PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle University men's basketball team dropped a 64-52 decision to Richmond on Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena. Junior B.J. Johnson scored a team-high 18 points in the loss that pushed the Explorers to 13-10 overall and 7-5 in Atlantic 10 play. 

The first half was a struggle offensively for La Salle, who shot just 29.6 percent from the floor but was able to keep things close by forcing 10 turnovers. Johnson and junior Johnnie Shuler each had two steals as the Explorers entered the locker room with a 30-24 deficit.

Richmond looked as though it was going to pull away early in the second stanza, pushing its advantage to 11 points following a jumper from ShawnDre' Jones with 13:39 remaining. But La Salle responded in front of a capacity crowd of 3,400, going on an 11-0 run to knot the contest. 

Five different players scored for the Explorers during the spurt that forced the Spiders to call a timeout with 10:17 remaining. After the break, Richmond forward T.J. Cline scored on a traditional three-point play to kickstart a decisive 17-2 run that spanned six minutes. 

Over that time, La Salle saw its offense commit an uncharacteristic eight turnovers as Richmond took a 62-47 lead. The margin remained in double figures the rest of the way as the Spiders improved to 15-9 on the year and to 9-3 in league play. 

For the game, the Explorers has 24 miscues that led directly to 26 points for Richmond. La Salle's bench was once again productive, outscoring Richmond's reserves 15-2. Junior Tony Washington had eight of those points on 4-of-5 shooting. 

La Salle men's basketball returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15 with a road contest at St. Bonaventure. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.