Fort Worth Star-Telegram 1/2/12: Giants’ pass rush too much for Cowboys

Giants’ pass rush overwhelms Cowboys

Posted Sunday, Jan. 01, 2012

 

By Aaron Bracy

 

Special to the Star-Telegram

 

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Giants’ defense gave Tony Romo and the Cowboys fits on Sunday night.

 

New York recorded six sacks — three in each half — and eliminated Dallas (8-8) from playoff contention 31-14 and sent the NFC East champion Giants (9-7) into a first-round game against Atlanta at noon Sunday.

 

The Giants set the tone in the first half and upped their season sack total to 48, moving them into a tie for third place in the NFL.

 

Jason Pierre-Paul continued his impressive season, sacking Romo for the first time for a 12-yard loss early in the first quarter to force the Cowboys into a third-and-21. It gave Pierre-Paul 16 1/2 sacks on the season.

 

Osi Umenyiora, in his first game back after missing the past four due to a high ankle sprain, then sacked Romo for a 7-yard loss on third-and-4 from the Dallas 22 later in the first quarter. It was the first of two sacks on the night for Umenyiora.

 

“I’m happy we were able to get this victory. It was fun. It was a good time,” Umenyiora said. “We knew we were going to have to do that [get sacks] to win this game.”

 

 

Cruz-ing along

Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz continued his breakout season.

 

Cruz took a 5-yard pass from quarterback Eli Manning and turned it into a 74-yard touchdown that gave the Giants a 7-0 lead with 4:57 left in the first quarter.

 

It was a tough series for Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman. Newman was covering Cruz on the play and then neither he nor safety Gerald Sensabaugh could catch Cruz down the left sideline.

 

Cruz had a huge impact in the fourth quarter. With the Giants clinging to a seven-point advantage, he caught a 44-yard pass on a third-and-7 from their own 28. He caught a 20-yard pass later in the drive that ended with Lawrence Tynes’ 28-yard field goal that put New York up 10 points.

 

“We needed to win two games and we were able to do that and play big in the fourth quarter to seal the win,” Manning said.

 

 

Giant breaks

Will Blackmon muffed Chris Jones’ punt with 2:54 left in the first quarter, but the Giants didn’t lose possession when Cowboys’ Alan Ball pounced on the ball but lost it. New York’s Greg Jones ultimately recovered it.

 

Later, with nine minutes left in the second quarter, New York running back Brandon Jacobs fumbled on a first-down run on the Cowboys’ 14.

 

The ball deflected directly to Sensabaugh, but slid out of the safety’s hands and was recovered by Manning.

 

 

Briefly

Lawrence Tynes extended his franchise record of consecutive extra points to 158 after making four.

 

Antrel Rolle’s third-quarter interception of Romo was his second of the season and upped the Giants’ total to 20, which is tied or sixth best in the NFL.

 

Tampa Tribune 1/6/12: South Florida gets road win at Villanova

Bulls earn Big East road win at Villanova

By AARON BRACY

 

 

The South Florida men’s basketball team finally got a taste of road success.

 

The Bulls earned their first victory away from home this season, defeating Villanova, 74-57, Thursday night at the Pavilion.

 

Not only is it USF’s first road win of this season, but just the Bulls’ seventh road victory in seven seasons since joining the Big East.

 

Also, the victory was only the second against Villanova in the last 53 games at the Pavilion, the Wildcats’ on-campus home court. Their only other loss at the cozy, 6,500-person venue came last Feb. 12 to Pitt.

 

“I saw us getting close,” USF coach Stan Heath said. “We’ve been knocking on the door. We had been in some other games. We just couldn’t continue on.”

 

Jawanza Poland matched his career high with 20 points, and the Bulls outrebounded the Wildcats, 38-26. Blake Nash added 12 points and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick chipped in 10 for the Bulls (9-7, 2-1 Big East).

 

Heath knew coming in the Bulls would have a chance against the Wildcats (7-8, 0-3), who feature a young team with five freshmen and no seniors.

 

The Cats got even younger on Thursday when coach Jay Wright benched juniors Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek for a minor issue in practice and started four of his freshmen. Both Wayns and Cheek entered the game early in the contest and the benching didn’t factor into the outcome.

 

“We just felt like coming in here, Villanova was a little young, coming off a couple of losses, and if we played well we would have a chance,” Heath said.

