Box Score
Box Score (PDF)
Photo Gallery
TV/News Coverage

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle clinched at least a share of the Big 5 championship with a 76-64 victory over city rival Saint Joseph's in front of a sold-out crowd at the Palestra on Saturday afternoon. Junior Tyreek Duren tied a career-high with 29 points while senior Ramon Galloway had 16 points and a career-high 12 assists.

“We played real well and extremely hard,” head coach Dr. John Giannini said. “We beat a veteran team, a talented team.”

The Explorers (18-6, 8-3 A-10, 3-0 Big 5) can earn the outright Big 5 title by defeating Temple on Thursday at 7 PM.

“This is my second year playing in the Big 5,” Galloway said. “We want to be in the record books. We want to be a great team; we don't want to settle for just being good.”

Duren continued to play some of his best basketball in the building they call the “Cathedral of Basketball.” After scoring 29 points earlier this season versus Penn State at the Palestra, the Philadelphia product matched that total with 29 on Saturday. He shot 9-for-12 from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point range. Duren had three assists and did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes of action.

The Neumann-Goretti product has played numerous games on 33^rd Street; Catholic League title games, city rivalries against Roman Catholic and other city high schools, and now Big 5 contests.

“You feel the energy here right when you walk in the door,” Duren said. “

Duren moved past Joe Bryant on the all-time scoring list and now stands in 41^st overall with 1,121 points.

He wasn't alone though in helping La Salle beat its biggest rival for the fourth time in the last six tries. Galloway, playing his final game at the Palestra, shot 5-for-8 from field and committed only four turnovers against his 12 assists.  

The 12 assists were the most by an Explorer since Julian Blanks had 15 vs. Rhode Island on February 6, 2001. It was also the third most in the A-10 this season.

“I just wanted to do whatever to win the game,” Galloway said. “I felt good passing the ball and I didn't feel the need to force shots.”

Sophomore Jerrell Wright added 10 points and seven rebounds, while fellow big man Steve Zack added eight points and five boards.

“They played tremendous,” Galloway said. “Last year, their bigs hurt us and Coach G challenged Jerrell and Steve. They stepped up in a huge way with extra rebounds and blocked shots.”

The first half was sloppy and La Salle led 29-24 at the break, despite committing 10 turnovers. The Explorers had a 37-27 advantage with 16:25 to play before the Hawks rallied to cut it within five. They would come no closer and the Blue and Gold won for the fourth straight time and for the sixth time in the past seven games.

As a team, the Explorers continued its trend of shooting the three-point shot well. La Salle was 10-for-16 (62.5%) from three-point range and is now 49-for-99 (49.4%) over its past four games from long distance, while averaging over 12 three's per game.

“It was a huge game,” Galloway said. “You have to love to play in the Palestra. We were more amped up to play. This game feels different than with half La Salle fans, half St. Joe's fans.”

Halil Kanacevic led SJU (14-10, 5-6 A-10, 2-2 Big 5) with 16 points. Ronald Roberts added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Langston Galloway had 12.

“Success in basketball isn't hard to figure out, if you have talented kids that work hard and listen, you'll be in good shape,” Giannini said.

NOTES: La Salle is now 8-0 when scoring 75 points or more and 12-1 when allowing 69 or less…The Explorers shot a season-best 62.2% from the field, the best since shooting 62.3% in a 81-66 win over Howard on January 3, 2009…In two Palestra games, La Salle shot 26-for-45 (57.7%) from three-point range…The 62.5% shooting from three-point range is the best by La Salle since shooting 72.7% in a 76-67 win over Richmond on January 19, 2008.