Explorers

La Salle lost its hopes for qualifying for the Catholic League North Division playoffs yesterday when it lost a hard-fought, 61-58, decision to host Bishop Kenrick. The two teams played evenly throughout the game. The Explorers outscored the Knights by 13 points in the second quarter, and the Knights came back to outscore La Salle in the third quarter. The loss dropped La Salle's league record to 8-8 and its overall record to 12-13. Kenrick improved its league record to 10-6.

La Salle fought back from a horrendous first half to trail by just one in the closing minutes of last night's game with Texas-El Paso, but the Miners hung on to win, 69-62, in the opening game of the Sun Carnival Classic. "I thought we had them back on their heels, and I thought we had an opportunity to win it," coach Speedy Morris said. "But to their credit, UTEP kept their composure. " The Explorers (2-7), who had trailed by 14 points at the half, closed the gap 59-58 on a basket and free throw from Romaine Haywood with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left.

OLEAN, N.Y. - The La Salle Explorers played as if they didn't want their season to end. The reward is a trip to the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals. La Salle recovered from a 14-point, second-half hole, somehow made up a seven-point deficit in the first overtime and finally won it in double overtime. Steve Weingarten hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 31.5 seconds left in the second overtime and the Explorers advanced to Atlantic City with a stunning 75-73 victory over St. Bonaventure in a first-round A-10 tournament game on Tuesday at the Reilly Center.

The La Salle women's soccer team drew the No. 25 ranking in the Soccer America poll this week. It's the first-ever appearance in the national rankings for the Explorers, who are the only Division I team in the nation - men or women - not to have allowed a goal this season. La Salle goes into Friday's home game against No. 19 Dayton (7 p.m.) with a 10-0-1 record. The Explorers received votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America national poll for the second straight week and remain third in the Mid-Atlantic region.

La Salle erased two ugly memories with its 66-60 victory at North Catholic yesterday. One recalled a game that had taken place less than 48 hours earlier. The other was ancient history, a specter more than 10 months old. A 50-29 loss to Bishop McDevitt on Friday night had embarrassed the Explorers. La Salle scored just 16 points in the first three quarters, and coach Marty Jackson inserted underclassmen from the junior varsity for the last 10 minutes. At practice the next day, Jackson rolled the tape from last March's 60-48 playoff defeat at North Catholic.

La Salle muscled its way past a banged-up Bishop Egan team Saturday for a 41-0 rout in Catholic League play. The Explorers stand at the top of the league's Northern Division at 3-0-1 and 6-0-1 overall. The Eagles hold down the other end of the division at 0-4 and 1-5. "Egan is really banged up, and that has everything to do with everything," Explorers coach Joe Colistra said. "We played well when we had to, I guess you'd say. It was an even game early on, but let's face it, Egan is banged up. " The Eagles had three first-half turnovers, but they managed to hold the Explorers to just a 14-0 lead after touchdown runs by Max Guevara and Bill Tatar.

Eight Explorers scored in double figures yesterday as La Salle opened the San Juan Shootout with a 117-86 rout of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at Mario Morales Coliseum. La Salle (4-4) had its highest scoring output since a 120-88 victory over Iona on Jan. 4, 1992. Freshmen Jerrell Williams (20 points) and Kyle Griffin (16) posted career highs to lead the winners. Griffin hit 5 of 7 shots, including four three-pointers. Omar Velasquez sank a three-pointer for Mayaguez (1-9) to cut the La Salle lead to 54-50 with 19 minutes, 19 seconds to play, but Rodney Green hit a layup and Darnell Harris added a three-pointer to pad the Explorers' advantage.

Rasual Butler and Julian Blanks combined for 26 points last night, but they were unable to lift La Salle to a first-round victory in the Cable Car Classic in San Jose, Calif. The Explorers fell to Butler, 43-36, in front of 2,588 at San Jose Arena. The Bulldogs held the Explorers to their lowest point total in school history. La Salle lost to Evansville, 63-41, on Feb. 11, 1993, in its previous low. La Salle forged a 23-20 halftime lead over the Bulldogs, but managed only 13 second-half points as the team hit just 5 of 28 shots from the field.

Melvin Bryant set a school record with a 99-yard kickoff return, but La Salle couldn't sustain an offense yesterday and lost to visiting Fairfield, 25-14, at McCarthy Stadium. La Salle fell to 0-2; Fairfield improved to 1-1. The game was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener for both teams. Fairfield's defense held the Explorers to one first down in the second half and minus-1 yard rushing for the game. The Stags' Rishawd Watson ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns, while Andrew Turf caught 11 passes for 136 yards.

With only two games remaining in the regular season, La Salle is capturing the must-win contests to stay in the Catholic League Northern Division playoff picture. Yesterday at Bishop Egan, the Explorers (10-4 league, 15-8 overall) unleashed a balanced attack to ground the Eagles (3-11, 6-17) by 71-50. And on Friday, La Salle routed North Catholic (7-7, 10-12) by 74-54. In both contests, the Explorers had four players in double figures. Against Egan, senior center Mark Fitzgerald led with 19 points.

