PHILADELPHIA - For the second consecutive game, the La Salle University men's basketball team used superb defense to earn a win. The Explorers held Big 5 rival Penn to 33.8 percent shooting en route to a 75-71 victory at the Palestra on Monday evening. The triumph improves La Salle to 2-0 on the year while the Quakers fall to 0-2 on the young season.

After holding Saint Peter's to just 40 points and just under 31 percent from the floor in the season opener, the Explorers once again came out with focus on the defensive end. A three-pointer from sophomore Saul Phiri dropped through the net at the 3:44 mark of the opening half to give La Salle a 28-20 lead. To that point, the Explorers and forced Penn into 8-for-26 (30.7%) shooting from the field. 

The Quakers were able to cut their deficit to just four at 30-26 by the end of the stanza, in large part due to the Explorers miscues. La Salle committed 10 first-half turnovers while Penn had just three.

Senior B.J. Johnson, who struggled on the offensive end in the opening 20 minutes, began the scoring in the second half with a short jumper. The Explorers maintained a lead until sophomore Ryan Betley knocked down a three-pointer to give the Quakers a 41-40 lead with 12:04 remaining in regulation.

The contest remained nip and tuck through the final minutes of the second half. Three free throws from AJ Brodeur put the Quakers on top, 50-48, with just under four minutes left but Johnson answered with a game-tying putback in the lane with 1:24 on the clock. Each team had chances to take the lead down the stretch but could not convert as the game moved to overtime.

In the first extra session, the two teams went back and forth with neither able to gain a margin larger than two. A jumper from Antonio Woods pushed Penn on top with 1:43 left, before Johnson once again came through with a jump hook in the lane to tie the game. La Salle had a final opportunity at the end of the period, but redshirt junior Pookie Powell was off the mark on a three-point attempt as time expired.

Despite a quality defensive possession that saw consecutive blocked shots from the Explorers, Penn used two free throws to take a 60-58 lead with 4:27 to go in the second overtime. Johnson tied the game with another putback lay-in, but on the next defensive possession committed his fifth foul to disqualify him from the game.

The Explorers, who also had senior Tony Washington foul out during the second overtime period, dug deep and were able to find a way to overcome both of those misfortunes. Graduate student Amar Stukes, who had just four points entering the second overtime, played a pivotal role, scoring eight points in the final period including a 6-for-6 performance from the foul line.

With a one-point lead and under a minute to go, Powell knocked down a short jumper in the lane to extend the advantage to 68-65. Despite La Salle extending the lead to as many as five points in the frame, the Quakers did not go down without a fight as a three-pointer from Caleb Wood brought Penn to within 72-70 with 4.6 on the clock. It was not enough in the end, as the Explorers picked up the hard-fought victory.

Johnson finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds for his second straight double-double, while Powell closed with 17 points. Phiri set a new career high with 12 points, registered his first career double-double by adding 11 rebounds, and played a key role in holding Brodeur without a field goal in the second half.

La Salle continues its grueling five-game, nine-day stretch to open the season with a home game against South Alabama at Tom Gola Arena on Thursday, Nov. 16. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.