Soft Pretzel Logic

The game is over, but you can relive La Salle's first win at the Palestra in 13 tries right here on the blog. The post reads from top to bottom chronologically.

Pregame: The visitors turn the ball over on 24.1 percent of their possessions; the home team gives it up 25.5 of the time. But either La Salle or Penn will walk out of the Palestra tonight with a Big 5 win.

La Salle starts:

F So 12 Yves Mekongo Mbala
F Jr 31 Paul Johnson
C Fr 20 Jerrell Williams
G So 10 Rodney Green
G Sr 11 Darnell Harris

Penn starts:

F Fr 24 Jack Eggleston
F Jr 33 Cameron Lewis
G Fr 3 Tyler Bernardini
G Jr 4 Aron Cohen
G Sr 21 Brian Grandieri

Will anything really interesting happen in this game? Who knows. But I'm here, and I'll let you know.

15:56 1st, 2-0 La Salle: Okay, I figured this game would be ugly, but this is quite something. Both of the Explorers' points came on free throws by Rodney Green, and the two teams have combined to miss all 15 field goal attempts so far.

(Credit for that number goes to Neil Geoghegan of the West Chester Daily Local, who did the math himself.)

15:20 1st, 4-2 La Salle: A layup by Penn's Justin Reilly gets us off the schneid; La Salle's Kimmani Barrett answers with a layup of his own to make it 4-2.

7:44 1st, 17-10 Penn: Wow, some points on the board. After a Jerrell Williams slam tied the game at 10-10, a Tyler Bernardini three-pointer (yes, really) has forced John Giannini to call a timeout to stop a 7-0 Quakers run.

2:48 1st, 26-22 Penn: La Salle's big contingent of fans here wakes up after the Explorers hit two threes in a row.

After Jerrell Williams sank one from the left side, Penn tried to push a fastbreak but missed a putback layup. At the other end, Darnell Harris hit nothing but net from the right side to make it 23-22.

On the ensuing possession, Bernardini was fouled going up by Jerrell Williams but managed to get an off-balance layup to bounce off the rim twice and go in. He converted the free throw.

HALFTIME, 29-24 Penn: La Salle holds for the last shot but Darnell Harris turns it over with four seconds left; Penn's Aron Cohen heaves up a three from a few steps outside the arc and it bounces off the rim.

La Salle shot 7-for-29 from the field, including 2-for-6 from three, as well as a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Seven offensive rebounds, 14 defensive rebounds, six assists, seven turnovers, four blocks, four steals and seven fouls committed.

That adds up to 33 possessions, 0.731 points per possession and -- the big stat of the night, as noted above -- a turnover percentage of 21.3.

Penn shot 13-for-34 from the field, also including 2-for-6 from three, but only 1-for-4 from the line. Eight offensive rebounds, 15 defensive rebounds, nine assists, six turnovers, five blocks, three steals and seven fouls committed.

That adds up to 35 possessions, 0.832 points per possession and a turnover percentage of 17.2.

So both teams are reasonably below their season averages, at least thus far.

13:03 2nd, 41-35 La Salle: After a Cameron Lewis backdoor pass to Aron Cohen gave Penn a 35-30 lead, the Explorers have launched an 11-0 run. Darryl Pardin capped it with a fastbreak layup, forcing Glen Miller to call a timeout.

7:36 2nd, 50-44 La Salle: The Explorers have done a good job protecting their lead. If they end up winning, the biggest reason why will probably be their performance from the free throw line. After going 8-for-8 in the first half, they are 9-for-10 so far in the second half.

Penn, meanwhile, is 3-for-7 in the game and has only taken three attempts this half.

3:36 2nd, 53-50 La Salle: Penn is still breathing, thanks to a Tyler Bernardini three and a La Salle turnover that led to Rodney Green fouling Brian Grandieri on a drive. But Grandieri only made the second free throw.

1:35 2nd, 59-54 La Salle: After a Jack Eggleston layup cut La Salle's lead to 56-54, Darnell Harris found Rodney Green for a shot clock-beating slam to make it 58-54. At the other end, Tyler Bernardini missed a three and Cameron Lewis fouled Harris. That was Lewis' fifth. Harris made the first free throw but missed the 2nd.

FINAL SCORE: 62-58 La Salle: After a Brian Grandieri layup cut La Salle's lead to 59-58 with 31 seconds left, Yves Mekongo Mbala made three of four free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.

Not a bad game in the end, to be honest, and it snaps a 13-game losing streak at the Palestra for the Explorers.

La Salle shot 17-for-55 from the field, including 3-for-11 from three-point range, and a whopping 25-for-30 in the game -- 17-for-22 in the second half. Fifteen offensive rebounds, 25 defensive rebounds, 11 assists, 14 turnovers, five blocks, 12 steals and 19 fouls committed.

That adds up to 68.25 possessions, 0.908 points per possession and a turnover percentage of 20.5 -- well below the season average.

Penn shot 22-for-57 from the field, including 4-for-15 from three-point range, and 10-for-15 from the line. Eleven offensive rebounds, 26 defensive rebounds, 16 assists, 17 turnovers, nine blocks, six steals and 22 fouls committed.

That adds up to 70 possessions, 0.827 points per possession and a turnover percentage of 24.2.

Press conference audio to come later.