YOU'D expect a movie about a song that has become the Hebrew "Hokey Pokey" to be playful. And "Hava Nagila (The Movie)" is that, in spades. That wedding, party and bar mitzvah staple, a song that the whole world knows and virtually no one knows anything about, is a ready punch-line, a musical eye-roller for some and a no-brainer for any band or singer that works the wedding circuit - Jewish or gentile. But Roberta Grossman's cute documentary gives weight to the tune, tracing its lineage to a town - Sadagora, in the Ukraine - and the 19th century.

OF ALL THE forlorn Explorers in the Staples Center locker room, none looked sadder than sophomore D.J. Peterson. La Salle had just lost to Wichita State in the Sweet 16, a foreseeable if unfortunate decision. For Peterson, the loss held special significance. He knew the team would change the following season. Tyrone Garland, one of the nation's top bench players, would probably start in place of Ramon Galloway, especially in the aftermath of his "Southwest Philly Floater" that beat Mississippi and sent La Salle to the Sweet 16. Delaware transfer Khalid Lewis and La Salle High's Amar Stukes also would play plenty, alongside point guard Tyrone Garland.

La Salle sophomore guard D.J. Peterson has reversed fields. After earlier stating his intention to transfer to be closer to home, the Burnsville, Minn., native has reconsidered and will remain with the Explorers. "D.J. is close to his family and has missed them during his long absences from home," coach John Giannini said in a statement. "He also is close to his La Salle teammates. After deciding to transfer, he spoke with his parents and teammates and has since decided to stay at La Salle.

As a white, Christian, heterosexual, able-bodied male who was born in the United States with an uncomplicated gender identity, Andrew Lloyd hit the privilege jackpot. No one has stared at him, thinking he was in the "wrong" restroom. No one has asked him why he flaunts his sexuality when he holds hands with a girlfriend. No classroom building is inaccessible, because he can walk anywhere. "It was never 'Mom and Dad, people treat me differently. Why is that?' " said Lloyd, 21, a senior at West Chester University.

WHY DID Branch Rickey do it? Why did that Bible-quoting, cigar-chomping, bushy-browed president of the Brooklyn Dodgers sign Jackie Robinson to a major-league contract in 1947, knowing that Robinson would need armadillo skin and saintly patience to endure the venomous treatment he'd get from baseball's bigots? Why did Rickey do it? The question gets asked three times in "42," the new, patchwork yet well-intentioned film about Rickey and Robinson and the breaking of baseball's color barrier.

La Salle made the deepest run of any City Six team in the NCAA tournament, and the Explorers were rewarded with a place in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll of the season. John Giannini's crew is ranked 24th, a spot ahead of Florida Gulf Coast. Atlantic Ten rivals Virginia Commonwealth and St. Louis are also ranked, at No. 23 and No. 16 respectively. The top four teams were the final four teams: Louisville, Michigan, Syracuse, and Wichita State. Temple was the only other local school to receive votes, and finished the equivalent of 37th.

LOS ANGELES - Tyreek Duren has plenty to look forward to, but what he most eagerly anticipates has nothing to do with the NCAA Tournament. Of course, he hopes, and expects, to lead La Salle back, at least to the Sweet 16, where his Explorers found themselves for the first time in 58 years. Before that, he hopes to guide the Explorers to the top of the Atlantic 10 for the first time. He wants to redeem this season's quick exit from the A-10 Tournament. He wants to win the Big 5 outright.

LOS ANGELES - Rohan Brown sat in his chair and glared ahead into space. He would not take off his uniform. He would not remove his shoes. His rage would not allow him to accept defeat in the NCAA Tournament. Not to Wichita State. Not to some Missouri Valley Conference team that merited only a No. 9 seed. Never mind that La Salle was a 13, and needed a play-in game to acquire that spot. Never mind that La Salle come out of the quaint Atlantic 10. Never mind that the Explorers last played in the NCAA Tournament 21 years ago, before Rohan Brown was born.

LOS ANGELES - John Giannini never told his team exactly which team Wichita State reminded him of when he watched video. The La Salle coach did not want to scare them. The Shockers reminded him of Saint Louis. Anybody who saw the second half of La Salle's final regular-season game at Saint Louis knew the Explorers did not match up with a team that had size, skill and speed. Speed and skill, yes, but throw in size and La Salle was going to be in trouble. The coach's worst fears were realized Thursday night at the Staples Center.

LOS ANGELES - Watching La Salle fall one more upset short of becoming the first No. 13 seed to reach the NCAA Elite Eight, you could argue three Explorers NCAA wins are testament to a school showing patience with a coach, since John Giannini got to March Madness in his ninth season on Olney Avenue. Or maybe it was a coach showing patience with a school. Forget what you just saw. Did you think La Salle was a place where such a run was possible? Was anybody convinced that the Explorers could recruit the players necessary to compete in the Atlantic Ten, let alone make an NCAA run?