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PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team celebrated Homecoming in style on Saturday afternoon, exciting the sell-out crowd that packed Tom Gola Arena with a 78-74 come-from-behind victory over Siena. The Explorers (2-1) outscored the Saints 20-8 over the final 6:12 to nullify an eight-point deficit and secure the hard earned victory.

Senior guard Tyreek Duren ignited the Explorer comeback, leading the team with 20 points (7-for-13 FG, 2-for-5 3-PT, 4-for-6 FT), including 12 points (4-for-5 FG, 2-for-2 FT) during the stretch run.
 
"I think our intensity on defense picked up," Duren said. "As soon as we start playing defense, we start getting stops, rebounds and steals, and that always escalates into our offense, that's how we want to play."
 
Siena (0-3) had little trouble exploiting the cracks in the Explorer defense, as they shot over 50% from the field for the vast majority of the game, finishing 31-of-64 (48.4%) for the game.

Rob Poole was a nightmare for the Blue & Gold, using his length and athleticism to pour in a game-high 21 points (9-for-15 FG, 3-for-5 3-PT). The junior guard nailed a deep three-pointer with ten minutes remaining to stretch the Saints advantage to nine at 58-49. Back-to-back buckets by Poole a few possessions later maintained the eight-point lead heading into the under eight-minute media timeout, and it was now desperation time for the Explorers.
 
"We use the word 'will', you have to will yourself to win," head coach Dr. John Giannini said postgame. "I whispered in Tyreek and Sam's ears down the stretch that they needed to will us to this win, and [Tyreek] did, he was amazing absolutely amazing."
 
Duren put the team on his back coming out of the timeout, stealing the spotlight from Poole and the victory for the Explorers, which was nearly within the Saints grasp. He drained a triple on the Explorers first possession coming out of the timeout. After a defensive stop, he nailed another deep three-pointer on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to only two points at 66-64, which prompted a Siena timeout with 5:34 to go.
 
"I don't think I made any shots in the first half, but I just told myself to keep shooting and they'll fall eventually," Duren said. "During the course of that run they just started falling."
 
D.J. Peterson swiped a steal on the ensuing Saints possession, and fed Duren for the easy fast-break layup, and in the span of 57 seconds the Explorers completely shaved the eight-point deficit to tie the game at 66-66. After another Explorer defensive stop, Jerrell Wright tip-dunked a miss from Peterson, before Duren capped the 10-0 run with a contested runner in the lane. The Explorers would not trail again, as they hung on down the stretch for the four-point victory.
 
Wright grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the contest, none bigger than the tip-dunk, which gave the Explorers a lead they would not relinquish. He finished with 15 points (4-for-11 FG, 7-for-10 FT) and 11 rebounds, marking a double-double for the second consecutive game.
 
"We got to be aggressive on the boards," Wright said. "We got a lot of help from the guards today, it wasn't just the big men, even though we grabbed 21."
 
Junior center Steve Zack added 10 rebounds, while chipping in five points (2-for-5 FG, 1-for-2 FT), as the Explorer looked to establish the inside game early.
 
"We feel as though we can get the ball in the post and we can be aggressive in the post to get a couple buckets to start the game off," Wright said. "So we can go inside out."
 
While the Explorers early 9-4 lead did not hold up, as the teams seesawed their way through the first half, the extra room created by the big men certainly paid dividends down the stretch.
 
Sam Mills finished with 13 points (3-for-8 FG, 2-for-6 3-PT, 5-for-5 FT), hitting a three-pointer in his 14^th consecutive game. Peterson added nine points (3-for-7 FG, 2-2 FT), while collecting four assists and two steals.
 
Rumored to be coming back for next Tuesday's matchup at Penn State, Khalid Lewis made his surprising season debut Saturday afternoon. The return of the sophomore guard further bolsters the loaded Explorers backcourt. He chipped in five points (1-for-2 FG, 1-for-2 3-PT, 2-for-2 FT), while adding two rebounds and a steal in eight minutes of action.
 
"We're thrilled we won the game," Giannini said. "Bottom line is surviving, and we survived, and you can't fault our effort during the last five-six minutes, and the [team] deserves credit for it."
 
The Explorers will return to action on Tuesday evening, as they hit the road for the first time this season to take on Big 10 opponent Penn State in a 7:00pm matchup at the Bryce Jordan Center.