Posted by: Kale Beers
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The La Salle Explorers (1-0) were led by junior Darnell Harris' (Baltimore, MD/St. Frances) 25 points and a pair of freshmen who scored 11 points each to defeat Mount St. Mary's (1-2) on Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena.
Making their collegiate debuts were the Explorers' five freshman including Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter) and Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick) who each scored 11 points.
The Mount opened a seven point lead in the first half at 11-4 before Harris, who was held scoreless for the first 4.31 of the first half, erupted with the first of his five three pointer to draw his team within four. Harris would go on to score the game's next ten points in less than 90 seconds including another three-pointer, a short jumper and a pair of free throws to give his team a 14-11 lead.
The Explorers and The Mountaineers traded leads ten times in the game with the Explorers taking the lead for good when Harris threw down a dunk to make it 39-38 at the 17:33 mark of the second half.
La Salle built as much as a 12-point lead at 54-42 on the second of freshman Kimmani Barrett's (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) two free throws with 10:39 remaining in the game.
The Mount was able to cut the lead to three points with just 37 seconds to play and forced an Explorer turnover but could not cash in on the ensuing possessions allowing Harris to get fouled on an inbounds and subsequently hit two free throws to seal the win.
Junior Sherman Diaz (Life Center/Diego Martin/Trinidad & Tobago) scored nine points on 3-4 shooting from the arc.
The win was the Explorers' second straight on opening day after last year's 70-55 win at Maryland-Baltimore County. It also evened head coach Dr. John Giannnini's record at La Salle at 29-29 in his third season.
Next up for the Explorers is Tuesday night's match-up against Howard University at 7:00 PM at Tom Gola Arena.