 

Poland was big down the stretch for the Bulls. He scored seven of nine points during a pivotal 9-2 Bulls run late in the second half after Villanova had trimmed USF’s 12-point advantage to 48-45 with 9 minutes, 3 seconds remaining.

 

“Don’t get scared, stay aggressive, punch back and stay aggressive,” Poland said was the message during the team’s timeout after Villanova pulled within three points.

 

The spurt gave USF a 57-47 lead with 5:49 remaining. The advantage was 11 when Victor Rudd Jr. slammed home two points after a pretty no-look feed from Nash.

 

Poland, who missed the first 11 games with a back injury, said he is finally rounding into complete health.

 

“I feel real good out there playing running up and down the court,” he said. “I feel like I’m up 100 percent.”

 

Heath noticed the play.

 

“Jawanza stepped up in big way and really carried that load,” Heath said.

 

NOTE: USF guard Anthony Collins injured his head after falling hard to the floor on a layup attempt in the first half. He played only 17 minutes and Heath said he would be re-evaluated today.

 

Philadelphia Inquirer 1/5/12: La Salle defeats Xavier

Posted: Thu, Jan. 5, 2012, 3:01 AM | 148 views | 0comments |  <

La Salle ambushes Xavier

The Explorers beat the perennial A-10 power in their league opener.

By Aaron Bracy

 

For The Inquirer

La Salle proved it is for real.

 

The Explorers, picked to finish 13th in the 14-team Atlantic Ten, recorded a convincing 80-70 conference-opening win over preseason favorite Xavier on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena in one of the program’s best wins in recent memory.

 

The Explorers (11-4, 1-0 A-10) won their fourth straight and ninth in 10 games while showing they are legitimate after putting together an impressive out-of-conference record that came against a soft schedule.

 

“It is a statement that we have a chance to be one of the best teams in the A-10,” La Salle coach John Giannini said. “I think it’s a statement that we can play with the best teams in the country.”

 

Earl Pettis had 23 points to pace La Salle, and Ramon Galloway added 16 for the Explorers, who extended their Gola record to 10 straight wins.

 

“This win proves to everybody in the Atlantic Ten that we can play and that La Salle is a different team this year,” Galloway said. “Our goal is to do big things this year.”

 

Galloway, a junior transfer from South Carolina, continued to be a driving force behind the Explorers’ transformation. His defensive pressure forced Xavier’s Tu Holloway, the reigning A-10 player of the year, into a 2-for-12 shooting night.

 

Holloway, who entered leading the Musketeers in scoring (18.4 ppg), had 11 of his 15 points from the free-throw line. It is the 11th time in 12 games that La Salle has held the opponent’s top scorer below his average.

 

Dezmine Wells also had 15 points for Xavier (9-5, 0-1), which has lost five of six games since the much-publicized Dec. 10 fight in a 76-53 win over Cincinnati that led to suspensions of four Musketeers.

 

“If that’s going to be our excuse, then we’re going to have a tough way to go in this conference,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said.

 

The Explorers triumphed against a Xavier team that has owned the Atlantic Ten, winning six straight regular-season titles and going 29-3 in the league the last two seasons. The Musketeers, who have reached as high as No. 8 in the national rankings this season, have made six straight NCAA tournament appearances, while La Salle hasn’t reached any postseason tournament since 1992 and finished below .500 in 16 of the last 18 seasons.

 

La Salle matched its biggest lead of the game when Pettis scored on a layup to go up, 60-42, with 11 minutes, 45 seconds left. But Xavier kept battling and got within five on Mark Lyons’ three with 1:42 left that made it 74-69.

 

La Salle, however, managed to do enough down the stretch to hold on, putting the game away on Devon White’s fastbreak dunk with 50 seconds left.

 

Philadelphia Inquirer 1/1/12: La Salle blows out Hartford

Posted: Sun, Jan. 1, 2012, 3:01 AM | 119 views | 0comments |  <

Surging La Salle thumps Hartford, 73-55

By Aaron Bracy

 

For The Inquirer

 

 

La Salle

It was not shocking that La Salle easily defeated winless Hartford on Saturday.

 

But the Explorers’ 10-4 record entering Atlantic Ten play has been somewhat surprising.

