Dec. 6, 2009
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Junior Kimmani Barrett poured in a career-high 25 points and classmate Steve Weingarten added a career-best eight boards as the Explorers trounced visiting Hartford 75-62 on Sunday afternoon. The win moves the Explorers to 5-2 while the Hawks drop to 2-7.
Barrett's 25 points came on 7-for-14 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Weingarten, who earned the start, played a career-high 36 minutes while tying his career high with seven points and besting his rebound mark with eight boards.
Three other Explorers were in double digits, as Rodney Green contributed 13, Aaric Murray added 12 and Yves Mekongo dropped in 10.
Morgan Sabia led three Hawks in double figures with 19 points, while Joe Zeglinski added 18 and Clayton Brothers put in 14.
The opening six minutes featured three lead changes, but after Mekongo knotted the game at 10 with two free throws, Barrett put the Explorers ahead for good with his third trey of the game at 11:46.
The Hawks got within one point as Zeglinski drained a three to put the score at 25-24 with 6:31 left in the first stanza. That was the closest the visitors got, however, as the Explorers pushed the lead to 11 at the half (37-26).
The Explorers opened the second period with a 15-4 run to push the lead to as many as 23, and held a double-digit advantage through the rest of the contest. The Hawks tried responding with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 60-47 with 8:57 remaining in the game, but the Explorers pushed it back to 18 at 73-55 with 1:19 left.
Free throw shooting improved on Sunday as the Explorers shot 72.7 percent (24-for-33), led by Barrett who went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. They also went 11-for-21 from 3-point range for a 52.4 percent clip.
The Explorers hit the road for two games before returning to Tom Gola Arena on Dec. 19. They take on Rider on Wednesday (12/9) at 7:00 PM and head to Kansas City on Saturday (12/12) to play top-ranked Kansas at 2:00 PM ET on ESPN.
NOTES: Jerrell and Terrell Williams were suspended for the game after violating team rules.
