Jan. 23, 2008
Box Score
Philadelphia, PA - The La Salle Explorers (7-10, 2-2 A-10) traded leads with the Charlotte 49'ers (12-6, 3-1 A-10) eight times but fell behind by as many as nine points with under six minutes to play and could not recover in an 84-79 loss on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena.
The game featured a pair of seniors - the Explorers Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St, Frances) and Charlotte's Leemire Goldwire who were both ranked fifth in the nation with 4.1 three-pointers per game, but it was Charlotte's Michael Gerrity's season-high 13 points that was the difference. Goldwire led the team with 18 points but was held under his conference scoring average of 27.3 points. Harris was heavily guarded all night and was held to 14 points.
The Explorers led by three points at the half with a 40-37 edge and built as much as a six-point lead but turnovers gave an opponent momentum when Charlotte converted 23 points off the Explorers 18 miscues on the game.
Charlotte took a three-point lead when Ian Andersen capitalized on Yves Mekongo Mbala's turnover with 10:15 to play to make the score 61-58. The Explorers would tie the score three times but never lead again.
During a stretch that started with 9:02 left and ended with Ruben Guillandeaux's (Brooklyn, NY/St. Patrick) lay-up with 1:26 remaining, Charlotte had built an eight point lead while the Explorers went 1-10 from the field (0-5 from the arc), and turned the ball over twice in 15 possessions. The 49'ers would advance the lead to 74-64 on Gerrity's free throw with 2:12 to play for the game's largest lead.
The Explorers cut the lead back down to four points, 77-73, with 43 seconds left but the 49'ers held on for their third win in three tries all-time against La Salle.
Freshman Jerrell Williams (Paterson, NJ/Northfield Mount Hermon) logged his fifth career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Guillandeaux scored 15 points.
The Explorers will continue their three-game home stand as they host the Saint Louis University Billikens on Saturday, January 26th at 2:00 PM. Following the men's game, the Explorer women will take on Saint Bonaventure at 5:00 PM.
