Defensive lapses again plague La Salle in loss to Temple

ATLANTIC CITY - Unfortunately for La Salle, the lasting memory of an underachieving season will be that of the shortcomings that left John Giannini perhaps as confounded as a coach could possibly be.

In losing to No. 2 seed Temple, 96-76, in the Atlantic Ten quarterfinals Friday night at Boardwalk Hall, the 10th-seeded Explorers (15-18) showed little aptitude for either defense or teamwork.

Nothing illustrated La Salle's poor defense better than the Owls' 62.5 percent shooting in the second half. Since the Explorers went into the break down by 10 points in an elimination game, one would think they would have decided that was the time to put up as much resistance as possible.

Instead, Temple went on to score 96 points for the first time since Feb. 20, 2008, when they dropped 96 on St. Joseph's.

"I'll go to my grave scratching my head over this team defensively," Giannini said. "I mean, we spent 100 percent of our time in the spring and the fall on defense. We didn't do anything offensively until Oct. 15. If we were to go out and talk about how to cover a back screen, how to cover a down screen, how to cover a ball screen, our guys could put out a wonderful instructional videotape.

"But for some reason in competitive situations, it's a very low carryover. Frankly, I have some theories, but I'll never really understand it."

Guard Ruben Guillandeaux, who scored 17 points in his final game for La Salle, shook his head when asked why the Explorers struggled on defense throughout the season.

"I think it's just [lack of] focus and effort, consistently, position by position," he said.

La Salle had 15 turnovers in the first half against a Temple team that is strong defensively but, by coach Fran Dunphy's own admission, is not very good at forcing turnovers. Instead, it was mostly sloppy passing or poor decisions with the ball that resulted in the majority of La Salle's turnovers. It's why La Salle was down at the half, 42-32, even though it significantly outshot and outrebounded the Owls.

"Passing and defense are problems," Giannini said. "I don't think we played very well at all. You know, 15 turnovers in the first half and the fact we just couldn't stop them, as 96 points shows, are two huge problems. It's disappointing to end the season with a game you don't feel good about, but Temple had an awful lot to do with that."

The numbers also tell the story about the Explorers' uneven teamwork - they scored 31 baskets, and only eight came off assists.

During their modest late-season charge, in which they won three of four games before Friday's quarterfinal, the Explorers talked about their newfound mental toughness and commitment to defense. It turned out their words were as empty as so many of their possessions on the day their season ended.