OLEAN, N.Y. - Redshirt sophomore Jordan Price led all scorers with 24 points, while classmate Cleon Roberts added 20 as La Salle pulled away from St. Bonaventure on Saturday night, 66-56, at the Reilly Center. Senior Jerrell Wright added 12 points and six rebounds while fellow senior Steve Zack grabbed a game-high 14 boards.
 
"We're thrilled with the win," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "We think St. Bonaventure is a really strong team. They do a lot of things well. We thought it was a going to be a terrific challenge and we're thrilled we were up to the challenge."
 
After a slow start, the Explorers gave one of their most complete games of the season in one of the league's most hostile places to play. La Salle held the Bonnies to just 33.9% shooting from the field, with a 2-for-18 (11.1%) showing from long range.
 
Redshirt junior Khalid Lewis was one of the key defenders to shut down the A-10's top scorer, Marcus Posley, who was held to four points on 2-for-12 shooting.
 
"I thought we played our hearts out defensively," Giannini said. "Our guys played hard and unselfishly and I'm very proud of them."
 
On offense, it was the Price and Roberts show with a little Wright mixed in. Price scored 14 of his 24 points in the first half and added five rebounds, while Roberts was 6-for-12 from the field with 13 of his 20 coming after intermission.
 
Wright shot 5-for-7 from the floor, including a pair of dunks over 7-foot SBU center Youssou Ndoye.
 
La Salle (12-9, 4-4 A-10) connected on a season-high tying nine three-pointers, with four each coming from Price and Roberts.
 
Dion Wright led the Bonnies (11-8, 4-4 A-10) with 21 points while Ndoye added 17.
 
"Two of the best players in the game today were Steve Zack and Khalid Lewis and between the two of them they made one field goal," Giannini said. "Because you win with defense, you win with rebounding, you win with passing…They were high-level players today and maybe the biggest reason we won the game."
 
The Blue and Gold trailed 8-0 after four minutes of play after a sluggish start but used a 15-6 run over the next six minutes to take its first lead. The contest remained tight throughout the first half with the visitors taking a 29-27 lead into the locker rooms.
 
A Dion Wright three-pointer tied the game at 29-29 almost immediately following halftime but it would be as close as the Bonnies would get. Two three's by Roberts put the Explorers up six and a 9-3 run midway through the half put La Salle head by double-digits for the first time at 50-40 with 10:09 to play. SBU would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
 
The Explorers return home on Thursday to host Richmond at 6:30 PM. The game will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network. Tickets are available by visiting www.goexplorers.com/buytickets.