Dec. 17, 2010

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Sophomore Aaric Murray tallied a career-high 28 points and registered his 100th career block, becoming the fastest Explorer all-time to reach the century mark, as La Salle lost 89-77 to Bucknell on Friday evening at Tom Gola Arena.

Murray, who tallied nine blocks against Morgan State earlier this season to break La Salle's single-game blocks record, rejected a baseline shot from Bucknell's G.W. Boon just over five minutes in the second half.  The sophomore reached 100 blocks in 40 games, bettering Lionel Simmons, La Salle's all-time blocks leader (248), who reached 100 in his 50th game in the Blue and Gold.

Jerrell Williams chipped in 15 points, while Ruben Guillandeaux added 13 points and a career-high nine assists.

The Bison used sharp shooting to seal the game, shooting .548 from the field in the contest, including a .500 mark from beyond the arc.

"It was very obvious that we were completely outplayed by a team that was outstanding offensively and that played harder right from the opening tip," head coach Dr. John Giannini said.

The Bison jumped out to an early double digit lead after a three from Bryson Johnson nine minutes into the contest.  La Salle trailed 36-28 at the half.

After the break Guillandeaux started a comeback for the Explorers, cutting the Bison lead to six, after hitting a three in transition with 14:36 to play in the game.

Boon and Mills then traded a pair of threes.  The Explorers got the stop on the other end of the court and a Williams layup cut the lead to four at 51-47 with just over 13:30 to play.

The Explorers would go cold from the floor for over two minutes as the Bison pushed their lead back up to ten and regained control of the contest.  Bucknell would lead by as many as 16 in the second half after a jumper by Cameron Ayers.

Muscala added a team-high 21 points and six rebounds for the Bison (5-6), while Bryan Cohen had 19 points for Bucknell.

"Muscala was tremendous inside," Giannini said. "Our guys could not guard him."

La Salle narrowly won the rebounding contest, grabbing 31 boards to Bucknell's 30.

Freshman Tyreek Duren suffered a hip pointer after colliding with a Bucknell player while driving to the basket in the first half and sat out the remainder of the game after playing just ten minutes.

The Explorers (6-5) will next face Rider at Tom Gola Arena on December 22.