Explorers avoid 'Nova hangover in win at Rider

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - How a team reacts to winning is often more a measure of its possibilities than how it plays after a loss. La Salle finally beat Villanova Sunday after losing 10 straight to the Wildcats. Mediocre teams spend too much time celebrating a big win. Good teams use that feeling and play even better.

La Salle could not have much better in the first 12 minutes Thursday night at Rider. The Explorers scored 30 points on 20 possessions, opened up an 18-point lead and held it to the finish line, winning wire-to-wire, 63-52.

"We came out very hard," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "We have good kids and we have good character and we had a good team last year. I was concerned about Rider being good. I think they're better than they showed today. I think our defense bothered them."

It was 26-8 after 10 minutes at Alumni Gym. La Salle's defense was as good as its offense. The Explorers (4-1) made five of their first six three-point attempts. They had four steals and three blocks in the first 5 minutes. The defense was smothering.

That level of play was not sustainable. Rider's defense got much better. La Salle's offense was stuck on pause. Twice, the Broncs (4-4) got within six points in the second half. But 18 points down is a long way. La Salle seemed to be looking for the finish line a bit early, but that early effort took a physical toll. Even as the offense went south, the Explorers kept grinding on defense.

"Exactly," Giannini said. "We've shown some mental growth . . . We were tired. They dug down. We were on the road. The other team's making a run and they deserve a lot of credit."

Point guard Tyreek Duren (20 points, six assists, three steals) did not miss a shot. Ramon Galloway (17 points, four steals) rained in some long bombs early and finished some killer drives late.

The game was not pretty (33 turnovers), but La Salle's terrific start, combined with gamelong defense (six blocks, nine steals), was sufficient to follow a big win with another win that suggests this will be a team that has a chance to put up a pretty big victory total. When Virginia Tech transfer Tyrone Garland becomes eligible on Dec. 15, a very good guard rotation becomes deeper. And the team should be able to sustain effort for longer periods.

"We're a player short in our rotation," Giannini said. "It's really hard to sustain. Even after the game, when I said why did we struggle so much offensively in the second half, we were like we expended so much energy on the defensive end."

Garland will be the replacement for Earl Pettis, the only player missing from last year's starting rotation. That will allow the coach, if he wants, to start four guards like he did a year ago.

Rider, under first-year coach Kevin Baggett (Saint Joseph's) is not without talent. The Broncs, with five players from the Catholic and Public leagues, should be a serious factor in the Metro Atlantic. Nurideen Lindsey, a onetime La Salle commit from Overbrook, is continuing his hoops odyssey for Rider, after a brief tour at St. John's. He was the team's leading scorer, but like his team, never got started and finished with five points, five turnovers and just four shots.

"Credit to coach Giannini, who I think is one of the most unheralded coaches," Baggett said. "He doesn't get enough credit for how good of a coach he is. I thought he did a good job with his team. I obviously didn't. I thought our approach to the game, the way we came out, we spotted them 20 points which was the difference in the game."

Counting La Salle's three, there were eight players from the Pub (three) or Catholic (five) in the game. Galloway and Duren were the difference.

"[Giannini] was saying all week that the great teams after a big win, they come back and get another big win," Duren said.

That early stretch was reminiscent of how the Explorers played at the beginning of last season. Galloway certainly remembered it that way.

"That's what we need to get back into," he said. "Just taking people out of it, guard 94 feet."

They did that. They made shots from everywhere at the start. The game may have been 40 minutes, but La Salle really won it in the first 4. The Explorers got Rider sideways and, by the time the home team found its equilibrium, the game was too far gone to be rescued.

Good teams follow good games with another good game. La Salle is a good team heading into December. How good will be determined from then until March.