PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's used a 20-3 run to end the first half and never looked back in handing La Salle a 69-48 defeat at Tom Gola Arena on Sunday evening. Junior Jordan Price led the Explorers with 14 points while classmate Cleon Roberts added 12. Sophomore Johnnie Shuler scored 11 points and fellow sophomore Tony Washington pulled down 10 rebounds.

"Their defense was good and we were really bad with the ball in our hands," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "I thought that was the biggest factor. There were others but the biggest factor was 19 turnovers, and taking poor shots and that we were really poor offensively against their defense." 

The Hawks were led by DeAndre' Bembry's 16 and Isaiah Miles' 14 points.

The Explorers got off to a strong start, leading 19-8 with 8:20 before halftime as Roberts had 10 points. But the Hawks answered with that 20-3 run with Bembry's seven points pacing the visitors to a 28-22 halftime advantage. 

Unfortunately, the Blue and Gold would get no closer to six points as SJU (16-3, 5-1 A-10) extended the lead into double-figures in the second half. 

La Salle (5-12, 1-5 A-10) visits Duquesne on Tuesday at 7 PM. The game will be produced by the American Sports Network and broadcast locally on The Comcast Network. 

NOTES: The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but Winter Storm Jonas dumped two feet of snow onto the Philadelphia region, pushing the game back...It did not count in the official Big 5 standings...Tony Washington had his second straight double-figure rebounding game...Rohan Brown (knee injury) returned for his first action since December 22 vs. Miami.