PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle University men's basketball team put together one of its best defensive halves in recent memory on Wednesday evening, holding George Washington to just 14 first-half points and 16.0 percent shooting to gain a 23-14 halftime advantage. The Colonials, however, shot a blistering 67.9 percent from the field in the second half and upended the Explorers, 59-56, in Atlantic 10 action in Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center.

Freshman Jared Kimbrough narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds as La Salle fell to 3-13 overall and 1-3 in A-10 play. GW (6-11, 2-2 A-10) was led by DJ Williams who had 14 points for the visitors.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Junior Traci Carter opened the scoring with a three-pointer just over a minute into the contest, sparking an 8-0 run over a 4:22 stretch for the Explorers.
• La Salle's defense forced George Washington to miss its first six shots and created four turnovers in the opening five minutes.
• A trifecta from freshman Jack Clark made the score 11-2 in favor of the home team, and the lead bumped to double figures after a three by Pookie Powell at the 9:40 mark.
• Terry Nolan Jr. responded with a three-pointer of his own with 8:50 remaining in the opening stanza, before both teams went ice cold offensively.
• Neither team scored a point over the next 3:52, with Carter finally breaking the ice with a short jumper in the lane.
• The advantage grew to as many as 12 points following two free throws from junior Isiah Deas with 2:27 on the clock, prior to the Colonials scoring four straight points to close the half and pull within single digits.
• After Deas scored the first bucket of the second stanza, GW quickly came back with an 11-2 run that brought them back to within striking distance.
• With La Salle clinging to a one-point lead, a three-point play from Deas and a layup by junior Saul Phiri nudged the Explorers back in front by a 38-32 score.
• A similar situation arose when the Colonials again pulled to within a single point, as sophomore David Beatty went on a personal 5-0 run of his own with a three-pointer and an emphatic fast-break dunk after a steal defensively.
• Nolan Jr. converted a transition bucket with 4:22 left that again cut the GW deficit to one, with a three-pointer two minutes later by Maceo Jack giving George Washington its first lead of the game at 56-55.
• At the other end, Kimbrough answered with a three-point play to inch La Salle back in front with 1:35 left. 
• But after an offensive rebound kept a possession alive for GW, Armel Potter drove to the hoop and scored with just over a minute remaining to put the Colonials in front for good.
• La Salle had an opportunity with under a minute to play to take the lead, but missed and was forced to foul multiple times to get GW into the bonus.
• Following a pair of free throws by Nolan Jr., the Explorers had one final chance but committed a turnover with 10 seconds remaining. George Washington was able to break the full-court press and run out the clock to preserve the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• La Salle forced 18 George Washington turnovers and had 12 steals in the game, but the Colonials only committed six in the second half.
• The Explorers suffered through a tough shooting night from three-point range, converting just five of their 32 attempts from beyond the arc (15.6%). 
• GW had four players reach double figures in scoring for the game - Williams (14), Nolan Jr. (12), Jack (10) and Justin Mazzulla (11).

UP NEXT

• La Salle rounds out its three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon with a matchup against Rhode Island.
• The game will be televised on NBC Sports Network and will begin at 2:30 p.m.
• At halftime, the La Salle Hall of Athletes Class of 2019 will be celebrated -- Ryan Fennelly '05, Kelly Greenberg '89 and the 1968-69 men's basketball team.