PHILADELPHIA - The dynamic duo of senior Jordan Price and junior B.J. Johnson combined to score 49 points to help the La Salle University men's basketball team to an 88-78 victory over Massachusetts in Atlantic 10 action on Wednesday evening. The win moves the Explorers, who shot 59.1 percent from the floor in the second half, to 12-8 overall and 6-3 in league play.

A three-pointer from junior Johnnie Shuler tied the game at 15-15 with 11:01 remaining in the first half, but the Minutemen (12-11, 2-8 A10) scored the next five points and led the entire rest of the period thanks to some hot shooting. UMass connected on five of its 10 three-point attempts and shot 55.6 percent overall en route to a 39-34 advantage heading into halftime.

La Salle quickly erased the deficit as Price scored five points over the first 4:10 of the second half to help knot the score at 45-45. With the score still tied a minute later, senior Cleon Roberts hit on two free throws and Johnson continued the charity-stripe conversions with two of his own to give the Explorers a 51-47 lead. For the game, La Salle shot 92.3 percent (24-26) from the free-throw line and is now shooting 82.5 percent in league play.

A three-pointer from Tyrn Flowers brought the visitors back to within one before Johnson caught fire, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to extend the margin to 57-50. Johnson dropped 21 points in the second stanza, including 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down six rebounds and finished with 11 to pick up his third double-double of the year.

Five quick points from the Minutemen once again nudged them to within two just before the midway point of the half, before three free throws from Price and another three from Johnson bumped the Explorers in front, 65-57. UMass got back to within three following a three-point play from Rashaan Holloway, but four straight free throws by Johnson stemmed the tide as the Explorers began to pull away.

From there, the lead grew to as many as 15 points in the final minutes and finished in double figures despite a last-second, half-court heave at the buzzer from Flowers that went in. Holloway paced the Minutemen with 19 points while Donte Clark and DeJon Jarreau each had 12. Junior Amar Stukes added 12 points for the Explorers, who will now go on the road for three of their next four A10 matchups beginning with a contest at George Mason on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.