Coming off Saturday's three-point loss to St. Louis, La Salle (11-12, 3-6 Atlantic Ten) doesn't resume play until Sunday at Duquesne.

Battered by the loss of injured senior starters Kimmani Barrett and Ruben Guillandeaux, the Explorers will use the break to rest and get back to basics.

"I prefer to keep playing to stay in a rhythm, but the schedule gives us time and the way we will use it is to go back to basics, make it almost like October practices, and try to make us better," coach John Giannini said yesterday.

"You don't have to worry about the next game plan. You don't have to worry about guys getting tired because obviously we can have an easier practice or two. We're going to try to improve our minds, try to improve our bodies, try to challenge ourselves, and try to get better."

Despite playing shorthanded, La Salle has proved capable of competing against the top teams in the A-10, which has a chance of sending six teams to the NCAA tourney. Yet, the Explorers have been unable to close the deal. Their comeback rally against Rhode Island last Tuesday fell short when they failed to score on four straight possessions when down by three points in the final minutes. In Saturday's 68-65 loss to St. Louis, La Salle led by a point with under a minute to play.

In all, the Explorers have lost four games by a combined 12 points. Those losses came against nationally ranked Cornell by three points, A-10 leader Charlotte by two points at the buzzer, conference contender Richmond, and St. Louis.

"The common thread [in the close losses] is making too many mistakes. Period. And they come in all forms, whether it's turnovers or defensive breakdowns or bad shot selection or a lapse in effort," Giannini said. "I never felt like we've had great practices with this group. I think the older players - Rodney [Green], Yves [Mekongo] and Jerrell [Williams] - are doing all they can, but I don't think our young players are mature enough to understand how hard this is. We allow ourselves to make mistakes in practice. We allow ourselves to make mistakes in games, and it ends up hurting us, and I think it's as simple as that."

Learning curve. Aaric Murray, La Salle's 6-foot-10 freshman, didn't begin playing organized basketball until he was 16. As a result, Giannini believes Murray still doesn't grasp how committed he must become to realize his enormous talent.

"I think he's a willing student but I think sometimes the course is more difficult than he expected," Giannini said. "It requires more commitment. Sometimes when you start basketball later in life and you didn't grow up dreaming about being a great player, it takes longer to understand how hard it is."

Brainy guys. With Mekongo, a senior, and junior Steve Weingarten chosen to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine all-District II Academic first team, La Salle is among four Division I teams nationally with two players on Academic all-District teams. The others are Cornell, Butler, and Northwestern State.

The Academic all-American team will be announced Feb. 24.