RICHMOND, Va. – A pair of late three-pointers from Richmond broke a 74-74 tie with less than two minutes remaining and propelled the Spiders to an 81-74 win over the La Salle University men's basketball on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Explorers fought back from a 13-point first-half deficit and led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but dropped to 8-12 overall and 2-5 in Atlantic 10 play. Richmond moves to 4-3 in league play with the win (6-13 overall).
 
La Salle went 0-for-3 from the field and committed four turnovers to start the contest, as Richmond jumped out to a 13-0 lead less than four minutes in.
 
A jumper from senior B.J. Johnson broke the drought and jumpstarted a 16-4 run that brought the Explorers back into the game. Over that stretch, freshman Jamir Moultrie hit a pair of three-pointers and La Salle as a team made four.
 
Another basket from Johnson at the 8:33 mark of the first half put La Salle within one at 24-23, before Richmond re-established a six-point lead. La Salle continued to claw its way back and eight consecutive points from the Explorers, including four from Johnson, erased the deficit and gave the visitors their first lead of the game at 34-32.
 
A 6-0 spurt to close the half, which was comprised of threes from sophomore Isiah Deas and redshirt junior Pookie Powell, gave La Salle a 41-40 edge at intermission. The Explorers shot 7-of-12 from three-point range over the first 20 minutes and 53.3 percent overall, with Johnson and Deas combining for 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
 
La Salle picked up right where it left off to begin the second stanza, and 11 straight points pushed the advantage to 52-42 following a jumper from Deas. The Spiders slowly chipped away, however, with a layup from Grant Golden bringing the home squad to within 56-53 at the 11:44 mark.
 
Johnson made a bucket and Deas hit two free throws to bump the cushion to 60-53, but five straight by the Spiders inched them closer at 60-58 near the midpoint of the half.
 
With the lead at three following a driving layup from Powell, Nick Sherod knocked down a jumper from long range to tie the game at 67-67 with 6:29 to go. Richmond took a four-point lead from there, before Johnson nailed a three-pointer to bring the deficit to one at 73-72.
 
Neither team scored over a nearly two minute stretch when, following a free throw from the Spiders, senior Tony Washington hit a layup to knot the score at 74-74 with 1:28 on the clock.
 
But Sherod made another three on the following possession and, after a missed shot and turnover on La Salle's ensuing offensive trip, Jacob Gilyard did the same to put the Spiders in front for good.
 
Johnson finished with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds, while Deas had 18 points and nine boards for the Explorers, who committed 17 turnovers in defeat. Five Spiders had 10 or more points, with Golden and Sherod each tallying 18.
 
La Salle returns to Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 24 for a matchup with Massachusetts. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.