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MHERST - Their comments are so similar they could have come out of the same support group for ''Coaches with Young Teams.''
La Salle coach Billy Hahn and University of Massachusetts coach Steve Lappas have dealt with similar issues in their third seasons with those schools as both men try to turn to corner and make their programs successful.
Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center, they'll stand in each others way as the Minutemen host the Explorers in both teams' first Atlantic 10 game of the season.
''We're very similar,'' Lappas said. ''They're probably a little ahead. Their top guns are all sophomores and have some experience, where half our guys have some experience and half don't.''
Hahn agreed.
''I can relate to UMass. At times you play extremely well and you're happy with some progress, but at other times, because you have no senior leadership, the kids have to find out on their own how to go through some things,'' Hahn said. ''When you have no seniors whatsoever to explain how it's going to be, it's tough. But that's part of the process. You just hope they will continue to develop as fast as they can.''
Sophomores Gary Neal and Stephen Smith have developed quickly for the Explorers.
Neal is one of the conference's most explosive scorers. He's averaging 21.3 points per game, which is third in the A-10 behind Jameer Nelson and Marques Green. Neal is the only player to have scored 30 or more points this season more than once.
Neal had 19 points last year when the Explorers cruised past the Minutemen 78-57 at Tom Gola Arena.
UMass senior guard Anthony Anderson said the Minutemen hope to avenge that defeat.
''You have to. And we owe payback to a lot of teams that shouldn't have beat us and they beat us ugly,'' he said.
Last year, Smith had 17 points and seven rebounds. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds this year.
Hahn said people have thrown a variety of special defenses at his team designed to slow Neal or Smith.
''My first year, people junked Rasual Butler. They've junked Gary. They've junked Steve Smith,'' he said. ''Our kids have seen it all. If it comes, it comes.''
The Minutemen have dabbled in gimmickry this year and will likely have some in their package for this game as well.
The Explorers are just 5-7 this season, but they've improved after opening the year 0-4, including two games without Neal.
They enter Wednesday's game coming off an 86-74 loss to a tough Seton Hall squad Saturday. Hahn still sees improvement.
''I think we're stronger than we were a year ago, but I don't think we're strong enough yet,'' he said. ''We got exposed big time against Seton Hall inside. We'll have to work on some things to see if we can get better on our inside defense.''
The Minutemen will test that defense. Sophomore rookie big man Rashaun Freeman has been the team's most consistent scorer at 14.6 points per game, while junior Gabe Lee is coming off a career-high 23 points against Tennessee.
Anderson said getting off to a good start in the league is important.
''The first three or four game we could really get. It's definitely going to be big to get wins early in the league,' he said. ''The last few years we were 0-3 and 0-5 before we got our first win in the league.''
Lappas, who has tinkered with his starting lineup several times this year, will replace freshman Artie Bowers, who has struggled, with Maurice Maxwell. Lappas said he hopes that coming off the bench has the same positive effect on Bowers that it did on Jeff Viggiano.
''It's worked for Vig. It helped him settle down and relax and get more into the flow,'' Lappas said. ''Hopefully it do the same thing for Artie.''
NOTES: La Salle has never won in Amherst and is 3-9 all-time vs. UMass. The Minutemen enter the game having lost four straight games against A-10 teams.
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
MHERST - Even with La Salle scoring standout Gary Neal limited to only three points in the first 20 minutes, UMass still found itself trailing by six points at halftime last night at the Mullins Center.
Neal's resurgence, though, carried the Explorers to a decisive 17-4 run midway through the second half, giving him a game-high 26 points and La Salle a 78-64 win over the Minutemen in the first Atlantic 10 game of the season for both teams.
Boston English graduate Rasheed Quadri came off the bench to score 13 for La Salle (6-7, 1-0 A-10). Steven Smith also had 13 and Jermaine Thomas finished with 10 for the Explorers, who rained 3-pointers on the Minutemen with impunity, with 12 makes in 24 tries from beyond the arc.
``It was our worst defensive game of the year. Without hesitation, I say that,'' UMass coach Steve Lappas said. ``To give up 78 points like that at home, the way we've defended all year, is very disappointing.''
Anthony Anderson's 20 points led the Minutemen (5-7, 0-1). Rashaun Freeman scored 12 and Gabe Lee, who was scoreless and took only one shot in the first half, came alive in the second with 10 points and eight rebounds.
UMass took a 44-43 lead with 14:15 remaining on Lee's first two points of the game. Lee had rung up 23 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's loss to Tennessee.
