PHILADELPHIA, PA - For the third consecutive game the La Salle University Explorers (6-5) trailed by 15 or more points in the first half and could not battle back in a 58-56 second-round loss to the University of Delaware (2-9) on Friday at Tom Gola Arena in the La Salle Invitational.

Delaware, who led by as many as 17 in the first half, never trailed in the game and withstood several second half Explorer runs to in for the second straight night.  They had come into the La Salle Invitational before dealing Niagara a surprising 71-53 defeat on the opening night.

The Explorers clawed back into the game and had a legitimate chance to tie or go ahead down the stretch when junior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Frances Academy) hit a high-arcing three-pointer to bring his team within a point at 55-54 with 49 seconds to play to play. 

Harris was just 3-10 from the arc in the opening game of the tourney and had struggled over the past week of the season before hitting the jumper which finished him at 14 points on 4-12 shooting (4-8 from three).

The Explorers immediately fouled Brian Johnson who hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three points with just 19 seconds left.  Without a clean look for three, Explorer junior Ruben Guillandeaux (Brooklyn, NY/St. Patrick's) made a running lay-up to get the lead back to one point at 57-56 with ten seconds remaining.

The ensuing fouled sent Darrell Johnson to the stripe where he made one of two shots - missing the second with nine seconds left.  Guillandeaux pulled the trigger on the final shot of the game with a running that banked too hard off the glass to preserve the win for the Blue Hens.

The Hens continued their blistering shooting with an 11-20 first half performance including 6-11 from the arc. They finished shooting 45.2 % from the field led by Herb Courtney's 14 points.  Eight of Courtney's points came from the free-throw line in the first half where he went 8-8. Johnson also contributed a dozen points on 3-4 three-point shooting.

The Explorers have not led in a game since routing Morgan State 102-76 on December 20th.

The Explorers will try to salvage a win in their tournament when they host Niagara on Saturday at 6:00 PM.  The opening round of day three will be played at 4:00 PM between Holy Cross and Delaware.