Dec. 29, 2007

Box Score |  AP Action Photos 

Villanova, PA- The La Salle Explorers (4-7) held the lead six times in the first half, but the  #16 Villanova Wildcats unleashed a 13-0 run to take a 28-17 lead at the eight minute mark and would not look back in a 71-58 win in front of a sold-out crowd at the Pavilion on Saturday night. 

La Salle senior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD) would hit his first three three-pointers to take a 9-6 lead at 15:46.  Harris shot a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc in the first stanza, and finished with a team-high 16 points. 

Villanova's Scottie Reynolds (Herndon, VA) led all scorers with 19 points, and Corey Fisher (Bronx, NY) finished with 18 points for the Wildcats.  Dante Cunningham (Silver Spring, MD) logged a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. 

The Explorers trailed 43-30 at the break.

Sophomore Kimmani Barrett (Paterson, NJ) hit the first bucket of the second half but Villanova answered and built as much as a 14-point lead.  Despite struggling to hit consecutive unanswered buckets for over 12 minutes between halves La Salle would cut the lead to nine points but got no closer in the game.

The Explorers had three other players in double digits, as Jerrell Williams (Paterson, NJ) had 12 points and five rebounds on the night, Barrett (Paterson, NJ) scored 11 points and six rebounds, and Johnson had three points and four boards. Rodney Green finished strong with 10 points and four boards.

Next up for the Explorers is the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, January 5th at 7:00 PM in Tallahasee, Florida.