Dec. 23, 2008

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter) scored 17 points and sparked a late rally as La Salle defeated Mount St. Mary's, Md., 65-59 on Tuesday night.

Kimmani Barrett (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) added 15 points for La Salle (6-5), while Kelly Beidler, Jean Cajou and Jeremy Goode each had 11 points for the Mount (3-8), which lost its sixth straight.

A 3-point shot by Goode gave Mount St. Mary's a 53-49 lead with 8:21 left in the game, but the Explorers then ran off 11 straight points, six by Green, to take a 60-53 advantage.

The Mount closed to 63-57, but La Salle's Vernon Goodridge (Brooklyn, NY/Mississippi State) hit a 12-foot jumper with 1:44 remaining to end the threat.

The teams battled evenly throughout most of the first half until the Mount went on an 11-2 run capped by a 3-point play by Goode for a 32-26 lead at the break.

The Explorers made only 11 of 38 shots in the half, with all of their field goals either layups or follow shots.

Jerrell Williams (Paterson, NJ/Northfield Mount Hermon) and Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick's) led the Explorers defensively with 10 and nine rebounds, respectively. The Explorers held a 45-30 advantage on the boards. Goodridge added two blocks and Green grabbed three steals in the defensive effort.

The Explorers take a week off for the holidays but return to action on New Year's Eve for a 4:00 PM contest with Manhattan.