PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle University men's basketball team fought back from a double-digit deficit late in the second half to pull to within striking distance of Penn on Wednesday evening. But the rally fell short as the Quakers pulled out a 77-74 decision over the Explorers in a Big 5 matchup at Tom Gola Arena. 

Junior B.J. Johnson scored a team-high 15 points for La Salle, all of which came in the second half after he played just six first-half minutes due to foul trouble. Senior Cleon Roberts and junior Amar Stukes each added 14 for the Explorers, while Penn freshman AJ Brodeur led all scorers with a career-high 35 points on 14-of-19 from the field.

The visitors jumped out to a 7-2 lead early before an 8-2 spurt that saw four different players find the scoring column gave the Explorers a 10-9 lead with 15:13 left. A layup from junior Demetrius Henry put La Salle up 16-14 at the 11:01 mark, before a 12-2 run gave Penn a 26-18 lead. The Explorers deficit stood at 40-27 heading into halftime, with Penn shooting 53.3 percent and La Salle connecting on just 30.8 percent of its opportunities.

Five straight points, including a fast-break dunk from Johnson, pulled the Explorers to within single figures at 40-32, and a three-pointer from the lefthander put the score at 41-35 less than two minutes into the second stanza. But Brodeur responded with a three-pointer and a layup before Matt Howard connected on another three that re-upped the Penn lead to 49-37.

The six-point margin at 41-35 was as close as the Explorers got until another three from Johnson put the score at 69-64 with 3:37 left. After empty trips by each team, a steal by Johnson led to two free throws from Roberts that nudged the Explorers even closer at 69-66. The two teams traded turnovers then three-pointers that resulted in a 72-69 score with 1:12 on the clock.

A free throw from Brodeur with 56 ticks remaining was followed by a put-back dunk by Johnson that led to a 73-71 La Salle deficit with 27.5 remaining. Senior Jordan Price hit a three with 3.0 seconds left to bring the Explorers to within one, before Brodeur connected on two free throws and La Salle's length-of-the-court pass with 2.1 to go was intercepted by the Quakers to seal the game.

La Salle returns to Atlantic 10 action on Saturday, Jan. 28 with a matchup with Philadelphia rival Saint Joseph's. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.