 

Ramon Galloway and Tyreek Duren each had 19 points to lead surging La Salle to a 73-55 victory over the Hawks that extended the Explorers’ record winning streak at Tom Gola Arena to nine straight games.

 

Sam Mills returned to the lineup after a one-game absence because of an ankle injury and netted 10 points for the Explorers. Earl Pettis also reached double figures with 11.

 

As it has all season, the Explorers defense keyed their win over the Hawks (0-12), who are coached by St. Joseph’s graduate and former Penn and La Salle assistant John Gallagher.

 

The Explorers trailed, 17-13, with 10 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in the first half before closing the period on a 20-4 run. La Salle forced the Hawks into nine turnovers and 1-for-9 shooting, including 0 for 4 from beyong the arc, during the decisive stretch.

 

Hartford never got within double digits after halftime.

 

“We’re playing together as a team and playing defense,” Galloway said. “We pride ourselves on defense, and that’s what we’re focused on this year.”

 

In large part because of Galloway, a junior transfer from South Carolina, La Salle is holding teams to 61.5 points and 38.5 percent field-goal shooting after giving up 78.6 points and 44.9 percent from the field last season, when they finished below .500 (15-18) for the 16th time in the last 18 seasons.

 

“Just defense – that’s all we really preach, is defense,” Duren said. “The scoring is going to happen anyway – so as long as we shut people down, we’re going to win.”

 

The Explorers have won 8 of 9 overall, and the 10 nonconference wins are the most for any La Salle squad since the 1989-90 unit had as many.

 

But the victories have come at the expense of many soft opponents, as La Salle entered Saturday’s game with the 262d toughest schedule in the country, according to realtimerpi.com.

 

From now, the opponents’ skill level will be ratcheted up, beginning with Wednesday’s league opener at home against Xavier.

 

“Now the competition changes and we go from playing good teams to real good teams every night,” La Salle coach John Giannini said of A-10 play.

 

The Explorers were picked to finish 13th in the 14-team A-10 in the preseason media poll, but look primed to exceed those expectations.

 

“You can’t blame them for picking us [to finish 13th],” Duren said of the Explorers, who last reached a postseason tournament in 1992. “As of right now, we’re showing everybody that prediction is wrong.”

 

Philadelphia Inquirer 12/28/11: Drexel downs Fairfield

Posted: Thu, Dec. 29, 2011, 3:25 AM | 88 views | 1comments |  <

Samme Givens leads Drexel to win over Fairfield

By Aaron Bracy

 

For The Inquirer

Fairfield had a plan to stop Samme Givens, but Givens had an answer.

 

Givens scored a career-high 31 points to lead Drexel to its fifth straight victory, 77-69, over Fairfield on Wednesday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

 

“He played harder than us and said, ‘Your scouting report be damned. I’m going to do what I want to,’ ” Fairfield coach Sydney Johnson said. “He just plays harder than whoever is playing against him.”

 

The Stags (7-6) couldn’t stop Givens, who made 13 of 16 shots – including four old-fashioned, three-point plays – while continuing his hot streak.

 

“We kept giving it to him, and he kept scoring,” Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. “We knew he could post it. We knew we had that advantage from the beginning.”

 

A 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior forward who plays bigger than his listed height, Givens is starting to resemble the player who averaged 12.2 points and 10.3 rebounds last season and was selected to the all-Colonial Athletic Association preseason first team.

 

After some early-season struggles, he has scored 90 points during the winning streak, upping his average to 13.3 points per game. Through the Dragons’ first six contests, Givens had been averaging 9.3 points.

 

“I made my first couple, and obviously you feel good about that,” Givens said. “Everything starts falling down, and my teammates let you know. It was a good night.”

 

The Dragons (7-4) took a 47-36 lead with 15 minutes, 34 seconds remaining when Givens assisted on Daryl McCoy’s dunk that capped a 9-3 Drexel run to start the second half.

 

The Dragons led by as many as 16 with 3:32 left but, as has been the case in several wins this season, they couldn’t close it out without some late-game tension. Fairfield cut it to 70-66 on Derek Needham’s three-pointer with 53 seconds remaining, but Frantz Massenat’s layup on the ensuing possession with 24 ticks left gave Drexel the breathing room it needed.

