BROOKLYN, N.Y.- La Salle advanced to the second round of the Atlantic 10 Championship thanks to an 88-73 win over Duquesne on Wednesday night at the Barclays Center.
 
Junior Jordan Price scored 36 points to set a program record for most points by a La Salle player in an Atlantic 10 Tournament game. Price broke his own record from last season where he scored 28 in a second round win over UMass. The 36 points were one short of a career-high set earlier this season versus Hofstra. 
 
"It is a great accomplishment," added Price. "But this week isn't for personal goals, it's for team goals and that's to win a championship."
 
Price also finished with a double-double on the night thanks to his game-high 12 rebounds. The 88 points were a season-high for the Explorers.

Junior Cleon Roberts finished with 18 points on the evening to join Price in double figures. Roberts also added a game-high four steals.
 
The Explorers shot 11-22 (.500) from three-point range on the day to help power their offense. They were able to limit the Dukes to just 11-36 (.306) from long distance. La Salle also shot 21-30 from the charity stripe including 12 in the second half to help close out the victory.
 
"I thought we played with great energy," said head coach Dr. John Giannini. "I thought we defended, I thought we rebounded the ball, we assisted, and we played a really good game. We played like a team that wanted to play again tomorrow."
 
La Salle used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to erase an early Duquesne lead. The run gave the Explorers a 37-31 lead with 4:43 to play in the opening half. Price had seven points for the Explorers during the stretch.
 
Price scored a game-high 18 first half points. Roberts shot a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range and hit all four of his free throws for 13 first half points of his own as La Salle took a 43-38 lead into the break.
 
The Explorers forced 11 first half turnovers from the Dukes with six different La Salle players having a steal in the opening half.
 
The Dukes came out in the second half fighting and erased the five point Explorers advantage in the first minute to even things up at 43-43.
 
La Salle used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to again pull away from the Dukes this time for good. Price had nine points off a trio of threes during this stretch.
 
"My teammates they found me in the right position," stated Price. "I was open and they found me. It wasn't tunnel vision. It was just ball movement, and I happened to be the one open three times in a row."  
 
Duquesne was not able to erase the deficit, as they trimmed the lead to four at points in the second half but were never able to retake the lead over the Explorers.
 
The Explorers won the rebounding battle 35-28 on the night. They also forced 15 turnovers from Duquesne and blocked five shots.
 
Sophomores Johnnie Shuler and Tony Washington both narrowly missed out on double-digit points with nine and eight points respectively. 
 
La Salle (9-21) advances to the second round of the Atlantic 10 Championship tomorrow when it faces sixth seeded Davidson at 9 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on NBCSN.

The La Salle alumni association will sponsor a pre-game reception at 200 Fifth in Brooklyn beginning at 6:30 PM.