From there, the Explorers put together their 17-4 run, featuring nine points from Neal, a 21-point-per-game scorer entering last night. Neal, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, capped off the run by burying a 3-pointer from the right corner as he was fouled by UMass' Maurice Maxwell, then made the ensuing free throw for a four-point play that gave La Salle a 60-48 lead with 9:14 to play. Quadri also scored five points during the Explorers' burst.
``If I can see the rim, it's an opportunity that it could go up,'' said Neal, who made 5-of-10 from 3-point range and 9-of-14 shots for the night. ``Off-balance, on-balance, it doesn't really matter.''
The Minutemen reduced their deficit to five points on two occasions, the last at 69-64 with 2:08 to go. But Neal rammed home a trey as the shot clock expired, then added two at the line to put the Explorers out of danger.
``I still thought we would win the game at the end of the shot clock, when they're up five and (Neal) makes that unbelievable shot,'' Lappas said. ``If you're good, you're going to win some games in spite of some things.''
Maxwell and Anderson each hit 3-pointers for UMass' first two baskets, but four of La Salle's first seven field goals came from beyond the arc as the Explorers went out to an 18-10 lead. UMass pulled back to within 23-20 on Freeman's two free throws with 4:57 left in the half, but failed to draw closer when a layup by Maxwell was wiped out by a charging call on Freeman.
Thomas hit a trey from the right corner with 47 seconds to go to give the Explorers a 33-27 halftime lead.
MHERST -- Last night, for the fourth time in five seasons, the Massachusetts men's basketball team began its Atlantic 10 campaign with a defeat.
But, as many coaches and players insist, one shouldn't compare seasons.
UMass fans hope they're correct.
La Salle guard Gary Neal scored 23 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as the Explorers outplayed the Minutemen to post a 78-64 triumph before 2,269 at the Mullins Center.
Steven Smith and Rasheed Quadri added 13 points apiece for La Salle (6-7, 1-0), which won its first Atlantic 10 opener and first game in Amherst.
UMass fell to 5-7, 0-1 and lost three games in a row for the first time this season. Its 14-point defeat marked the third straight season it opened league play with a double-digit defeat. The Minutemen got off to an 0-3 start in the A-10 in 2001-02 and posted an 0-5 start last season. They finished with 6-10 records in both seasons.
Surely, a loss to start A-10 play isn't necessarily a prelude to a league campaign. Still, the Minutemen need to right their woes in a hurry. Up next is a tough George Washington team that beat Temple, 78-60, last night to open its league slate.
"A conference opening defeat at home is not good against a team that is similar to you," said UMass coach Steve Lappas. "You have to take that into account. We're playing a team that was struggling a little bit and finding themselves."
For La Salle, the search was over when Neal found his shooting range in the second half. He scored 16 points over the final 10 minutes.
The Explorers led, 33-27, at halftime before UMass rallied to take a 40-39 advantage on a steal and layup by Anthony Anderson (a team-high 20 points) with 16:18 left. After the teams exchanged leads and tied, Neal sank a trey with 13:05 left to put La Salle ahead for good, 47-44, with 13:05 to go. That sparked a La Salle surge that put the Explorers in control, 59-48.
UMass cut the lead to 69-64 with 2:07 left and played arguably its best defense of the evening on the next La Salle possession, but Neal drained an off-balanced trey at the shot-clock buzzer to give La Salle a 72-64 lead with 1:31 left. UMass never threatened afterward. For Lappas, the Minutemen's woes were not in its defense of Neal, one of the A-10's best shooters. He was upset UMass allowed other players to score well.
"It was our worst defensive game of the year, and I say that without hesitation," said Lappas. "To give up 78 points at home after how we've defended all year is very disappointing. Defensively, we're struggling."
MHERST, Mass. - La Salle couldn't have opened its Atlantic Ten Conference basketball schedule any better than it did last night.
Gary Neal scored 23 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, and four Explorers scored in double figures as La Salle beat Massachusetts, 78-64, at the Mullins Center for its first-ever win on the UMass campus.
"Coming off tough losses, you never know how you're going to react, and not only coming off a tough loss but going on the road," La Salle coach Billy Hahn said of the Explorers (6-7 overall, 1-0 A-10), who lost to Seton Hall at the Palestra on Saturday.
"I don't care who you play, or in what conference, playing on the road is extremely tough," Hahn said. "I'm really pleased that our guys were able to come through with some big shots. Everybody who played for us tonight helped us with this win."
