Posted by: Kale BeersOTTAWA, ON -- Junior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Francis) scored 33-points but his final shot fell wide as the La Salle University Explorers dropped the first of their four-game Canadian tour to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, 89-88 on Saturday night at Monpetit Hall.
In a game of runs the Explorers led by as many as seven points and trailed by as many as nine but played from behind for most of the second half.
The Explorers took a 47-45 lead into the half but quickly fell behind and trailed until there was under two minutes left in the game.
Three of Harris' seven three-pointers came within the last four minutes including consecutive shots in the Explorers final three possessions.
The game ended in a flurry when Ottawa fouled Harris with thirty seconds remaining. Harris made both free throws to bring the Explorers to within a point with 30 seconds remaining.
After the free throws freshman Kimmani Barrret (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic), who finished with 16 points and seven boards, picked up a steal at mid court. The ensuing possession ended with Rodney Green's (Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter) muscle shot to give the Explorers an 87-88 lead 20.4 seconds left.
The Explorer lead lasted less than 13 seconds when junior Tabby Cunningham (Philadelphia, PA/St. John Neumann) was whistled for his third personal foul. Josh Gibson Biscombe hit both free throws with 8.1 seconds remaining and Harris' missed shot ended the game.
La Salle's five freshman played a 92 of the total 203 minutes in their collegiate debut.
The Explorers were outrebounded 42-33 despite holding a 19-17 edge in the category after one half of play.
The Explorers will play a pair of games on Saturday beginning with a 1:00 PM start against Laurentian (pre-game coverage will begin at 12:45 PM on GoExplorers.com) and a match-up with four-time defending Canadian national Champion Carelton at 8:00 PM (pre-game 7:45 PM). The tour will conclude with an 11:00 AM game against Algonquin on Monday.
