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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – La Salle men's basketball came out of the gates slow and never really recovered Saturday morning at Tom Gola Arena, falling 75-64 to Saint Joseph's. The Hawks shot 53.6% from the field in opening a 10-point margin at the halftime break. The Explorers would not be able to cut it within a single possession the rest of the way, falling to the Hawks in the first of two meetings this season.

Junior forward Jerrell Wright posted a monster second half after being sidelined for most the first 20-minutes with two fouls. He scored all 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the second session, while snaring 15 rebounds for the game. It marked his fifth double-double of the season. The 16-point effort also pushed him over the 1,000-career point mark, achieving the milestone on a made free-throw midway through the second half. He is the 53rd Explorer to reach that milestone.

"It was mainly a change on the defensive end and not fouling," Wright said postgame. "I just play the game though, I don't really care about the points."

It looked as though the Explorer and not the Hawk would triumph this day during the opening minutes. Senior guard Tyreek Duren exploded for eight quick points on three-consecutive possessions, taking advantage of the inexperience of freshman standout DeAndre Bembry. He sunk back-to-back three's, before taking a steal coast-to-coast for a layup and the Explorers were off and running with an early 8-4 advantage.

The Hawks defense regrouped at the first media timeout. In particular, St. Joe's made a concerted effort to attack the low post. Explorer big men Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack both picked up two fouls early, forcing head coach Dr. John Giannini to go to the bench.

"Steve and Jerrell's early foul trouble took us totally out of rhythm," said Giannini. "Those guys are really good and I may just have to play them regardless of how many fouls they have."

With both Explorer big men cautiously nursing a pair of fouls, the Blue and Gold offense struggled to find sync. The Explorers would go scoreless for seven-minutes and five seconds after Duren's driving layup, allowing the Hawks to string together a 12-0 run to open up an eight point lead.

The teams would trade baskets over the backstretch of the opening half, as the Explorers looked to shrink the deficit. With just over five-minutes remaining the Blue and Gold would string a small 5-0 run together on a D.J. Peterson three and a long two from Rohan Brown, bringing the Explorers within a possession at 27-24.

However, the Hawks closed out the half on a 9-2 run on the backs of their talented senior trio of Langston Galloway, Ronald Roberts, and Halil Kanacevic. The trio would combine for 43 points in the contest, with Galloway leading all scorers with a game-high 18 points.

The Blue and Gold hoped that with a new half would bring a fresh start, free of the foul woes that hampered the big-men in the first 20-minutes. However, Wright would pick up his third foul less than a minute into the second session prompting a return to the bench.

Duren sunk another triple shortly thereafter, cutting the deficit to seven. However, he would not find the bottom of the net again in the game, as Bembry would clamp down, finishing with 15 points (6-of-9 FG; 3-of-4 3PT).  

"I could get space, but a guy with his length and arm span, he could recover even though I was an inch or two off of him," Duren said.

The Hawks (17-7; 7-3 A-10) would counter with another nine-point run, sparked almost entirely by Bembry. While the talented freshman was held off the scoreboard in the opening 20-minutes, he would light it up for 16 points in the second stanza, including seven on the scoring run. Suddenly the Hawks lead swelled to 16 points.

The Explorers (12-12; 4-6 A-10) pushed to hang in the contest, cutting the deficit in half midway through the second half. Wright flushed the first bucket, before Taylor Dunn and Tyrone Garland drilled consecutive three's, igniting the Gola crowd for the first time since the opening half.

However, as had been the case throughout the duration of this one, the Hawks would answer with a run of their own. Bembry and Galloway combined for a 7-0 streak and again the Hawk lead ballooned to a comfortable 15.

Although the odds were stacked against them, the Explorers battled to the end. Dunn would drill another big three to pull the Explorers within six at 68-62 with a little over two minutes remaining. But that would be as close as the Blue and Gold could get. Bembry had a big block on Duren to stymie an Explorer possession with a minute remaining, effectively sealing the game for the Hawks.

La Salle returns to action on Wednesday evening, as they head west to take on the Dayton Flyers. Opening tip is scheduled for 9:00pm with the game being broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.