Dec. 29, 2010
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PHILADELPHIA - The Explorers received career-highs from senior Jerrell Williams and freshman Tyreek Duren, but Towson topped La Salle, 93-90, in an overtime contest on Wednesday evening at Tom Gola Arena.
Williams posted a double-double of 32 points and 13 rebounds, both game-highs, while Duren added 19 points.
With the Explorers up 86-83 in the final seconds of regulation, Towson's Isaiah Philmore hit a three pointer with less than two seconds on the clock to send the contest into overtime.
La Salle was down 91-90 with 44 seconds to play in the overtime period and the Tigers iced their lead after a layup by Braxton Dupree with 13 seconds remaining to take the game.
"We're hurting awfully bad now," Head Coach Dr. John Giannini said. "We're hurting and we're frustrated, but we're not going to make things worse. We're just going to try to make things better."
La Salle shot .557 from the floor on the game, but again struggled defensively and allowed the Tigers to shoot .547 on the night. The Tigers also capitalized on La Salle mistakes, scoring 25 points off La Salle's 18 turnovers.
Towson used a 7-0 run midway through the first half to take a 43-37 lead at halftime, but the Explorers would fight from that deficit after the break.
La Salle opened the second period on a 7-3 run and layup by Duren cut the Towson lead to two at 46-44 with 18:39 to play in the game.
A trey by freshman Cole Stefan, who saw his first substantial time on the court this season with Ruben Guillandeaux sitting out with an illness, put La Salle within one and Sam Mills knotted the score at 52-all after making a free throw with 15:55 remaining in the game.
The Tigers would re-take the lead after a three-pointer by Josh Brown, but La Salle would stay close and gain an brief 63-62 edge after a basket by Williams with under nine minutes to play.
A trey by Mills put La Salle ahead 75-74 with four minutes remaining in the game. Towson got within one three more times in the final minutes, but the Explorers held on to the lead until the final seconds of the game.
Earl Pettis added 12 points for La Salle, while Aaric Murray had 11. Four Tigers (4-7) scored in double figures with Philmore, Dupree, Brown and Brian Morris posting 27, 27, 23 and 10 points respectively.
The Explorers won the battle on the boards, pulling down 33 to Towson's 23.
Williams, whose 32 points are the most by a La Salle player since Steve Smith scored 33 against Fordham in March of 2006, and Murray each fouled out during the overtime period.
The Explorers (6-7) will next host Binghamton on January 2 at Tom Gola Arena in their first contest of 2011.