Rasheed Quadri came off the bench to score 13 points, shooting 4 for 4 from the field, including 3 for 3 from beyond the three-point arc. Steven Smith also had 13 points and Jermaine Thomas added 10.
Massachusetts was led by Anthony Anderson's 20 points. Maurice Maxwell, from Philadelphia's Lutheran Christian Academy, scored eight points for the Minutemen (5-7, 0-1).
This is the first time the Explorers have won an Atlantic Ten opener, and the first time since 1994-95 that they have won four consecutive road games.
After leading by 33-27 at halftime, the Explorers coughed up that lead, and the Minutemen went ahead, 44-43, on a rebound and basket by Gabe Lee with 14 minutes, 12 seconds left. Smith tied the game with a free throw, and two possessions later, La Salle took the lead for keeps.
Neal, who was 1 of 3 from the floor in the first half, fired up a 25-footer for three points with 13:05 left. On Massachusetts' next trip downcourt, Rayshaun Freeman traveled to turn over the ball, then Quadri drained his third trey of the game from the top of the key, giving the Explorers a 50-44 lead.
Art Bowers, a freshman from Wilmington, answered with a two-point field goal and a free throw after he was fouled on the shot, making it 50-47, but UMass got no closer.
Three times down the stretch, Neal hit three-pointers to keep the Minutemen from getting any momentum. One time he converted a four-point play and iced the game with an off-balance three-pointer with 1:32 left.
"I'm one of those guys that, if I can see the rim, it's an opportunity that [the ball] could go up off-balance or on-balance," Neal said.
The Explorers and Minutemen traded shots in the first six minutes of the game, with five of the first seven baskets from three-point range. Things cooled down from there and the Explorers took an 18-10 lead on a three by Thomas, and UMass couldn't get any closer than three the rest of the half.
MHERST, Mass. - The 0-4 start is fading into memory, replaced by a feeling that the La Salle basketball team is on the right track.
Last night at Massachusetts, the Explorers accomplished a couple of things they'd never done before, and they did so with an offensive performance that was both timely and dazzling.
"I'm really pleased with this, because after coming off a tough loss to a good Seton Hall team Saturday, and going on the road, you don't know what to expect," La Salle coach Billy Hahn said after the Explorers (6-7, 1-0 Atlantic 10) had shot 56.3 percent in a 78-64, league-opening win at the Mullins Center. "Our guys were able to come through with big shots, though, and I think everybody who played tonight was a contributor."
The most prominent of those contributors was sophomore guard Gary Neal, whose 26 points included an assortment of closely guarded or off-balance jumpers. Held to three shots and three points in the first half, Neal decimated UMass after the break, including a rare four-point play that gave the Explorers a 60-48 lead with 9 minutes, 14 seconds to play.
Neal's biggest shot, though, came with 1:31 left. UMass had rallied to come within five, Neal barely beat the shot clock with an off-balance three-pointer that gave La Salle a decisive 72-64 lead.
"Usually, we run a play in that situation, but we didn't have time," Neal said. "Steve [Smith] had the ball, and I just did a jab step to give myself enough space to get the shot off. If I see the rim, it's an opportunity to go up with it, on balance or off balance."
The victory was La Salle's first in Amherst. It also was the first time the Explorers, who joined the conference in 1995, won their A-10 opener. The Explorers have now beaten UMass in two straight meetings, and that had not happened before, either.
La Salle's sizzling shooting included 12-for-24 on three-pointers. Smith had 13 points, as did Rasheed Quadri (a season high).
It was Neal's supporting cast, in fact, that UMass coach Steve Lappas said was the difference.
"Neal is a great player," said Lappas, the former Villanova coach whose game plan was to keep Neal and Smith from dominating while shutting down the other Explorers. "Look at the shots he made - those were tough shots. But the other guys, I can't write off."
Those included Quadri, whose 4-for-4 from the field included three three-pointers, and 6-10 sophomore Lewis Fadipe, whose eight points included six in the first half. Quadri had been averaging 3.2 points a game, and Fadipe only two. They helped the Explorers take a 33-27 lead into the break, even though Neal and Smith - who were averaging a combined 36.6 points a game - had only seven to that point.
UMass (5-7, 0-1), which lost its third straight, led briefly in the second half. A 9-0 surge, sparked by six straight points from point guard Anthony Anderson (20 points), gave the Minutemen a 40-39 lead with 16:18 left.
But La Salle responded with a 21-8 surge, building a 12-point lead before UMass defensive pressure helped close the gap. Rattled as the Minutemen came to within 65-60 with 3:13 left, the Explorers regrouped after a timeout, and rediscovered their smart, patient offense.
