Explorers

La Salle needed a pit stop after playing something that looked more like the Indy 500 than a basketball game three nights ago against those breathless guys from Loyola Marymount. So the Explorers pulled back into the Civic Center last night with a new set of tires and left treadmarks all over Siena, 106-90, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game that was decided by halftime. On the way to the win, the Explorers (No. 21 AP) set a school record by making 13 three-point field goals.

ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands - As quickly as La Salle got out of the blocks in its season opener, you might have expected a similar effort in the early moments yesterday. Instead, the Explorers dug themselves an early hole and couldn't claw their way out, losing, 81-69, to Clemson in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. The Explorers will play Alabama-Birmingham in the third-place game at 5:30 p.m. today at the University of the Virgin Islands. Were it not for the early minutes, when La Salle fell behind by as many as 21 points, the result might have more like Sunday's 63-49 win over Morris Brown, in which the Explorers raced to a 17-point halftime lead.

La Salle coach Billy Hahn was in a tough position. Maybe it wasn't as dire as what Eagles coach Andy Reid faced with the fourth-and-26 play against the Packers, but tough nonetheless. His Explorers had lost their last four games, three to Atlantic 10 opponents. So he was more than happy with last night's 74-70 win over host Duquesne. In fact, he overlooked some of his team's shortcomings, preferring instead to look at the big picture. "It's a very good win on the road," he said.

Devona Allgood scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Princeton (12-2) downed host La Salle, 68-49. Jamie Walsh had 13 points and Morgan Robertson added 10 for La Salle (5-10)., which fell to 5-10.In another game: Kim Adams (16 points) and Sarah Bucar (14) led Penn (1-11), but Erin Prosser's 16 points led Lehigh (13-2) to a 66-51 victory.

La Salle reserve center Garrett Bragg has been suspended for one game for hitting Xavier's Kevin Frey with an elbow in Sunday's game between the Explorers and the Musketeers, coach Speedy Morris said. The suspension by La Salle athletic officials means Bragg will sit out tomorrow's game against Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Va. Bragg, a 6-foot-11 junior, hit Frey on top of the head with his elbow with 4 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the first half of a game that Xavier won, 71-60.

The La Salle Explorers nearly finished the Cherry Hill East (N.J.) tournament on a winning note Monday, but St. John Neumann's Rich Madison connected on a 6-foot jump shot with 2 seconds left in overtime and the Pirates defeated La Salle, 63-61, to capture fifth place. Leading by a score of 49-41 after three quarters, Neumann slumped in the final period and La Salle tied the score at 59-59 at the end of regulation by scoring 18 fourth-period points. However, Neumann netted 4 points in overtime, while the Explorers (4-6)

Considering the level of competition his team was up against, La Salle coach Marty Jackson was not upset with his team losing two out of three games at the Benedictine Tournament last week. "I thought we played pretty well against some exceptional talent," Jackson said after the Explorers finished seventh out of eight teams. "Even though we ended up losing two games, we played with those other teams. Playing three games in three days is like a college atmosphere. It will help us in the long run. " La Salle (7-3)

It was four hours and change before last night's Super Bowl kickoff, and the voice of La Salle women's basketball coach Tom Lochner already was shot. No, the raspiness was not caused by his shouting encouragement to the Eagles all the way to Jacksonville. Lochner had just finished verbally prodding his team to a 77-48 victory over Fordham in an Atlantic Ten Conference game at Tom Gola Arena. The win gave the Explorers (10-11 overall, 4-6 conference) a weekend worth celebrating.

For a little more than 33 minutes of last night's intense Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinal game, La Salle matched St. Peter's elbow for elbow, screen for screen and shot for shot. But down the stretch, when the Explorers needed their offense to be precise and their defense to be airtight, they shot bricks, committed turnovers and made critical defensive mistakes. That deadly combination ultimately cost them a shot at their fourth straight MAAC championship. The Explorers scored just two points in the final 6 minutes, 56 seconds as the Peacocks survived the test of wills with a 57-50 victory before 10,808 fans at Knickerbocker Arena to advance to the MAAC championship game tonight against Iona, which defeated Siena, 95-90, in overtime behind Sean Green's 43 points.

La Salle, a team prone to basketball lapses that would make James Naismith blush, outdid itself last night in a 62-60 loss to Loyola (Md.). The Explorers made only seven field goals in the second half - including only two in the final 11 minutes, 38 seconds - of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at the Reitz Arena. In the second half, they succeeded on just one of 16 three-point attempts, sank only six of 12 free throws, and pulled down 13 offensive rebounds without converting a single one into a basket.