Philadelphia Inquirer 12/11/11: Galloway lifts La Salle past Army

La Salle, Galloway roll past Army

The junior guard paced the Explorers with 26 points, including six three-point shots.

By Aaron Bracy

 

For The Inquirer

In his first year at La Salle, Ramon Galloway has helped transform and energize the Explorers.

 

A 6-foot-2 junior guard who transferred from South Carolina, Galloway continued his stellar season by setting career highs with 26 points and six three-pointers in La Salle’s easy 76-64 victory over Army Saturday at Gola Arena.

 

It was the fifth straight win for La Salle (7-3), which tied a Gola record with its seventh consecutive home victory.

 

“It feels good to have a great game, [but] I’m just happy me and my team got the win,” Galloway said.

 

Galloway was sharp from the field, shooting 10 for 12 (83.3 percent) overall and making 6 of 7 (85.7 percent) from long range while setting a personal mark for three-pointers in a game.

 

A Philadelphia native who played two seasons at Freire Charter, Galloway regularly gets up with his teammates before morning classes to shoot 500 jumpers. Then after practice, they launch some more.

 

“My coach always tells me, you put in the work and the results will show,” said Galloway, the Explorers’ top scorer at 15.6 points per game.

 

The work paid off against the Black Knights (3-7), as La Salle came within three three-pointers of matching a school record by making a season-high 15 long-range shots. The Explorers have made 29 three-pointers in their last two games.

 

“They work hard and they’ve been putting a lot of time in the gym putting up extra shots,” coach John Giannini said. “They’re not making those shots by accident.”

 

Earl Pettis had 18 points and Sam Mills netted 10. Pettis, a senior who played his first two seasons at Rutgers, said Galloway has helped motivate the Explorers.

 

“He brings a lot of energy, he’s always positive and he keeps guys going when they don’t feel like practicing,” he said. “His energy makes you want to keep practicing. You don’t want to let him down. You want to follow his steps.”

 

Said Giannini, “He really does a lot of things for our team that go way beyond the stat sheet.”

 

Galloway played well in two seasons for the Gamecocks, averaging 10.7 points last season after netting 7.8 as a freshman.

 

But he transferred to La Salle to be closer to his family, particularly his blind father and ailing grandfather, and earned a hardship waiver from the NCAA to become eligible for this season and not have to sit out the customary year required of transfers.

Philadelphia Inquirer 12/18/11: Fouch leads Drexel to third straight win

Fouch leads Drexel to third straight win

By Aaron Bracy

 

For The Inquirer

Chris Fouch is starting to resemble the player who led the Dragons in scoring last year.

 

And, not coincidentally, Drexel is beginning to look more like the team everyone expected at the beginning of the season.

 

Fouch scored 14 points, including a key layup with 1 minute, 54 seconds remaining, to lead Drexel to its third straight win, 73-68 over Bradley on Saturday at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

 

It was closer than it should have been, as the Dragons coughed up a 17-point advantage with nine minutes left that created some tense moments and left coach Bruiser Flint fuming.

 

“The game shouldn’t have been that close,” Flint said.

 

But the Dragons built their lead in large part because Fouch, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, is nearing full health. He missed the first four games because of offseason surgery on his left knee, and he scored eight points combined in his first two games back, a pair of losses that dropped Drexel to 2-4.

 

But he has averaged 20.3 points in the Dragons’ last three wins, helping Drexel look more like the team that was picked to finish first in a difficult Colonial Athletic Association that sent Virginia Commonwealth to the Final Four last season.

 

“Yeah, definitely, that’s all we talked about was getting back into Drexel form, making stops, and executing on offense,” Fouch said. “We’ve been doing a good job the last few games.”

 

Samme Givens led the Dragons (5-4) with 17 points, all of which came after halftime, to go with 10 rebounds. Givens has noticed more space on the interior with the return of Fouch.

 

“Chris plays an integral part of our offense,” Givens said. “Definitely since he came back our offense is a little better. Defenses can’t crowd the middle. And now we’re making shots. We’re playing our game.”

 

Flint was steamed that Drexel let Bradley (5-5) climb out of a 58-41 hole with 9:15 left to tie it at 65 with 2:31 remaining.

 

Flint said the Dragons need to learn how to put games away.

 

“[They] got to get a little killer in them,” he said of his team. “I don’t know if we always have that all the time. We’ll learn from it.”