The Explorers are home against Richmond Saturday, with a chance to reach the .500 mark overall and sustain what is already - after one game - the best conference start they've had since joining the A-10.
"We're still going through growing pains," Hahn said. "But what you hope for is that the players are learning as they go."
MHERST - In the postgame press conference following the University of Massachusetts' loss to Tennessee Saturday, the Minuteman players said it was frustrating that once one problem seemed to be improved, a new one surfaced.
Last night against La Salle, the UMass defense was the culprit. The Explorers, who had offensive problems coming into the game, shot 56.3 percent from the field and the Minutemen couldn't keep up. UMass dropped its third straight game 78-64, in both teams' Atlantic 10 opener at the Mullins Center.
''It was our worst defensive game of the year,'' UMass coach Steve Lappas said. ''To give up 78 points like that at home is very disappointing.''
After the Minutemen (5-7, 0-1 Atlantic 10) battled back from eight points down to take a short-lived one-point lead, Gary Neal took over. The sophomore guard scored 23 of his 26 points in the second half.
With Neal unable to get shots in the first half, Rasheed Quadri (13 points) and Lewis Fadipe (eight points) gave the Explorers (6-7, 1-0 A-10) a lift off the bench.
''I can write Neal off. He's a great player and he made a lot of tough shots,'' Lappas said. ''It's the rest of it I can't write off. I'm very, very, very displeased with our defense. The way Neal got them? I'll say he worked for every one of them. But what are we doing with these other guys. That's where our defense let us down.
''At this level when you play against the other team's third, fourth and fifth guys, they are still capable of doing damage. The damage that was done to us was done to us by Fadipe and Quadri in the first half. Those guys had 12 points between them. They had already exceeded their averages in the first half.''
Despite the first-half struggles, the Minutemen looked poised to take over the game early in the second half.
Trailing 39-31, senior guard Anthony Anderson took matters into his own hands. After a 3-pointer by Maurice Maxwell, Anderson scored the next six points, all as a result of two breakaway drives off steals and a pair of free throws to put the Minutemen ahead 41-40 with 15 minutes and 56 seconds remaining.
The teams traded baskets for the next 1:40, but a free throw by Steven Smith (13 points) started a 7-0 run that put La Salle ahead for good. The Explorers went 6-for-9 from 3-point range down the stretch (12-for-24 overall) to hold off UMass.
Anderson led the Minutemen with 20 points, while Gabe Lee added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Rashaun Freeman scored 12 points.
The Minutemen will host George Washington at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Anderson emphasized staying positive, but admitted the loss was tough to swallow.
''We can't let it frustrate us, but it does hurt,'' he said. ''This is definitely a team we're better than.''
Lappas shared his frustration.
''A conference-opening defeat at home is not good against a team that is similar to you,'' Lappas said. ''We were playing a team that was struggling a little bit and was trying to find themselves also.
''That makes it worse than you'd like it to be. This is the worst stretch of the year now. We lost three in a row. We had not lost three in a row. Our resiliency is going to be tested.''
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
MHERST - With the University of Massachusetts surging and La Salle clinging to a five-point lead, Gary Neal leaned and launched a long 3-pointer as the shot clock ran down. University of Massachusetts coach Steve Lappas shook his head as he watched the shot go in.
If I can see the rim, it's an opportunity that it could go in, Neal said.
He saw the rim quite a bit. Neal owned the second half. His teammates carried the Explorers for the first half, staking La Salle to a six-point advantage at the break despite Neal's three points on three shots in the first half under tight defense by Anthony Anderson.
Neal finally shook free of Anderson in the second half. He made eight of 11 post-intermission shots en route to a 26-point night.
''He is the type of player that can carry you in a half like that,'' UMass coach Steve Lappas said.
La Salle coach Billy Hahn admired Neal's patience.
''We told him it would come to him in the second half in the flow of our offense and that's exactly what happened,'' Hahn said. ''His patience was good.''
''We knew that's what he could do,'' Anderson said. ''We've seen him hit shots from the hash mark with two guys on him. We knew he was going to make some tough ones. We just didn't want to give him open ones.''
EARLY A-10 STRUGGLES - Lappas has struggled in his first few A-10 games every year at UMass. He went 0-3 in the 2001-02 season and 0-5 in the 2002-03 season before the Minutemen won their first league game.
Since joining the Atlantic 10, La Salle had never won its conference opener until Wednesday.
