By Aidan Joly
Albany --
CBA used two major runs and their size to their advantage in their 72-42 dismantling of La Salle on Monday night in Albany.
After a basket from La Salle’s Gianni Gabriel with just under six minutes left in the second quarter cut it to 18-16, the Brothers went on a 13-0 run for the rest of the quarter to give themselves a 15-point cushion at the break. That run was highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Ayden Harrison, who finished with 17 points.
“I think we took care of the ball, we got the ball moving and we moved ourselves,” CBA head coach Dave Doemel said. “And, we brought in some guys from the bench who exuded a lot of energy and I thought that was a fantastic job of the whole team getting behind them.”
Harrison and David Clement, CBA’s two starting bigs, were the two-headed monster for CBA all night as Clement finished with a game-high 22 points. It was the third quarter when Clement took over, having scored 10 points in that frame. It gave CBA a 50-32 lead after three quarters using their inside-out brand of basketball, a mix of scoring inside and hitting threes. The Brothers hit five three-pointers on the night.
“Those two guys are pretty good and when they get the ball inside it’s not like it’s going into the black hole. They have no problem passing the ball back out,” Doemel said.
Clement added, “We know we have a size advantage on a lot of teams. That’s one thing that’s really good for us and it’s nice that we can get the ball inside and create shots.”
The Brothers put the icing on the cake in the fourth quarter by putting up 22 points in the final eight minutes, capped off by a pair of dunks from Clement and Harrison in the final few minutes.
“You can’t make little mistakes or continue to make mistakes and they force you into them with their length and athleticism and once that happened, the ball just kind of kept rolling. We tried to keep fighting to keep ourselves in it and do those little things, but it was just too much to overcome,” La Salle head coach Greg Davis said.
The Cadets were led by Adam Myers’ 17 points, the only player on the team in double figures.
CBA improves to 6-1 with the win, while La Salle falls to 5-2 following the game between the two natural rivals.
“We don’t get to play them as much as we did in the past, but it’s still a big game for the kids,” Doemel said. “I think with the La Salle family, it’s like playing against your brother. You have a lot of respect for your brother but you don’t want him to kick you around.”
