By Kyle Morello (@Kylemorello4)
PHILADELPHIA — Coming off a lackluster scoring performance against Richmond, Darris Nichols and La Salle seemed to be searching for answers as to how to get the offense going.
The moment of inspiration they ended up getting before their matchup on Saturday against St. Bonaventure didn’t come from anyone on the coaching staff, however.
“Jaeden Marshall comes in and says, ‘hey Coach, bring me off the bench. I want to get somebody else going.’” Nichols said of his senior guard, who had 21 points and hit five threes as a reserve in La Salle’s 78-74 home win over the Bonnies. He provided an instant spark for the Explorers after checking in at the 17:04 mark of the first half, scoring nine of La Salle’s next 14 points upon entering the game.
Marshall was a big part of the offensive equation for La Salle, yet he wasn’t the only Explorer to have himself a game. Jerome Brewer, Jr. quite literally had himself a perfect game scoring the basketball, scoring a season-high 27 points by hitting all nine of his shots, including a trio of triples, and all six of his free throw attempts.
“I feel like my teammates played a big part in finding me,” Brewer said. “They know my sweet spots, they know my hot spots, so I just give credit to all those guys right there. They just found me and I was able to capitalize on it when they gave me the ball.”
It was the second highest scoring output of his career, behind a 32-point performance as a member of Texas A&M Commerce (now East Texas A&M) on January 6, 2024 in a 73-67 loss to McNeese State.
The selflessness Brewer mentioned was also a point of emphasis for Nichols when talking about his team’s performance, though that wasn’t just the 19 assists on 25 made baskets for La Salle. It was also the 17 turnovers his team accrued throughout the game, leading to 20 points for St. Bonaventure.
That has been an ongoing problem for the Explorers this season, as they rank 306 out of 366 teams in turnover percentage nationally, according to KenPom. It can be credited to not making cross-court passes, better floor spacing, or even simply just not getting open in talking to Nichols after the game. Or maybe it’s not as complicated as it may seem.
“You gotta throw it to the guys wearing the jerseys that we have,” Nichols joked.
Despite the turnovers, it was one of the best offensive performances of the season for La Salle. The Explorers made 25 of 43 field goals and shot 8-for-14 from distance, both well above their season averages of 46.6 and 31.3 percent, respectively. They also hit all 20 of their free throws, atypical of a team who, even after this performance, still averages a touch over 72 percent from the charity stripe.
The win is also a deviation from what has been the norm for this La Salle team, specifically in Atlantic 10 play. The Explorers had lost four of their first five games in league play, with their only victory coming in the form of a 79-72 win over Rhode Island in Kingston on January 7. Nichols knows how hard conference play can be, and that’s not exclusive to just the A-10, despite this being his first time navigating a new league.
“This league is like a lot of other leagues, there’s a small margin for error,” Nichols said. “If you look at league play, people know your tendencies better, people know your personnel better, so the margin, like you play within the margins, it’s closer. Every league that I’ve ever been in, there is a small room for error.”
Nonetheless, it’s a resilient win for La Salle. St. Bonaventure tried to steal this game away at the end, as Daniel Egbuniwe hit a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions to pull the Bonnies within two points in the final minute of regulation. Jaden Johnson was fouled after Egbuniwe’s second triple, stepping to the line for a one-and-one and nailing both to extend the lead back to four. The Bonnies came up empty on the ensuing possession, which included a nullified basket at the buzzer by Frank Mitchell, who had a team-high 26 points and seven rebounds for the visitors.
“I thought the guys did a good job closing the game out,” Nichols said. “They made some big shots towards the end, and going 20-for-20 from the free throw line doesn’t hurt either.”
La Salle will be home again for its next matchup, this time against Dayton on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
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