PHILADELPHIA - In a total team effort, the La Salle University men's basketball team shot 54.9 percent from the field and dished out a season-high 21 assists in a wire-to-wire, 71-53 victory over Dayton on Senior Day at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center on Wednesday.

Senior B.J. Johnson scored 27 points in his final appearance at Gola Arena, while classmates Johnnie Shuler (11 assists), Tony Washington (14 points) and Amar Stukes (seven assists, four steals) all had significant impacts for the Explorers. The win moves La Salle to 13-17 overall and 7-10 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Flyers drop to 13-16 overall and 7-10 in league competition.

Back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore Saul Phiri and Johnson catapulted the Explorers in front to stay less than two minutes in. Five straight points, including a trifecta from freshman Jamir Moultrie, put the score at 16-8. Dayton would cut its deficit to five at the 7:51 mark, but Johnson hit a jumper to kickstart a 9-0 spurt that pushed the advantage to 25-11.

A three-pointer from Jalen Crutcher briefly brought the margin to single digits, but a half-ending dunk from Johnson off a feed from Stukes re-upped the La Salle lead to 33-23 heading into the locker room. 

Back-to-back buckets for Washington moved the score to 48-30 as the Explorers continue to pour it on in the second half. A dunk by Johnson on the fastbreak and another jam from Washington extended the margin to 57-36 with 8:06 on the clock. From there, the lead grew to as many as 25 points as La Salle cruised to victory.

In addition to the senior contributions, Moultrie closed with 13 points and another freshman, Miles Brookins, added six off the bench. Dayton was led by Trey Landers, who had 17 points and 10 boards.

La Salle rounds out the regular season with a Big 5 matchup at Saint Joseph's on Saturday, March 3. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m., and the contest will be shown live on Facebook via Stadium Network.