PHILADELPHIA - A new era of La Salle University men's basketball began on Tuesday night, with the Explorers suffering a 75-67 defeat at the hands of Big 5 rival Temple. Junior Isiah Deas scored a game-high 23 points while graduate student Pookie Powell added 14 in the loss, which marked the head coaching debut of Philadelphia native Ashley Howard.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sophomore David Beatty, playing in his first game as an Explorer after transferring from South Carolina in the summer, knocked down a three to open the scoring.
• The Explorers began the game with seven straight points, and held a 12-5 lead after another trifecta from sophomore Jamir Moultrie.
• Following a free throw from the Owls, junior point guard Traci Carter drained a three to up the margin to 15-6 at the 14:52 mark of the first half.
• Temple scored six straight points before a layup from sophomore Miles Brookins broke the drought for La Salle.
• The visitors remained in front until Ernest Aflakpui converted on a layup to put the score at 22-21.
• Four free throws from La Salle -- including two each from Deas and Brookins -- closed the scoring for the visitors in the opening period and tied the game at 28-28 at intermission.
• The Owls began the second half with a 10-2 run that gave them a 38-30 lead with 17:09 on the clock.
• Deas knocked down a triple to cut the margin to 39-35 two minutes later, before another 10-2 spurt by the home squad bumped the margin to 49-37 at the 12:10 mark.
• La Salle responded with five straight, including a bucket by freshman Ed Croswell that brought the visitors to within 52-45 midway through the half. 
• Trailing by 10 with under two minutes to go, a pair of free throws from Powell and a steal from Carter that resulted in a transition hoop brought La Salle to within two possessions at 66-60 with 1:31 left.
• But Temple's Shizz Alston, Jr. connected on a step-back jumper with a minute to go and the Owls converted seven of their eight free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• La Salle suffered through a tough shooting night, connecting on just 35.5 percent of its field-goal attempts.
• Rebounding was another key category statistically, with Temple winning the battle on the boards, 50-28, and pulling down 15 offensive rebounds that resulted in 11 second-chance points.
• Temple guard Nate Pierre-Louis led the Owls with 13 rebounds, all of which were defensive.
• Carter closed with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals, one off a career high which he set while at Marquette.
• The Explorers were efficient from the charity stripe, hitting 83.3 percent (15-18) of their free throws.
• Freshman Jared Kimbrough led La Salle with seven rebounds.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers will host Lafayette at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center on Saturday, Nov. 10.
• Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m., with all of the action scheduled to be shown live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
• Tickets are also available for the game by visiting goexplorers.com/buytickets or by calling 215-951-1999.
• The game will also mark the debut of "The Hideaway" tent, a pre-game destination for La Salle fans. The location will open one hour (2:00 p.m.) before Saturday's game, and 90 minutes prior to the start of all other home games at Tom Gola Arena this season.