PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat Saint Joseph's 53-48 in the final Big 5 game of the season at Tom Gola Arena on Tuesday night.

"I think it's the perfect example of a character win," La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "We were down, they had a big lead, we weren't playing well, we could have lost confidence and we didn't. We kept fighting and chipping away at it."

The Explorers scored seven straight points to tie the game at 39-39 on a Jordan Price jumper with 7:43 left in the game. The Explorers later took their first lead since the 13:41 mark in the first half on a Steve Zack tip-in with 5:09 remaining in the game.

A three-point play from Shavar Newkirk gave the Hawks a 46-45 lead with 3:23 left before a Khalid Lewis steal with 1:35 remaining setup the go-ahead jumper by Jerrell Wright with 1:12 left in the game.

"He [Wright] is such a good player and he is so strong," added Giannini. "I think everyone in the gym expects him to make that shot when he takes the ball to the rim."

The Explorers closed the game on an 8-2 run thanks to Wright's jumper and the Explorers shooting 6-for-6 from the foul line over the final 28 seconds. The Explorers were 11-for-14 from the charity stripe in the game. 

Wright tallied his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The senior scored La Salle's first eight points and had a game-high 13 points at the half.

Roberts also played a pivotal role in La Salle's comeback, scoring 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range. The redshirt sophomore scored 11 points during the 17-8 second-half run that tied the game at 39-39.

"Every time they doubled down Jerrell, he either went up or found me open on the wing," said Roberts. "He really had confidence in me, and that gave me confidence."

Zack pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds. The Explorers outscored the Hawks 9-5 on second chance points.

The Hawks used 12 unanswered points late in the first half to take their biggest lead at 27-12, capped by an Isaiah Miles three-pointer with 3:12 left in the opening half. 

Miles finished with 10 points while DeAndre' Bembry led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

The Explorers are on the road this weekend as they visit St. Bonaventure for a 7 p.m. tip on Saturday night from the Reilly Center. The game will be broadcast locally in Philadelphia on myPHL 17.4 (Comcast 253/Verizon FIOS 468), SNY and Time Warner Cable.