Complacent La Salle hangs on to beat visiting Albany, 67-64
La Salle holds on for the 67-64 win over visiting Albany.
The La Salle men’s basketball team ran onto the Tom Gola Arena home court Saturday with a point to prove .
After a tough overtime loss to Sacred Heart in the season opener on Tuesday, the Explorers looked determined to get their first win, with the University of Albany providing the opposition.
La Salle’s Christian Ray stepped up with 12 points and six rebounds and Clifton Moore had 11 points as the Explorers held on for a 67-64 victory.
Moore and Ray continued to show their uncanny abilities to quietly dominate on the court. Both controlled the flow of the game while directing their teammates.
It provided a pleasant contrast to more flashy players like Khalil Brantley or Jhamir Brickus, whose undeniably cool and confident shots made the temperature inside the arena drop a few degrees, along with their endearing -- if a little cocky -- side-eyes and smirks to the Great Danes’ bench whenever they swished a shot. Moore, especially, continues to create problems, an increasingly pesky phantom that proved too elusive for Albany.
However, it also has to be noted that there were significant periods of the Explorers being lackadaisical. They enjoyed double-digit leads, but there was noticeable complicity when they were up by what seemed to be a comfortable margin. It wasn’t a graceful or strategic falling back, but rather an unquestionable display of faith that they could take a bit of a break when the scoreboard favored them.