EMMITSBURG -- When a man has coached in more than 1,000 basketball games, it's understandable if some of them run together. A victory here, a loss there. Who can keep track?
For Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan, No. 1,107 last night won't be forgotten. This one was a keeper, one game carved out of a 41-year career that will forever stand out.
For the first time, Phelan directed a team against his alma mater, La Salle, where he starred as a player from 1948 to 1951.
What won't be remembered fondly is the outcome, a 68-65 loss to the Explorers at Knott Arena that became official when Riley Inge's three-point attempt at the buzzer hit the front of the rim.
The memories came rushing back to Phelan in the days leading up to the game, but not as he sat on the Mountaineers' bench in his trademark bow tie. Then, he was all business, trying to find a way to snap a three-game losing streak.
"This was special, and I would have liked very much to have won it," he said. "It was an important game; not critical, but it did mean something to me. It was nice to play the alma mater, and it will be nice next year to go back to Philadelphia and play."
The Mount (2-6) didn't take its first lead until Inge, a 6-4 junior guard, buried a three-pointer less than three minutes into the second half to make it 38-36.
There would be seven more lead changes, with senior guard Kareem Townes putting La Salle ahead for good, 65-63, with two free throws with 1:28 remaining.
Junior guard Chris McCuthrie missed a shot off the back of the rim, and Townes (31 points) made three free throws down the stretch.
The sixth three-pointer from Townes gave the visitors a 49-42 lead and a chance, perhaps, to put away the Mount. But it wouldn't happen that easily.
Inge and Jeff Balistrere hit from beyond the arc to slow the Explorers (6-2), and the Mount eventually went up 61-55 with about six minutes remaining.
La Salle then put a damper on Phelan's night, using a 12-2 run to lead 67-63 with 37 seconds left. Four different players scored during the surge, which was interupted only by Balistrere's runner in the lane.
"The last five minutes did us in," said Phelan, who was an assistant at La Salle for one season before coming to the Mount. "We had every opportunity to win the game and we had nobody step up.
"We forced them out of their zone, maybe for the first time alyear, but we just didn't step up. We were ready to shoot two-shot fouls, but we didn't get to the foul line in the latter part."
Inge and Balistrere each had 16 points for the Mount, and McGuthrie added 12. Seven-foot sophomore Randy Edney had eight points and 14 rebounds.