PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle University men's basketball team committed 26 turnovers that led directly to 33 points for St. John's, who defeated the Explorers, 82-65, on the second day of the Joe Lapchick Tournament on Thursday.
Sophomore guard
Ayinde Hikim scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the second half for the Explorers, who will finish out the three-day event with a game against Saint Peter's on Friday, Nov. 27 at 4:00 p.m. The game will be available to fans through a special Virtual Zoom Watch Party, hosted by play-by-play commentator
Kale Beers. To register,
click here.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Red Storm jumped out to a 7-1 lead before sophomore Sherif Kenney connected on a three-pointer from the right wing to halve the deficit, 7-4, with 15:26 left.
- The opening 10 minutes were a defensive battle, with redshirt junior Clifton Moore doing his part in the paint. Moore blocked three attempts by St. John's players, and connected on a three-pointer after one of those blocks to pull La Salle to within 22-17.
- Sophomore Christian Ray scored a team-best seven points in the first half, and hit four free throws down the stretch of the stanza as the Explorers hit the locker room down six, 34-28.
- Freshman Jhamir Brickus, who collected 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in his collegiate debut, opened the second half with a bucket to pull La Salle to within 34-30.
- St. John's took over from there, however, bumping the margin to double figures at the 17:23 mark and never looking back.
- La Salle did fight hard in the final minutes, and a 12-3 run capped by a steal and layup by senior David Beatty put the score at 69-61 with just over four minutes left in the second half.
- But the Red Storm closed the game on a 13-4 spurt to improve to 2-0 on the season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The 26 miscues were the most in a single game by a La Salle team in at least a decade, with the prior high over that period coming against Richmond on Feb. 11, 2017 (24).
- Four La Salle players reached double figures in the scoring column: Hikim, Brickus, Ray (12) and Kenney (10).
- The Explorers did have 13 steals in the game, led by Kenney's three.
- Vince Cole led St. John's with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
