team, that type of shooting display seemed to spell sure defeat the moment Lafayette's lead stretched to 61-39 on a Davis 3-pointer with 10:51 remaining.
"When you have a young basketball team, that compounds things," said La Salle coach Billy Hahn, the former University of Maryland assistant in his second season at La Salle. "Young teams sort of rely on how their offense goes. When the shot didn't drop for them, then they don't understand that you have to go down and rebound, play defense.
"I look at Lafayette's team, and you can just see the poise and the confidence of a veteran team, compared to a team like ours. They are very well coached. They are precision-like in their offense.
@ 11:47 AM
