PHIILADELPHIA, PA - The La Salle Invitational came to a close with the host Explorers (6-6) going winless after an 88-82 loss to the Niagara Purple Eagles (6-7) on Saturday night at Tom Gola Arena.
Offensive rebounds (21) and free throw shooting were the primary factors in the Niagara win. The Purple Eagles missed just four of their 33 free throw attempts while the Explorers' free throw percentage continues to plummet after a 13-21 shooting night.
Philadelphia product Charron Fisher (Roman Catholic) was 10-10 from the line with a game-high 27 points.
The Explorers, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, couldn't seem to get the Niagara lead under five points most of the night and led just once at 5-4 after a Mike St. John (Northboro, MA/River School) three-pointer with 17:01 left in the first half. That lead, which lasted only 18 second before J.R. Duffey's three-pointer was the team's first since it routed Morgan State on December 20th.
For the second straight night the Explorer made a late run in the closing minutes keyed by three steals off of full court pressure and the second three-pointer of the night from freshman Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick) that cut the Purple Eagle lead to five at 80-75 with just 59 seconds remaining. Fisher, Duffey and Lorenzo Miles went 8-10 from the stripe in the final minute to seal the deal.
Niagara got an offensive rebound or retained possession on all four fo their missed free throws.
Mekongo Mbala led the Explorers with a career-high 23 points with seven rebounds while high school teammate and fellow freshman Ruben Guillandeaux (Brooklyn, NY/St. Patrick) also set a career mark with 19 points.
The Eagles also became just the second team to outrebound the Explorers while turning in 25 points off of offensive second-chances.
The Explorers will now enter Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday, January 3rd when they travel to East Kingstown, RI to play the Rhode Island Rams at 7:00 PM.
Earlier in the afternoon Holy Cross handed Delaware its only loss in the three-day event with a 49-47 win.
