Games 735-736: Tuesday doubleheader

736 - (10) NC Asheville at (7) Presbyterian
Big South first round
March 5 at Templeton Center in Clinton, SC
ESPN +

The host Blue Hose hit 21 (!) 3-pointers and cruised to a 106-59 victory to set up a quarterfinal match up with No. 2 seed and defending league champion Radford.

JC Younger was an incredible 8-of-14 from behind the arc for all of his 24 points to lead Presbyterian, while Romeo Crouch added 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Radford and Presbyterian played just once during the regular season and the Highlanders escaped with a 79-77 win on January 12.

735 - (13) LaSalle women at (4) Dayton
Atlantic 10 first round
March 5 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, OH
ESPN +

Phenomenal defensive effort by Dayton, which held the visitors to under 40 points (the final was 65-38) and just 27% (13-of-47) shooting to set up a quarterfinal match up with No. 5 seed Davidson.

Eleven different players scored for the host Flyers, led by Lauren Cannatelli's 13 points. The Flyers (16-12), top-65 nationally in scoring defense, held their 12th opponent to 55 points or less.

Also, let's welcome the newest member of the Scoochie Smith All Stars, and our second member of the LaSalle womens team, coach Mountain Macgillivray.

We'll take/need the offseason to decide whether to rename the team The Mountain Macgillivray All Stars.

Game 672 - LaSalle at Fordham

January 23 at Rose Hill Gym in Bronx, NY
ESPN +

The trio of Isiah Deas, new Scoochie Smith All Star Pookie Powell & Saul Phiri were a combined 11-of-18 from three-point range (LaSalle made 14 threes as a team) and the Explorers led the entire way and as much as 16 in winning 73-71.

LaSalle picked up its first Atlantic 10 win since its league opener January 5 at Massachusetts, while Fordham remained winless at 0-6.

It was also a great night of nonsense from the broadcast team of Mike Watts & Andrew Bogusch:

Bogusch:

[after LaSalle started the game on a 9-0 run] "take a nine-point punch in the face"

"you can't be Villanova at LaSalle, but you can be Villanova light at LaSalle"

"acknowledge that the mini-battle was lost...win the war"

"play 40 big minutes"


Watts:

"[after a 3-pointer got Fordham to within nine points with 12:19 left] "trying to make sure it's not too little too late"

"this is one of those every possession matters moments"

"LaSalle at times last year was pesky good"

"Ed Croswell, the lunch pail guy on this LaSalle team"