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La Salle wins, but Rowan still celebrates

The Profs lost to the Explorers while commemorating the 20th anniversary of their Division III national championship.

DURING A DAY for nostalgia and celebration, there was also a basketball game Saturday afternoon in Glassboro, N.J. The score, an 81-51 La Salle win over Rowan, will not be remembered nearly as long as the event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Profs Division III national championship.

Those Profs were coached by John Giannini, now in his second decade as La Salle's coach. Joe Cassidy, who was a Rowan assistant in 1996, succeeded Giannini after that season and is still the Rowan head coach.

La Salle (4-1) got 19 points (7-for-14, 5-for-7 from three) from Jordan Price. The Explorers had 17 steals and 21 turnovers against the Profs (2-5). Those were some numbers of the day, but this was about a moment in time well beyond the 40 minutes of basketball.

Drexel wiped out in Alaska

The Great Alaska Shootout is one of the great college basketball Thanksgiving weekend traditions. Hopefully, the Drexel players will remember the trip more than the results. The Dragons lost to UNC-Asheville, Alaska Anchorage and, finally, on Saturday in the seventh-place game to San Diego, 62-59. Each team entered the game at 0-5. Now, Drexel is 0-6. The Dragons shot 28.8 percent against San Diego, 23.5 percent in the second half. Drexel's next game is Saturday at La Salle.

Meanwhile, the player who would have made all the difference for the Dragons, is off to a great start for unbeaten Louisville. Damion Lee, a graduate transfer, leads the Cardinals in scoring (17.4 points) while shooting 56.1 percent in 28 minutes per game. His average would be even higher if he had not been limited to just 20 minutes because of foul trouble Saturday night in Brooklyn as the 'Ville owned the second half and blew away St. Louis.