PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle men's basketball team built a double-digit lead in the second half against Delaware, then withstood a furious comeback to earn its first victory of the season, 74-68, on Tuesday evening at Tom Gola Arena. Senior
Jordan Price, and juniors
Demetrius Henry and
Pookie Powell each scored in double figures for the Explorers, who evened their record on the season at 1-1.
"What a job Coach Ingelsby has done with that team," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "I know those guys, I'm happy for those guys, they're going to surpass a lot of expectations. They played absolutely great. We played well enough to hang on, which is important. The way they were playing, we were extremely challenged and they put a lot of stress on us and we responded."
After a tight first half, La Salle jumped out to a 39-31 lead following a jumper from Price at the 14:48 mark. Less than two minutes later, Powell sent the crowd into a frenzy with a driving dunk to bump the margin to 42-33. Delaware's Ryan Daly, who played his high school ball at nearby Archbishop Carroll, connected on a three-pointer to stem the tide and cut the Blue Hens' deficit to six.
The Explorers would go on a quick 9-2 spurt capped by a three from Price and two free throws from Powell that extended the lead to 51-38 midway through the second half. The cushion was 59-48 after a three from junior B.J. Johnson, but Delaware responded with 10 straight points to pull to within one at the five-minute mark.
Henry came up big with two clutch buckets, the first off a feed from Johnson and the next a short jumper from the right baseline that edged the Explorers back in front by five, 63-58, with 3:36 on the clock. Daly responded with another three-pointer to once again get the Blue Hens to within a bucket and force La Salle to call a timeout.
Following the break in action, Powell connected on a three from the top of the key to re-up the lead to five, and the game remained a two-possession game the rest of the way as the Explorers picked up the home victory.
Price closed with a team-high 15 points while Powell had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists without turning the ball over in 35 minutes of action. Henry closed with 11 points and five boards, while redshirt junior Amar Stukes played a solid floor game with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Daly and Cazmon Hayes each had 19 points to lead Delaware.
La Salle returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 19 for its homecoming game against Texas Southern. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
