PHILADELPHIA – Senior
David Beatty tied his career high with 22 points in his final game at Tom Gola Arena as the La Salle men's basketball team downed Duquesne, 85-65, on Senior Night Wednesday.
Sophomore
Christian Ray recorded his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. La Salle honored Beatty and fellow senior
Scott Spencer during its pre-game senior ceremony.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Three-pointers from freshman Jhamir Brickus and Spencer helped push the Explorers ahead 8-2 at the first media timeout before the Dukes went on a 13-4 run to go in front 15-12 midway through the first half.
- Duquesne stretched the advantage to four at the under-eight media timeout, but La Salle responded with seven straight points, taking a 23-20 lead after a three and a layup by Brickus.
- After the Dukes went back on top, a slam by redshirt sophomore Jack Clark and a corner three by Ray gave the Explorers a five-point cushion, 31-26, and after a Duquesne three, sophomore Sherif Kenney converted a layup in the final seconds of the period to make it a 33-29 halftime lead for La Salle.
- Beatty got it going in the second half, scoring the first nine points of the period for the Explorers and starting a 13-0 run that suddenly put La Salle up 53-38 with 12:40 remaining after back-to-back baskets by Kenney.
- Beatty hit another three just over a minute later to make it 56-43 and then both sides went on a three-minute scoring drought before Ray got a free throw to go, providing a 57-44 lead with 8:05 to go.
- The Explorers opened up a 17-point advantage as both Kenney and Brickus hit from beyond the arc to bring the score to 65-48 with 5:20 left, and La Salle never looked back, extending the lead to 22 down the stretch to send the seniors off with a win in their final home game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Beatty scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and tied his career best with four three-pointers while also going a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line.
- Ray dominated the boards, demolishing his previous career high of 11 rebounds accomplished just last game, as the Explorers held a 35-29 rebounding advantage.
- Four Explorers scored in double figures, with Brickus finishing with 17 points and six assists and Kenney adding 14 points off the bench.
- The Explorers made a season-high 22 free throws while shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from downtown.
- La Salle finishes 6-3 at Tom Gola Arena on the season, its highest home winning percentage (.666) since going 10-4 (.714) at home during the 2017-18 season.
UP NEXT
- The Explorers will conclude the regular season at George Mason on Saturday. The game will tip off at 4:30 p.m. and will air on NBC Sports Network.
