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PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball tipped off its 2013-14 season Saturday afternoon, falling 99-90 to Manhattan in a double-overtime thriller at Tom Gola Arena. Senior Tyrone Garland kicked off his senior season with a career-high 28 points, shooting 7-for-20 from the field and 12-for-14 from the charity stripe.
 
"I wasn't surprised [with the intensity], coach said it was going to be a battle," Garland said post-game.

The Explorers experienced a season's worth of emotions in this hotly contested home opener, witnessed by a raucous sellout crowd. La Salle battled back from a ten-point late second half deficit to force the game into overtime. One overtime proved to be not enough, as neither team would back down, playing to a draw in the first five-minute session of extra time. Unfortunately for the Blue & Gold, Green and White had the last laugh on this early November afternoon, as Manhattan outscored La Salle 18-9 in the second overtime session to score the victory. 
 
Both teams took awhile to get into rhythm offensively, with the defenses prevailing early. With Manhattan holding a slim 3-1 lead at the 17:15 mark of the first half, the Blue & Gold strung together a 10-1 run, capped by senior guard Tyreek Duren draining an off-balanced shot to snatch an 11-4 lead. The Explorers tight pressure defense gave the Jaspers fits, as Manhattan went on a 5:35 scoring drought.
 
A three-pointer from Emmy Andujar ended the Jaspers 6:25 drought from the field, sparking an 8-2 Manhattan run, which knotted the score at 13-13. The Explorers punched and the Jaspers counterpunched the rest of the way of the opening half.

"I think we let it go early in the first half," Tyreek Duren (17 points, career-high nine assists) said. "We had them, up I think nine, and then they came down the next couple of possessions and scored three-four times straight."
 
A three-pointer from Duren reestablished a six-point lead for the Explorers with 4:24 to play in the opening half. However, back-to-back three-point buckets from CJ Jones and George Beamon brought the game back to a deadlock. Duren sunk one of two free throws to give the Explorers a 32-30 lead entering the break.
 
"One of our big keys on defense is that we don't allow teams to shoot three's," Duren said. "I think we got away from one of our key principles."
 
Manhattan came out on fire to begin the second half, shooting 9-of-11 from the field to grab an eight-point lead at 55-48. The Jaspers relentlessly attacked the glass on both ends, getting several second and third chance opportunities throughout the second half and overtime sessions. They out-rebounded the Explorers 51-33 for the game, collecting 24 offensive boards.
 
"That difference is just incredibly glaring, and it shouldn't be that big," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "They're big, they're strong, they're athletic, but we've played those kind of teams before and it shouldn't have been that big."
 
The Jaspers looked like they might runaway with this one down the stretch. A long three-pointer from RaShawn Stores as the shot clock was winding down, stretched the Manhattan lead to ten at 70-60 with only 4:19 remaining. However, Garland put the team on his back down the stretch, keying a 13-3 run, while nailing two huge shots to send the game into overtime.
 
Garland drilled a three-pointer with 2:09 remaining, while a huge defensive stop gave the ball back to the Explorers trailing by five at 73-68.
 
Sam Mills drained a pair of free throws with 1:30 remaining and just like that, the Explorers found themselves just one possession away from tying the game. Mills finished with 15 points, while collecting four assists.
 
The Blue & Gold made another key defensive stop, and the Explorers gained possession with 13.1 seconds remaining. The Explorers put the ball in the hands of the red-hot Garland. The fans held their breath as Garland dribbled to the top of the key and unleashed a teardrop three-pointer from well beyond the arc. The shot flushed through the net to tie the game at 73-73 with just seconds remaining.
 
Riding a wave of momentum, the Explorers looked to close out the victory in the first overtime. After a pair of Garland free throws, the Blue & Gold led 80-77 with 1:23 remaining in the extra-time session. The Explorers then stopped Manhattan on the ensuing possession, taking momentary control of the game with an inbounds play with 44 seconds remaining. What followed were two crucial errors, which gave the Jaspers new life.
 
Miscommunication on the press break resulted in an Explorer turnover and a Manhattan bucket-plus the foul by Andujar. However, Andujar missed free throw and La Salle clung to an 80-79 lead. Duren was fouled and went to the line looking to extend the lead to three with 23.2 seconds remaining. He drained the first but missed the second, and with 7 seconds remaining, Rhamel Brown made a layup to send the game to a second overtime.
 
"I really should've got the ball, emphatically, to Tyreek's hands when we were up by three late in the game," Giannini said . "We ran our normal press break, which didn't go great, and I really can't believe I wasn't emphatic about getting the ball to Tyreek."
 
Duren finished with 17 points, while dishing out nine assists and collecting five rebounds.
 
The Explorers jumped out to an early two-point advantage in the second overtime session on back-to-back buckets by Steve Zack and Duren. However, an ensuing 9-2 run by the Jaspers opened up a six-point advantage with a minute to play. Manhattan salted away the victory, nailing 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch.
 
"I think we needed that lesson, again, of how tiny that difference is between winning and losing," Giannini said. "I think this lesson is very valuable, I think we are going to play well moving forward."
 
The Explorers return to action Tuesday morning, as they take on Quinnipiac at 9:00am, as part of ESPN's Sixth Annual Tip-Off Marathon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2, with the first 3,000 fans in attendance receiving an Under Armor water bottle following the game..