PHILADELPHIA – Trailing by 15 points midway through the second half, the La Salle men's basketball team mounted a furious comeback to draw within one in the final 90 seconds but ultimately fell short to Hofstra, 84-80, on Wednesday night at Tom Goal Arena.
Junior Jordan Price scored a career-high 37 points, including 24 in the second half, on an impressive 15-for-22 showing from the field. The 37 points are the most by an Explorer since Steven Smith had 41 on December 18, 2005 in a four-overtime win at Central Connecticut State. It's the most points by an Explorer in a regulation game since Rasual Butler had 44 versus in a win over Rhode Island on February 23, 2002.
The Decatur, Ga. native came into the game ranked third in the nation in scoring and will surely move up when the statistics are updated in the morning. The shooting statistics are staggering, which included a 9-for-11 showing from the field in the second half (6-for-8 from long range). He was 7-for-13 from three for the game, setting career-highs in both categories, and made eight of nine shots from inside the arc.
He also added seven rebounds and four assists.
"We got beat by a very good team. They're more experienced than us," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "That being said, I thought we became a better basketball team in the second half tonight. If you have character and your opponent pushes you, than you get better. In the second half we improved ourselves against a very good opponent."
Junior Cleon Roberts added 13 points, while sophomore Tony Washington had 10 points. Sophomore Yevgen Sakhniuk had maybe his best performance in the Blue and Gold with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting in 23 minutes.
Six Hofstra players reached double-figures, led by 22 from Brian Bernardi. Juan'ya Green had 10 points and eight assists.
The Pride (5-2), the preseason pick in the CAA, controlled play in the first half and led 44-31 at the half. The lead reached as many as 17 in the second half and was still double-digits with 6:39 to play.
Even with 2:36 to play, the Pride led by nine at 78-69. But an 8-0 La Salle run in a minute, with six coming from Price, made it 78-77 in favor of Hofstra with 1:37 remaining. Hofstra would make 6-for-6 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.
The win was the 300th career victory for Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich, a 1978 La Salle graduate and 17-year assistant coach for the Explorers.
La Salle (4-2) will remain at home to host Drexel on Saturday at 2 PM. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.goexplorers.com/buytickets.
