Jan. 12, 2008

Box Score

Olean, NY - The La Salle University Explorers (5-9, 1-1) trailed by 13 points at haltime but dominated the final ten minutes of play to secure a 72-61 Atlantic 10 road win at St. Bonaventure (6-10, 0-2) on Saturday night at the Reilly Center.

After committing 10 turnovers and going 0-10 from the arc in the first half, the Explorers found themselves in a 38-26 hole at the break. 

Senior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Frances), who was held to one-for-five shooting (0-3 from the arc) in the first half, exploded for 19-second half points to propel a 19-7 run that started with the Explorers down 52-42 at the 10:07 mark in the second half and ended with his three-pointer that gave the Explorers their first lead since 13:24 in the first half.

The triple, Harris' fourth of the game, put the Explorers up 62-59 with 3:45 to play.  They would not trail again as they held the Bonnies to just one field goal - a Malcolm Eleby lay-up with 14 seconds to play - for the final 8:14 of the game.

The Explorers, who came into the game shooting 67.8% from the free throw line, shot 21-28 (75%) from the stripe and turned the ball over just twice in the second half.  They finished with 13 turnovers on the night - four below their season average.

Freshman Jerrell Williams (Paterson, NJ/Northfield Mount Hermon) notched his fourth career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.  He also shot 5-7 from the line.

Other big nights were registered by Explorers Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter) who scored 19 points with seven rebounds and Kimmani Barrett (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) 17 points and six rebounds.

La Salle outrebounded the Bonnies 52-35, including 18 offensive boards.

The Explorers are back in action Tuesday night with a Big 5 match-up against Pennsylvania with tip-off from the Palestra at 7:00 PM.