Lewis Fadipe rips down critical board

Steven Smith scored 24 with nine rebounds

Tabby Cunningham burst through the paint for a key bucket late in the game

Steven Smith gets one of his nine rebounds

PHILADELPHIA, PA -  The La Salle men's basketball team (11-7, 3-4 Atlantic 10) put an end to a five-game losing streak, gutting out a victory over conference rival Massachusetts (9-8, 4-3) at Tom Gola Arena. The Explorers led by double digits, but UMass cut the lead to just three points late in the game. La Salle fended off the Minutemens' last effort and came out on top, 68-61.

Senior Steven Smith (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) led the Explorers with 24 points and nine rebounds. The national player of the year candidate hit La Salle's first bucket of the game, a three-pointer, but landed awkwardly on the floor and appeared to re-injure his ankle. He returned after a quick visit to the bench and scored his team's first seven points of the game.

UMass built an early six-point lead, but the Explorers countered with their first non-Smith points, coming by way of a Jermaine Thomas (Frederick, MD/Thomas Johnson) three-pointer. The shot put La Salle up 10-9, a lead the Explorers would not relinquish. Thomas finished with 19 points and five assists.

La Salle stretched its lead to 13 points early in the second half, but UMass started to chip away at the Explorers' cushion. The Minutemen whittled their deficit down to three points with just over two minutes to play, but Thomas nailed a jumper with the shot clock winding down to put the Explorers up 61-56, forcing UMass to foul.

La Salle converted seven of nine free-throw attempts down the stretch to seal the deal. Sophomore Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Francis) was the third Explorer to reach double figures in scoring, netting 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Massachusetts had a duo of double-doubles from Stephane Lasme (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Rashaun Freeman (11 points, 10 rebounds).

The Explorers were outrebounded, 39-36, but committed just nine turnovers to UMass' 14.

La Salle leaves Philadelphia for the first time since Jan. 7, when the Explorers visit Duquesne on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:05 p.m.