Men's Basketball | November 2, 2017
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The La Salle University men's basketball team made an impressive second-half run and trailed by just six against No. 23 Seton Hall with 6:46 remaining in the second half. The Pirates were able to withstand the run, however, and took an 87-74 victory over the Explorers in a Hurricane Relief exhibition game on Thursday evening.
Senior
Amar Stukes led the way for La Salle with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while classmate
B.J. Johnson added 14 on 7-of-13 from the floor.
Facing a 17-point halftime deficit, the Explorers continued to fight coming out of the locker room and trimmed the margin to 51-39 as freshman
Miles Brookins converted down low. Brookins provided a presence down low off the bench, registering seven points and five boards in 19 minutes.
A dunk off an inbounds play from sophomore
Isiah Deas put the score at 51-41 with 14:52 left, and the lead remained 10 with just under eight minutes remaining before a layup from Stukes and a short jumper from Johnson brought La Salle to within 64-58 with just under seven minutes to go in the second stanza.
But the Pirates ultimately withstood the rally behind 63.0 percent second-half shooting, re-upping the lead to double figures for the majority of the way en route to the 13-point win.
In the first half, senior
Tony Washington began the game with an offensive putback to give La Salle the early lead, but Seton Hall responded with 12 straight points to take control.
The Pirates connected on six three-pointers in the opening stanza to take a 44-27 lead into the locker room. Stukes had 10 points including 6-of-7 from the free-throw line in the period.
Desi Rodriguez led Seton Hall with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Khadeen Carrington added 11 points and five assists without turning the ball over. Preseason All-American Angel Delgado was held to six points and nine rebounds after leading the nation in boards at 13.1 per contest last year.
La Salle concludes its exhibition season on Saturday, Nov. 4 with a contest against Shippensburg at Tom Gola Arena. Admission is free for all fans. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
