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PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team set a new Tom Gola single-season wins record, notching their 12^th victory at home this season, and are alone in first place in the Atlantic 10 after dispatching Charlotte, 85-72, on Wednesday evening.

La Salle improves to 17-6 and 6-2 in Atlantic 10 play, while Charlotte, sitting at 10-11 and 2-6, drops its fourth straight game and fifth straight league contest.

“I'm just really pleased that we were able to win the game,” head coach Dr. John Giannini said. “I don't think we played our best…. But I'm really pleased with the outcome.”

Sophomore Tyreek Duren added a game-high 22 points to go along with six assists, while freshman Jerrell Wright had a strong night for La Salle with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field.

Charlotte's Chris Braswell added 19 points and six rebounds for the 49ers.

The game was tight at the outset with six ties in the opening 10 minutes.

The Explorers then got hot from beyond the arc, as has been a staple of the team, which as of Monday was ranked ninth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, all season.  From the midpoint of the first half to the break, La Salle shot 6-for-9from three.

Back-to-back treys by sophomore Sam Mills gave the Explorers a 25-19 edge with 8:12 to go in the first half.

Another three pointer by Galloway put La Salle up 28-21 with 5:54 on the clock.

Senior Devon White fought for an offensive rebound and after the Explorers re-set, freshman D.J. Peterson hit a deep shot to extend the lead to 10 at 31-21, La Salle's largest lead of the half.

Junior Taylor Dunn connected from three as well, but Charlotte stayed in the game.  The 49ers tied up the contest at 36-all with 1:11 before the half after a Jamar Briscoe trey.

Duren put the Explorers up 39-36 at the break with a three of his own.

The Explorers came out of the half on a 9-0 run to take a 48-36 lead with 16:13 left to play.

Charlotte got its first points nearly five minutes into the half, starting an 8-0 run of their own to cut their deficit to 48-44 at 13:30.

The 49ers kept threatening, getting within one at 51-50 with 10:57 on the clock, but La Salle was able to answer.

Senior Earl Pettis hit two jumpers to put La Salle up 55-50, but Charlotte was behind just two at 57-55 with 9:02 to play.

But from there the Explorers settled down and gained some momentum on the court.  They took an 11-point lead at the five-minute mark and closed out the contest from there.

It wasn't the Explorers' sharpest defensive effort on the season, but they got the job done.  The 49ers shot 50% from the field, compared to the Explorers' 52.7% clip.

Mills and Pettis also hit double figures in scoring with 13 points each.

The Explorers face a tough contest against Saint Joseph's at the Palestra on Saturday. Tip-off is set for noon. A limited number of tickets still remain by contacting the La Salle ticket office at 215-951-1999 or tickets@lasalle.edu.