Jan. 8, 2011

 

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PHILADELPHIA - Senior Jerrell Williams became the 49th Explorer to reach the 1,000-point mark as the Explorers fell to Richmond 87-68 in Atlantic 10 play at the Tom Gola Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Williams, entering the contest seven points shy of the mark, hit a pair of free throws with 3:51 remaining in the game to notch his 1,000th and 1,001th point in the Blue and Gold.

The Explorers held a five point lead over Richmond with 11 minutes remaining in the game after a layup by Williams made the score 55-50.  However, the Spiders, led by seniors Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson, would take control of the game from that point on, using a 29-4 run to go ahead 79-59 with four minutes to play.

Anderson and Harper poured in 18 and 17 second-half points, respectively.  Anderson finished with a game-high 27 points, while Harper notched a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds.

"I was feeling really good about the game until Harper started getting wide open threes and posting up, head coach Dr. John Giannini said. " I thought that was the turning point of the game. I think Justin Harper deserves tremendous credit for changing the game and bringing them back."

Freshman Cole Stefan led La Salle with a career high 15 points off the bench, including 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.  Earl Pettis added 12 points, while Tyreek Duren posted 10.  Steve Weingarten and Williams each pulled down seven boards.

In the opening half, Stefan cut the Richmond lead to 10-12 with a trey with less than 10 minutes to play in the first.
The Spiders then went on a 9-0 run, expanding their lead to 19-12, before a layup by Duren broke La Salle's three-minute scoring drought.  Stefan hit his second trey of the night to get the Explorers within three at 28-25 less than two minutes before the break.

Sam Mills sunk a long three at the buzzer to tie the game at 32 all and capped a 18-4 La Salle run to end the half.

The Explorers picked up their tough play to open the second half.  Richmond briefly took a four point lead, but La Salle battled back to go ahead 51-45 with 13 minutes to play before the duo of Harper and Aderson came through for Spiders.

La Salle would trail by as many as 21 points in the final minutes of the game.

The Explorers shot .343 from the field, while Richmond (13-4, 2-0 A-10) shot .534 on the game.

Sophomore Aaric Murray, who entered the game second on the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game, dressed, but did not enter the game, a decision made pre-game by Giannini.

He did not play "because of several things in the last game that I wasn't very pleased with, and even before that," Giannini said.  "I know Aaric and I know he's going to play very well from here on out."

The Explorers' (7-9, 0-2 A-10) next contest is against Big 5 opponent Penn on Wednesday at Tom Gola Arena.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.