Off The Boards By Jack Scheuer – January 18, 2017 Edition

Off The Boards

By Jack Scheuer

January 18, 2017 Edition

I may have mentioned this before, but since it’s one of the greatest performances in Big 5 history, and has never got the attention deserved, it ‘s worth repeating. In a game at La Salle on March 3, 2001, Saint Joe’s Marvin O’Connor scored 18 points in less than a minute (57.5), before the Explorers finally escaped with a 91-90 victory. Hard to believe, I agree, but I was there, and was fortunate  enough to cover the game.

La Salle led 80-70 with 1:09 left, and 14 seconds later O’Connor started his spree. Combining missed free throws, turnovers, and great shooting, he scored 18 of his team’s final 20 points before the game finally ended. He finished with 37 including six 3-pointers. Freshman point guard Jameer Nelson had 10 points and 7 assists for the 22nd-ranked Hawks, who had their 10 -game winning streak snapped.

For the winners, who made their last 16 points from the foul line, Victor Thomas had 26  and Rasual Butler 25.  Winning  coach Speedy Morris summed things up this way:  “The last 2 minutes seemed like an eternity.”

Marvin O’Connor, who was inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 2013, tallied 1,678 points while playing at Hawk Hill.

Amazingly, 18 of them  came in less than a minute.

 

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Right now it looks like the top choices for Player of the Year are Josh Hart and Kansas’ Frank Mason. Interesting that their schools are presently rated 1-2 in the AP poll. I would guess if the voting is close at the end of the season, and it will be, most likely the player whose team is rated higher will win the award.

 

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Trivia Time:  Who holds the La Salle record for most points (52) in one game? Answer at the end of the column.

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One big reason for Notre Dame moving up in the polls is the play of point guard Matt Farrell. The 6-1 junior from Bridgewater, N.J. is averaging almost six assists per game. He makes those real crisp type passes that seem to squirt through traffic. His teaming up with localite Steve Vasturia  gives the Irish an excellent backcourt.

 

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This and That: Central Florida’s 7-6 center Tako Fall is closing in on the single season top percentage record. He’s 96 for 120 (80%) so far this year .The  current record holder is Steve Johnson, from Oregon State, who had a 74.6 average in 1980-81….Losing Maurice Watson (knee)  could be a disaster for Creighton. The Boys Latin product leads the nation in assists and averages 13.4 points per game…. Don’t believe the rumor that Duke’s Grayson Allen is writing a book titled ” A Trip Down Memory Lane.”….Upcoming: Tonight Temple is at Cincinnati, and Saint Joe’s visits UMass; Tomorrow, streaking  La Salle hosts a good Davidson team and Drexel visits Elon. On Saturday, #1 Villanova has Providence at the Wells Fargo, and Penn and the Hawks collide at the Palestra.

 

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Answer to Trivia Time: Playing against Loyola of Baltimore on Feb.4, 1995, Kareem  Townes put up 52 big ones.