La Salle sputters in second half and falls to Rhode Island 78-67
Paced by former Imhotep Charter star Fatts Russell, the Rams win at Tom Gola Arena
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It would be a stretch to say that if La Salle coach Ashley Howard and Rhode Island coach David Cox traded jobs, they would be in the same position.
The situations in Philadelphia and Kingston have unique circumstances. Still, both are cases of first-time head coaches looking to lay the first bricks in the foundations of their programs.
Howard brought two NCAA championship rings earned as an assistant at Villanova to 20th and Olney.
Cox was a four-year associate head coach at Rhode Island before being elevated to head coach when Danny Hurley left for the University of Connecticut.
When the teams met Saturday at Tom Gola Arena, only one player who participated -- La Salle graduate student Pookie Powell –- was above his junior season.
The swing of emotion from both coaches as their young players went through another 40 minutes of on-court-training was difficult to miss.
For most of the second half, it was Howard, not Cox, who was expressing more blues, as Rhode Island pulled away for a 78-67 victory.
Holding a 9-point lead early in the second half, the Explorers (3-14, 1-4 in Atlantic 10) let Rhode Island (10-7, 3-2) go on a 23-6 run that broke the game open.
“When the momentum shifts, we haven’t shown that we know how to battle through it,” said Howard, who got his first technical foul in an attempt to spark his squad. “It snowballed, and it was almost like, here we go again.
“The unfortunate part is that we are just a possession or two away from staying in the game. If we make a layup midway through the course of that game, who knows? If we sprint back in transition and don’t give up an easy layup, who knows? Even if Rhode Island misses one of those difficult shots.
“The game is one of possessions, and we have to learn to value every single possession.”
Sophomore guard David Beatty led the Explorers with 14 points off the bench. Rhode Island sophomore point guard Fatts Russell, who graduated from Imhotep Charter, had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists.
La Salle shot just 35.4 percent from the floor, while the Rams scorched the net at 57.1 percent
The Explorers got back sophomore forward Miles Brookins, who missed the previous three games with a leg injury, but freshman guard Jack Clark missed the game with soreness in his knee from Wednesday’s loss to George Washington. An MRI was negative, and he is listed as day-to-day.