PHILADELPHIA - Five La Salle University men's basketball players scored in double figures, led by David Beatty's 14 points, as the Explorers built a 21-point lead in the first half and held on for a 71-63 victory over Drexel on Saturday.

In addition to Beatty, senior Saul Phiri (12 points), junior Scott Spencer (11), sophomore Ed Croswell (10) and freshman Ayinde Hikim (10) all contributed to the win for La Salle, who improved to 5-3 on the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Defense was the key to La Salle's fast start, as the Explorers held the home team to 28.6 percent shooting in the first half.
• A three-pointer from Spencer pushed the advantage to 18-4 at the 11:07 mark of the period.
• Through the first nine minutes of the game, La Salle held Drexel to 2-for-11 shooting (18.2%) and forced seven turnovers.
• Following a brief run by the home team that cut the margin to seven, Phiri knocked down a three that started a 12-2 spurt and moved La Salle in front, 30-13.
• Hikim's fast-break dunk with 2:19 on the clock gave the visitors their largest lead at 38-17, before the Dragons scored the final six points of the stanza.
• Drexel chipped away throughout the second half, pulling to within 52-42 near the midway point of the period after a three-pointer by Coletrane Washington.
• A layup by James Butler put the deficit at single digits (60-51) for the home team, and six straight Drexel points over a stretch of 2:55 put the score at 63-59 with 2:04 remaining.
• Hikim came through with a big finish in the lane to re-up the lead to 65-59 before a strong defensive possession resulted in a stop at the other end.
• From there, the Explorers knocked down six of their final eight free throws to seal their first road win of the year.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Beatty added five rebounds and three assists over 31 minutes of action for the Explorers, who shot 48.3 percent from the field for the game.
• In contrast, the Dragons were held to 34.4 percent shooting and went 3-for-11 (27.3%) from three-point range.
• Spencer led the Explorers in rebounding with seven, while Croswell had his two-game double-double streak snapped (10 pts., 6 rebs.).
• Zach Walton led Drexel with 19 points off the bench while Camren Wynter, who had 31 points in Drexel's last game vs. Princeton, was held to 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

UP NEXT

• La Salle begins a stretch of three straight games scheduled to be held at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center with a matchup against Morgan State on Saturday, Dec. 14. The game will begin at 2:00 p.m., with The Hideaway Tent opening 90 minutes before tipoff.