Jan. 27, 2011

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle led by as many as 18 points early in the second half and held off a late Saint Joseph's charge to beat its city rivals, 76-72, on Thursday night at the Palestra. Sophomore Aaric Murray had 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Explorers, who have won three of their last four in the series.

"Aaric was just wonderful," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "It's wonderful to see him play up to his potential."

Murray's double-double was the fifth of the season and ninth of his career. The 14 rebounds were a season-high and one short of tying a career-best.

"This is a great win," Murray said. "It was my first time in the Palestra against St. Joe's and Coach told us this was one of the biggest games of the season. We wanted to send our seniors out the right way and it feels great."

The sophomore scored 13 of his points after intermission as the Explorers went ahead 48-30 with 16:35 to play. SJU responded with a 15-2 run to cut the deficit to five with 12:49 to play on Carl Jones' (game-high 24 points) lay-up.

The Explorers kept the Hawks at arms length until a CJ Aiken dunk with 36 seconds made it 70-65. Two foul shots by Earl Pettis (14 points) extended the lead back to seven, but was canceled by two free throws by Langston Galloway.

Pettis went back to the line and hit two more with 16 seconds left before a lay-up by Jones cut the deficit back to five. Senior Ruben Guillandeaux made two more foul shots before a three at the buzzer by Aiken accounted for the 76-72 final.

Freshman Cole Stefan scored 12 points in the first half on three trifectas, while classmate Tyreek Duren added nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Senior Steve Weingarten got a start in his final appearance at the Palestra and scored seven points in place of classmate Jerrell Williams, who was limited to six minutes to due to illness.

Four other Hawks (5-15, 0-6 A-10, 0-3 Big 5) reached double-figures in addition to Jones; Idris Hilliard (13 points), Ronald Roberts (12 points), Aiken (11 points, nine blocks) and Galloway (10 points).

La Salle improved to 8-4 when holding its opponents to 79 points or less and 9-1 when outshooting its opponents.

The Explorers (10-11, 2-4 A-10, 2-1 Big 5) will visit Charlotte on Saturday at 7 PM.