By Ed Morrone
PHILADELPHIA-When Pride junior standout guard Loren Stokes went down with a knee injury in the waning moments of Friday night’s game at La Salle, Antoine Agudio could only think of one thing-“get the ball in my hands.”
Agudio hit a jumper in the lane with 1:03 left in regulation to give the Pride a dramatic, come-from-behind 71-70 victory at La Salle’s Tom Gola Arena. He scored a team-high 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting (5-for-7 from beyond the arc), while Stokes tallied 18 before leaving with the injury and senior forward Aurimas Kieza scored seven of his nine points in a row to tie the score at 69 late in the second half.
“This was a great college basketball game,” Pride head coach Tom Pecora said. “Antoine’s timing [at the end] was impeccable, and when it’s time to make big plays, he generally does. Aurimas also really stepped up and made some big plays at the end.”
In a game that was close throughout, the Explorers (8-2) went on a run that put them up by a score of 69-61 with just under three minutes to go. However, unfazed by the hostile road environment, the Pride clawed back into it, in large part thanks to Kieza’s unexpected heroics. After Agudio split two free throws, Kieza knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing off an inbounds pass to cut the deficit to four. Junior guard Carlos Rivera stole the ball and fed it to Kieza, who converted on a slash to the basket to make it 69-67. Finally, on the ensuing possession, he stole the ball from La Salle senior forward Steven Smith at the top of the key and went coast-to-coast for the tying lay-up.
La Salle’s next possession gave Pride (8-2) fans a scare, as Stokes came down awkwardly on his knee while jumping for a loose ball. He had to be carried off the court, but a subsequent MRI came back negative, and Stokes should return in time for Thursday night’s game against James Madison.
With Stokes out, it was evident the ball would end up in Agudio’s hands, and he did not disappoint.
“I was just thinking it’s time to step up,” Agudio said when asked about Stokes’ absence. “One of us had to do it, so I guess I just had to step up and hit a big shot.”
Agudio’s 10-footer with just over a minute to play was the final field goal of the game, as both teams used good defense to prevent any further scoring. The Pride got the ball back off a La Salle miss and attempted to run as much time off the clock as possible, but freshman point guard Greg Johnson (in for Stokes) was forced into a shot clock violation with 6.1 seconds left, giving La Salle one last shot to steal the game. The Explorers inbounded the ball to guard Tabby Cunningham, who attempted to dribble through a double-team at midcourt and instead lost the ball, sealing the Pride victory.
The Pride overcame another fantastic performance by Smith, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. By the end of the game, Pecora was sending double and triple teams toward Smith-who will probably be selected in June’s NBA Draft-a strategy that ultimately worked out well for the Pride.
“Smith has gotten so much better at handling double teams,” Pecora said. “He’s just a great player. We got a little lucky.”
This game was much different than last season’s meeting with La Salle, a 79-69 Pride win. The Explorers came into the game having already notched eight victories, which was just two away from the 10 they had all of last year. It was also on the road, so the fact that the Pride rallied to win is very encouraging for a team that has NCAA Tournament aspirations.
“I thought it was a great challenge, a great chance to see where we are,” La Salle head coach John Giannini said. “That’s a good team they have over there.”
The Pride will resume CAA play on Thursday night against James Madison, a team that took the Pride to three overtimes in Hempstead last season before finally succumbing to Stokes’ 30 points, 95-88. After the Dukes leave town, the Pride will battle with Georgia State at home on Saturday.
As the early season standings indicate, the league will be as close as ever this season, so the Pride must treat every game the same, no matter if it’s at home against James Madison or on the road at Old Dominion.
“We have to practice hard and get better as a team,” Agudio said. “We have to come out like champions in every CAA game in order to get a good bid in the tournament.”
With the ball in Agudio’s hands during crunch time, the Pride can go as far as it wants to.
Antione Agudio has been a leading figure on the Pride. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.)