Philadelphia, PA-The La Salle University Men's basketball team never found an answer for the three-point firepower of the Penn Quakers and was defeated, 78-67, in the opening game of the Big 5 Classic at the Palestra.
La Salle Junior Steven Smith (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) overcame incessant double and triple-teams to lead the Explorers (1-3) with 24 points and six rebounds. He scored 19 of those in a torrid second half. He logged 40 minutes for the third consecutive game, and has now played all but two minutes of the entire season.
Penn senior Tim Begley put the game out of reach with back-to-back threes near the five-minute mark. The first was a falling-out-of-bounds miracle as the shot clock expired, but the second, a less-spectacular conversion, was even more damaging as it pushed the Quaker lead to 73-59.
Begley scored a career-high 29 points and dished out seven assists to lead Penn. The Quakers shot 54.2 percent from beyond the arc.
After and intense first half, the Quakers led, 39-32.
Jermaine Thomas (Frederick, MD/Thomas Jefferson) kept the Explorers close in the first, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. As a team, La Salle shot 54.2 percent in the opening half, but was hampered by 12 turnovers.
Sherman Diaz (Trinidad/Life Center Academy) provided a defensive spark off the bench and contributed seven points, including a coast-to-coast steal and score.
In a related note, La Salle great Roland "Fatty" Taylor was inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame in a ceremony at halftime.
The Explorers will return to action on December 8th when they host Central Connecticut State at Tom Gola Arena. The game is slated for a 7:05 PM tip-off.
