La Salle shuts down Conwell-Egan
In the lexicon of our youth, when an offensive player gets hot he is said to "cook" his opponent, which aptly describes what Conwell-Egan guard Stevie Jordan did to visiting La Salle in yesterday's first half.
In the lexicon of our youth, when an offensive player gets hot he is said to "cook" his opponent, which aptly describes what Conwell-Egan guard Stevie Jordan did to visiting La Salle in yesterday's first half.
Jordan, a 5-foot-10 junior, baked the Explorers defense for 19 first-half points en route to a slight halftime edge for the Eagles.
However, by the second half, Shawn Witherspoon and Najee Walls - La Salle's defensive leaders - had resolved to stop Chef Jordan.
"We gotta strap up," Witherspoon said he told Walls at halftime. "Basically, he's cooking us right now, and we have to strap up like we usually do."
What followed was a defensively dominant quarter that quieted the home faithful and catapulted La Salle to a 66-58 Catholic League victory.
The Explorers (11-1, 3-0 Catholic League) won the decisive third quarter, 18-4, and shut out Jordan, who attempted just one shot. He finished with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting.
And after its defense flexed, La Salle's offense limbered.
Walls led the way with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting while Witherspoon added 12 points. The pair each recorded three steals. Senior guard Dan Corr added 14 points and a pair of steals.
"I know for me when I play in a big game I feel more comfortable when I play defense," said Walls, an East Stroudsburg commit. "And that carries over to my offense, and once I'm rolling it's all [downhill]."
In contrast, the Eagles (8-4, 1-2) struggled to execute on both ends, assisting only once in the second half on nine made field goals (six assists total).
Junior Vinny Dalessandro added 11 points, and LaPri McCray-Pace scored 10 points, with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks to supplement the offense once Jordan garnered more attention.
However, La Salle's defense-first attitude helped secure victory.
The Explorers finished with eight steals and forced 14 turnovers. It's an intense recipe Witherspoon and Walls employ against each other every day in practice, although the duo also have their eyes on the bigger picture.
"It's great, but sometimes we have to come together and say we can't always stick each other," Witherspoon said. "We need [our teammate] to guard us and we need to guard them so they know when we play a Neumann-Goretti or Archbishop Carroll or Roman Catholic, what it feels like to intensely guard. We already know what the pressure feels like sticking each other, but we need to get the whole team ready."
Sophomore guard Jarrod Stukes scored four points off the bench and made a few quality defense plays despite sporting a welt above an eye, which he incurred during JV duties.
Senior forward David Krmpotich added nine points, eight rebounds, and a block while junior forward Shane Stark offered nine points and grabbed six rebounds.
Moving forward, La Salle's recipe for success, according to Witherspoon, seems simple.
"Just keep the defense up," he said, "because if we defend, our offense will [fall] in place."
La Salle 13 20 18 15 - 66
Conwell-Egan 16 20 4 18 - 58
L: Dan Corr 14, Dave Krmpotich 9, Shane Stark 9, Jarrod Stukes 4, Najee Walls 18, Shawn Witherspoon 12.
CE: Jordan Burney 4, Vinny Dalessandro 11, Stevie Jordan 23, Chase Kumor 10, LaPri McCray-Pace 10.
