 A Tale of Two Halves as Hawks Upend Explorers
Posted by: Shawn Sweeney
PHILADELPHIA, PA – After holding Saint Joseph’s to just 16 points in the first half, the Explorers let up 50 second-half points, falling 66-54 in Big 5 action at the Palestra. From the looks of play in the first half, La Salle was headed toward victory, but the second stanza took a dramatic turn and the Explorers dropped to 10-6 (2-4 Atlantic 10, 0-2 Big 5). La Salle shut down Saint Joseph’s early on, using a stringent defense that caused eight turnovers and swatted five shots. The Explorers scored the game’s first nine points and opened up a 13-point lead as the Hawks shot a paltry 14 percent from the floor for the half. In contrast, La Salle hit 40 percent of their shots, led by nine points from senior Steven Smith (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast), who finished with 17 points. Coming out of the locker room at the break, the Explorers held a 27-16 advantage. Here’s wear the dramatic twist in the plot kicked in. The Hawks came out and rattled off a 16-5 run to tie the game. Saint Joseph’s outscored La Salle 50-27 in the second half. Hawks forward Chet Stachitas nailed a trifecta of three-pointers on his way to scoring 15 points, all in the second half. Dwayne Lee and Rob Ferguson, who were held scoreless in the first half, finished with 10 and 11 points, respectively. The Explorers shot just 8-for-29 in the second half. Senior Jermaine Thomas (Frederick, MD/Thomas Johnson) scored eight points for La Salle, while junior Mike St. John (Northboro, MA/River School) contributed seven points and nine rebounds off the bench. Saint Joseph’s held the advantage in rebounds, 41-30. La Salle returns to the Palestra on Wednesday, Jan. 25 to take on Penn at 7:30 p.m.
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