 

Fouch admitted that the Dragons took their foot off the pedal.

 

“That’s one of our biggest problems,” he said. “When we get a team down by a certain amount of points, we let up.”

 

Philadelphia Inquirer 12/24/11: Penn tops Marist, 84-71

Penn defeats Marist after extended break

By Aaron Bracy

 

For The Inquirer

Penn took a 12-day break for exams, but it didn’t look like the layoff had any effect on Tyler Bernardini.

 

The 6-foot-6 senior guard followed up his career-best, 29-point outing against UCLA in Penn’s last game, on Dec. 10, by setting a new career high with 30 points Friday night to lead the Quakers to an 84-71 victory over Marist at the Palestra.

 

Zack Rosen added 13 points and 12 assists for the Quakers (6-6), who placed five players in double figures.

 

Bernardini shot 10 for 16 (62.5 percent) from the field and 8 for 11 (72.7 percent) from the three-point line to help Penn win for just the third time in eight games.

 

Combining the last two games, the sharpshooting Bernardini is 20 for 31 (64.5 percent) from the field and 16 for 23 (70.0 percent) from three-point range.

 

“When you play with a point guard like Zack, he makes the game so easy,” Bernardini said. “The first few games of the season, I really wasn’t doing my job. He was having to carry us. Now I feel like I’m giving him the help he needs.”

 

Bernardini’s two free throws capped a 10-0 Penn run to start the second half that gave the Quakers a 48-36 lead with 16 minutes, 26 seconds left. Marist, which is coached by former Drexel assistant Chuck Martin, never got within double-digits after that.

 

The Quakers set season highs for points, field goals (29), and field-goal percentage (54.7 percent) and tied their three-point percentage mark by going 11 for 22 from long range in their best offensive performance of the season.

 

“I just remember two possessions where we made the extra pass and we didn’t score,” Penn coach Jerome Allen said. “It’s a sign of guys playing for one another and not really caring who gets the shot. If we continue to have that attitude, we have a number of guys who can score points for us.”

 

Bernardini, of course, is one of them. Allen prefers to focus on aspects other than offense, but he admitted the Quakers are better with Bernardini’s recent play.

 

“He’s really stroking the ball,” Allen said. “When he’s shooting the ball like that, obviously we’re a much better team offensively. . . . We all know he can really shoot the ball. It’s the other things I try to focus on with him because I know he’s going to make shots.”

 

Bernardini credited his teammates for his recent spurt.

 

“I’m feeling comfortable, confident, whatever you want to call it,” he said. “I’m really just doing the easy part out there. The screens that are being set . . . they’re all setting really good screens. It’s just easy playing with them right now.”

 

Both teams were good in the opening 20 minutes. They combined to shoot 23 for 48 (47.9 percent) from the field and 13 for 27 (48.1 percent) from three-point range in a well-played first half that ended with Penn ahead by 38-36.

 

“At halftime we talked about getting stops,” Allen said. “I didn’t think scoring the ball was an issue for us in the first half, but we gave up 36 points. We can’t expect to win too many ball games by giving up that many points. We said let’s get stops, and the offense will take care of itself.”

Philadelphia Inquirer 12/8/11: Rosen leads Penn over Delaware, 69-60

Rosen leads Penn past Delaware, 69-60

By Aaron Bracy

FOR THE INQUIRER

It was probably Penn’s best defensive performance of the season, so it was no surprise to coach Jerome Allen that the Quakers pulled out a victory.

Penn shut down Delaware during a pivotal six-minute stretch early in the second half Wednesday night and got a season-high 29 points from senior point guard Zack Rosen in a 69-60 victory over the Blue Hens at the Palestra.

“I just think that’s how we’re going to win basketball games – not just because the ball goes in the basket, but because we’re consistent on the defensive end,” Allen said.

Asked whether that was the best the Quakers have defended all season, Allen said, “Over the course of 40 minutes, I wouldn’t argue with you.”

Penn (5-5), which entered having lost four of five, was particularly stingy after Delaware took its first and only lead of the game on Devon Saddler’s layup that made it 27-26, 45 seconds after the break.

The Quakers clamped down on Delaware (3-4), which is coached by former St. Joseph’s assistant Monte Ross, forcing the Hens into five turnovers and 1-for-7 shooting over the next 6 minutes, 22 seconds while outscoring the Hens, 17-2, to take a 43-29 lead.

