La Salle fights off charge from Wissahickon

Living by the three can only sustain a team for so long, and despite having success early on in the season, Wissahickon learned that one can also die by the three.

“Teams who shoot the three like Wissahickon does are so dangerous and I think we were a little confused in the beginning, but you saw how we really play in the second half and we were able to get the win,” La Salle coach Joe Dempsey said. “It was a good win against a good team.”

Its usual efficient three-point shooting kept Wissahickon in the game, but La Salle’s overall good performance helped propel the Explorers to a 56-40 win in the Pete and Jameer Nelson Classic at Philadelphia University.

It is already known that the Trojans can shoot the lights out from behind the arc, but this loss is a cold reminder that more complete teams will be coming for them…hard.

La Salle started off the opening period hot, immediately going on an 8-0 run. Explorers’ sharp-shooter Steve Smith had 11 of La Salle’s 13 points in the period, including three threepointers. Wissahickon had an answer though, getting two triples from Chris Vila and another three points from fellow guard Chase Wilson. At the end of one, despite looking more commanding, La Salle only had a two-point lead.

The next eight minutes showed more of the same. Although La Salle shot well and got into the paint seemingly at will, Wilson’s three treys kept the score close. He had all 10 of the Trojans’ points in the quarter, allowing his team to hang around. La Salle’s Amar Stukes and Alex Couci each had four points in the 13-point quarter, putting them up 24-21 at halftime.

Stukes came out firing after the break, scoring four straight points to open the period. After that, however, it was a back-and-forth affair as both teams traded baskets for most of the quarter. Wissahickon’s Jesse Hunsicker had four points, while Wil- son and Gordon Bentley each hit a huge three that helped them wrestle the lead from the Explorers. The lead was short-lived, however, because Stukes hit a three with a minute to go to put La Salle back up. Stukes had nine of his 22 total points in the quarter and the Explorers were up 41-38 going into the final period despite Wilson’s buzzer-beating three-point heave going in.

The wheels fell off a bit for the Trojans in the final quarter. Stukes added another nine points for the Explorers, while Wissahickon had trouble finding the bottom of the cup. Treys weren’t going in and many feeble attempts at driving the lane were quelled. La Salle pulled away and Wissahickon was left wondering how it can fix this heading into the rest of its league schedule.