ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- In the end, it came down to a couple of free throws and a throwaway.

La Salle, hovering around 50 percent from the line all game, hit its final three free throws after a tie with a minute left to win 82-79. Aaron Jackson got a decent look at the buzzer but was long. The Dukes had the ball down a point with 15 seconds left but threw it away.

Although his final shot was just off, Aaron Jackson did everything else he could to try to get Duquesne into the next round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. He scored 21 of his 29 points in the second half, including a three that broke a 76-all tie with 1:47 left.

Duquesne missed a bucket that might have put it away after a charge by La Salle's Rodney Green. The Explorers' Darnell Harris then hit a three from about 27 feet away to knot it at 79 in the final minute.

Postgame stats and other goodies after the jump.

Continue reading "La Salle Rallies, Edges Duquesne" »

Posted by Daniel McQuade at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Duquesne took control out of the second media timeout and went up by as many as seven, but La Salle has clawed back into it to trail by two, 72-70.

Duquesne began pressing out of the second media timeout and immediately went on a 13-5 spurt -- punctuated by a Reggie Jackson steal and layup -- to go up 67-70. La Salle's Darnell Harris answered, hitting a long two and a three on consecutive possessions.

Jackson, a 5-10 senior guard, has exploded in the second half, scoring 15 points in the first 12 minutes as Duquesne gained control of the game. Aaron Jackson (a 6-2 guard, and no relation) is 5-for-5 for 10 points.

Posted by Daniel McQuade at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Whew! The players all caught their breath during halftime and we're at a breakneck pace again. La Salle leads, 55-54, at the second media timeout.

Duquesne caught a nice break when La Salle's Yves Mekongo Mbala and Paul Johnson each picked up his third foul in the first minute of the second half. The Dukes took advantage, picking up the tempo and outscoring La Salle 12-4 to open the half. The five-point edge was the biggest for either team so far.

La Salle came right back, taking the lead on an and-one layup by Kimmani Barrett. Sherman Diaz converted the missed free throw to give the Explorers a three-point edge, but Duquesne's Bill Clark's tied it on a three-point play. A minute later, Mbala and Reggie Jackson traded threes.

Posted by Daniel McQuade at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Explorers went on a 7-0 run late in the first half to pull ahead of Duquesne. They lead, 39-36, at the break. La Salle's Yves Mekongo Mbala leads all scorers with 9 points, three Duquesne players have 8 points.

The Dukes are in this game despite a total of 3 points from leading scorers Shawn James and Kojo Mensah. Neither had a field goal until James hit a three with just under eight minutes to go in the first half; Mensah is 0-for-5 from the field. James, who had more blocks than seven Atlantic 10 teams this year, does have three blocks.

The teams are pretty evenly matched stat-wise and ended up with solid shooting performances (Duquesne went 15-of-35 and La Salle went 15-of-34). The Explorers did miss half of their 6 free throws; Duquesne only attempted 3 free throws and went 5-for-12 from three-point range. Gary Tucker launched a three from half court that was just a little long at the halftime buzzer.

Posted by Daniel McQuade at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The Dukes and Explorers have calmed down a bit here at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, a simply lovely building that's actually at the corner of a street named after Don King. The Explorers have also missed approximately 3400 layups as the Dukes have grabbed a 31-29 lead with just over six minutes left in the first half.

While the Explorers have trouble on the offensive end, Duquesne has a bucketful of offensive rebounds, which they, too, have turned into a bunch of missed layups. On the plus side for the Dukes, when they've ventured outside they've been deadly; nearly everybody from Duquesne has a three, even 6-10 Kieron Achara. (He's one of three Scottish players in Division I!)

Continue reading "A10: Slowing Down, But Just A Little" »

Posted by Daniel McQuade at 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- At the first media timeout, it's La Salle by a point, 15-14. The Explorers are roughly on pace for a 75-point half.

Duquesne averaged 75.4 possessions per 40 minutes this season (6th nationally) and so far this game is moving so fast you'd think Grinnell was on the court. La Salle was no turtle either, averaging 70.4 possessions (63rd nationally).

For La Salle, Paul Johnson has a pair of easy dunks already, as the Dukes haven't been able to control anything inside. Aaron Jackson has 6 and Gary Tucker has 5. Former Yankees and A's slugger Reggie Jackson (bet he hasn't heard that one before!) has a three already for the Dukes, who are doing most of their damage outside.

Posted by Daniel McQuade at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The nightcap of the first day of the Atlantic 10 Tournament kicks off at 6:30 tonight with La Salle (14-16, 8-8 Atlantic 10) taking on Dusquene (17-12, 7-9). Both teams are playing out the string on the season, with Duquesne finishing up its best season since 1994 and La Salle coming off a three-game losing streak to end the regular season.

Duquesne has a balanced attack with seven players between 8 and 13 points. First-year transfers Shawn James (12.8 points, 6.9 rebounds) and Kojo Mensah (12.5, 3.4) are the Dukes' leading scorers; they both come off the bench.

La Salle guard Darnell Harris made this year's Atlantic 10 second team after averaging 16.4 points on 45 percent shooting. The Explorers went on a five-game winning streak in February before dropping all three games they played in March.

Posted by Daniel McQuade at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)