PHILADELPHIA, PA- The La Salle Explorers (10-13, 4-5 A-10) led from the get-go and never looked back in a 87-65 win over the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders (0-26) on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena.
Sophomore Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA/ Prep Charter) had a team-high 14 points, six rebounds.
The Explorers started off on a 10-3 run, but the Highlanders knocked down a three-pointer for their first score of the night. Senior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/ St. Frances Academy) responded with a three of his own and a subsequent lay-up. He would finish with 13 points.
Green hit two free-throws to keep La Salle ahead 21-17 at 10:59, and sophomore Kimmani Barrett (Paterson, NJ/ Paterson Catholic) scored his second triple of the night to finish with 11 total points.
Freshman Darryl Partin (Seattle, WA/ Charis Prep) converted a fast break to make it 28-22 at 7:32 and post career-highs of eight points, six boards. NJIT's Nesho Milosevic responded with a three-point play to make it 30-24 at 6:48. Milosevic led all scorers with 21 points.
The Explorers surged ahead with a Harris score, and La Salle went on an 11-2 run to close out the first half up 46-30. La Salle had just six turnovers in the first half, but tallied 18 total for the game- nine of which were in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Harris put another three in the bank up 51-34 in the second half and senior Sherman Diaz (Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago) added a career-high six blocks-three of which came in a one-minute span, along with 10 points.
Freshmen twins Terrell Williams (Paterson, NJ/ Northfield Mount Hermon) and Jerrell Williams (Paterson, NJ/ Northfield Mount Hermon) connected for two consecutive dunks as the Explorers took their largest lead of the game 73-46 at 5:44 left in regulation and pulled away to match their win total for all of last season.
The Explorers will travel across town to take on the Saint Joseph's University Hawks (15-7, 6-3 A-10) at the Palestra on Monday, February 18th at 8:00 PM. The game will be televised on CSTV and in the Philadelphia region on Comcast SportsNet.
