PHILADELPHIA – La Salle redshirt junior Jordan Price scored 28 points and classmate Cleon Roberts had 18 points to lead the Explorers to a 73-60 victory over Rider on Tuesday night at Gola Arena. Sophomore Johnnie Shuler added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

"I am thrilled," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "Rider won 21 games last year with five of their top six returning. I know they have sky high expectations for this year as they should. I am sure that they are frustrated, but I would like to think we had something to do with that. I think we beat a very good team and a very good program. We are playing zone and playing it well. We are passing the ball and are a better shooting team this year. I just like that our guys are listening, and playing together, and fighting to win."

The Explorers were led by their core group of returnees, with Price, Roberts and Shuler leading the way. Price played 35 minutes and did not commit a turnover, while shooting 11-for-22 from the field. He has turned the ball over just once in 74 minutes and is averaging 27.5 points per game.

Roberts was two points short of tying a career-high and was 7-for-10 from the field. He and Shuler also added there steals. Shuler, meanwhile, used his 5-foot-11 frame to grab a game-high eight boards. He leads the team after two games with a 6.5 rebounds per game average.

"The guys who are playing the best for us are the guys who are in their second year," Giannini said. "We always talk about the first to second year bump. The first year guys are struggling but we will get them there."

"We are the elders on the team this year," Roberts said. "We have a lot of young guys on the team this year so we have to make sure that we lead them and have them play right and keep their heads straight."

La Salle (2-0) used a 15-2 run late in the second half to turn a 22-21 lead into a 37-23 advantage with 3:16 left before halftime. The margin stretched to as many as 21 points when the Blue and Gold started the second half on a 13-4 spurt.
Rider (0-2) would cut the deficit to 11 on several occasions but drew no closer.

Xavier Lundy led the Broncs with 19 points, while Jimmie Taylor added 13.

"Look at Towson and Rider at the end of the season and see how good their records will be," Giannini said. "We have beaten veteran teams who have a lot of guys coming back and teams who in my opinion are going to have good seasons. I am thrilled to get through the first two games with the short bench and the short team."

La Salle improved to 23-4 over its last 27 non-conference home games with the victory.

The Explorers will get a few days to rest before hosting Lafayette on Monday at 7 PM.