NEXT UP - Things don't figure to get much easier for the Minutemen. Saturday's opponent, George Washington, overcame an early deficit to cruise past Temple, 78-60, Wednesday night behind 21 points by point guard T.J. Thompson.
UMass hosts the Colonials at 2 p.m.
LINEUP SHUFFLE - Freshman guard Artie Bowers had his best game since returning from a sprained ankle. He scored nine points coming off the bench. His replacement in the starting lineup, Maurice Maxwell had eight points and a team-high four assists.
EXPLORER HOMECOMING - The La Salle roster features three players from Massachusetts, Rasheed Quadri of Boston, Sean Neal of Springfield and Mike St. John of Northboro.
In his final game in his home state, Quadri, who was a high school teammate of former Minuteman Raheim Lamb, delivered the best offensive performance of his career. The senior guard didn't miss a shot, hitting all four field goals, including three 3-pointers, and two free throws for a career-high 13 points.
MISCELLANEOUS - The win was La Salle's first in six tries in Amherst - Anderson hit the 20-point milestone for the 10th time in his career. UMass is 6-4 when he reaches that mark - Gabe Lee registered double-figure point totals in two straight games for just the second time in his career.
Senior walk-on guard Paco Kotaridis, who missed the last two games, returned from his brief trip to Greece, but did not see action.
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
| La Salle Explorers | 78 |
| Massachusetts Minutemen | 64 |
| at the Mullins Center | |
Official Basketball Box Score
La Salle vs Massachusetts
01/07/04 7:00 p.m. at Amherst, MA(Mullins Center)
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VISITORS: La Salle ( 6- 7, 1- 0)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
24 BELL,David.......... f 1-5 1-4 2-2 0 4 4 2 5 0 3 1 0 13
30 SMITH,Steven........ f 5-10 0-1 3-4 0 3 3 3 13 0 1 0 1 31
42 ST.JOHN,Mike........ c 1-4 0-0 1-1 1 2 3 3 3 1 2 0 0 21
02 THOMAS,Jermaine..... g 3-6 3-5 1-2 0 1 1 2 10 3 3 0 2 25
14 NEAL,Gary........... g 9-14 5-10 3-3 0 3 3 1 26 1 2 0 0 35
01 CLEAVES,Mike........ 0-1 0-1 0-1 0 2 2 2 0 7 4 0 0 21
05 QUADRI,Rasheed...... 4-4 3-3 2-2 1 3 4 1 13 1 0 0 1 30
21 FADIPE,Lewis........ 4-4 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 4 8 0 1 2 0 24
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 27-48 12-24 12-15 5 20 25 18 78 13 16 3 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-26 46.2% 2nd Half: 15-22 68.2% Game: 56.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-15 40.0% 2nd Half: 6-9 66.7% Game: 50.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 9-11 81.8% Game: 80.0% 2,3
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HOME TEAM: Massachusetts ( 5- 7, 0- 1)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 FREEMAN,Rashaun..... f 5-8 0-0 2-2 2 4 6 3 12 1 6 0 0 31
22 VIGGIANO,Jeff....... f 0-4 0-1 1-2 1 2 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 20
02 LEE,Gabe............ c 4-6 0-0 2-4 6 2 8 3 10 1 0 3 0 36
11 MAXWELL,Maurice..... g 3-9 2-5 0-0 1 3 4 1 8 4 1 0 1 25
12 ANDERSON,Anthony.... g 6-15 4-12 4-4 1 2 3 3 20 1 4 0 3 37
00 MARTIN,Brennan...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6
05 LASME,Stephane...... 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
13 CHADWICK,Chris...... 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 1 16
34 BOWERS,Art.......... 4-10 0-2 1-1 1 3 4 2 9 2 2 0 3 25
TEAM................ 1 1 1
Totals.............. 24-55 6-20 10-16 13 16 29 18 64 13 15 4 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-26 34.6% 2nd Half: 15-29 51.7% Game: 43.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 30.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 62.5% 1,1
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Officials: Patrick Driscoll, Murph Shapiro, Dwayne Gladden
Technical fouls: La Salle-None. Massachusetts-None.
Attendance: 2269
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
La Salle...................... 33 45 - 78
Massachusetts................. 27 37 - 64
Points in the paint-LSU 18,UMASS 30. Points off turnovers-LSU 20,UMASS 27.
2nd chance points-LSU 7,UMASS 13. Fast break points-LSU 10,UMASS 8.
Bench points-LSU 21,UMASS 13. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-7 times.
Last FG-LSU 2nd-00:08, UMASS 2nd-02:07.