“We were all over the place on defense,” said Penn forward Rob Belcore, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds. “As a team, they were shook.”

Saddler, who entered the week as the nation’s second-leading scorer (24.7 ppg.), was particularly frustrated during the Penn spurt. He was benched for the final 13:19, finishing with a season-low six points.

The Quakers played without sophomore guard Miles Cartwright, their third-leading scorer (11.2 ppg.), who suffered a head injury in practice. Cartwright said he hoped to play in Penn’s next game, Saturday at UCLA.

Tyler Bernardini also had a strong game for the Quakers with 16 points. Rosen, who was one point shy of tying his career high, added eight assists.

Penn also got a lift from Steve Rennard, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard, who scored six points in 25 minutes in his first action of the season.

Rosen began the week 12th in the country in scoring (21.3 ppg.).

“You’d be hard-pressed to find any young man throughout the country that’s giving what he’s giving to us,” Allen said. “If you do find him, he’s a pretty good ballplayer.”

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Philadelphia Inquirer 11/30/11: Penn defeats Manhattan, 75-72

Penn snaps skid, beats Manhattan

By Aaron Bracy

 

FOR THE INQUIRER

 

 

Penn

 

Jerome Allen wanted to shake things up to help Penn snap a three-game losing streak.

 

So the Quakers coach, who hadn’t seen the effort he demanded of late, benched two starters, Tyler Bernardini and Fran Dougherty, against Manhattan at the start of Tuesday night’s game at the Palestra.

 

Bernardini responded in a big way, hitting a clutch three-pointer with 1 minute, 12 seconds remaining to help send Penn to a 75-72 victory over the Jaspers.

 

“Fortunately I got open, I knocked it down, and we won,” Bernardini said. “[The win was] really big. We dropped three in a row, and that’s never fun.”

 

Bernardini finished with 12 points for Penn (4-4), which was led by Zack Rosen’s 20 points and five assists.

 

“We all know Tyler can make shots, but I’m just asking a little more, and I think he’ll respond,” Allen said.

 

The coach’s message was that whether it’s Bernardini or any other Quaker, he expects more than just a pretty stat sheet.

 

“We can’t stand around and hope 50-50 balls fall in our hands,” Allen said. “All 50-50 balls we have to have.”

 

Another positive of Allen’s shake-up for Penn was the emergence of little-used sophomore Marin Kukoc, who scored 11 points in a career-high 33 minutes in his most productive game as a Quaker.

 

Kukoc, the son of former Sixers forward Toni Kukoc, entered averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.1 minutes. He added four rebounds and three assists Tuesday.

 

“I thought Marin was big tonight,” Allen said. “If he doesn’t knock down the shots he did, I’m not sure we have the same result. It’s a credit to him just getting this opportunity and responding.”

 

He likely caught Allen’s eye with a pair of big three-pointers in the Quakers’ 60-58 loss to James Madison Saturday night.

 

“It was unexpected, but he felt like staying with me,” against Manhattan, said Kukoc, who missed all of last season with a back injury. “Guys found me and I was knocking them down. I was trying to do what I could when I was out there.”

 

Kukoc’s father was in town over the weekend and told his son to remain positive. Against the Jaspers, he finished 3 for 3 from the arc and 4 for 7 overall.

 

Bernardini and Dougherty, who had started all seven games, were replaced by first-time starters Henry Brooks and Cameron Gunter.

 

Brooks, a 6-foot-8 freshman forward, was coming off his best game as a Quaker, when he scored 10 points against James Madison. Gunter, a 6-8 sophomore forward, was making his first career start.

 

Brooks finished with four points and Gunter was scoreless.

 

Bernardini said he played the same way as usual.

 

“Just have to go out there and play hard, that’s what I try to do,” he said. “Try to win games.”

 

Allen was pleased with the victory, but far from satisfied.

 

“I can’t say we were the hardest-playing team on every possession,” he said. “We’ve got guys reaching for it, and they’ve got guys diving for it. That’s really how I compute who’s giving more effort.”

 

“I’m somewhat happy, but we have a ton of work to do and I won’t be blinded by a ‘W.’ We’re aiming for perfection.”

 

 

 

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