When you start out a ball game and the first thing they do is call an offensive foul on him for a nonexistent foul, you know the kid doesn't have a chance out there playing. The referees just give him nothing. It's embarrassing.

I was on them a little bit after the game because they were dumping the ball in his lap when he wasn't hot. But I thought they did a good job of milking the clock.

He reached behind to knock the ball loose, and (Palmer) made the call. This is the second game where we've had inconsequential plays land us on the free-throw line in the last seconds of the game.

Basketball is a simple game. Your goal is penetration, get the ball close to the basket, and there are three ways to do that. Pass, dribble and offensive rebound.

When the ball doesn't go in the basket, you start hoping you can get out of town under the cloak of darkness. Confidence has dwindled here. We'll see whether the second half against La Salle has energized and picked up their emotional level. We've put ourselves in a precarious situation in terms of the league.

We were unhappy with the first 18 minutes of the game, and we weren't reacting defensively the way we like to see them react. In the second half, we stepped it up defensively and were able to get out and run.