PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team overcame a 14-point first half deficit, scoring 51 points in the second half en route to an emphatic 75-64 victory Monday night inside Hagan Arena.
 
For the second time in as many years, the two teams met on MLK Day to honor and celebrate the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., both La Salle men's basketball head coach Ashley Howard and Saint Joseph's men's basketball head coach Billy Lange playing a pivotal role in creating the featured matchup. For the second straight year, the Explorers came out on top in the game, using their highest output in a half on the season to overcome an early disadvantage.
 
La Salle moves to 6-8 (1-3 A-10) on the season while Saint Joseph's drop to 7-8 (1-3 A-10) on the year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams struggled from the field to open the contest, the two combining for a 5-24 start from the field after the opening eight minutes. La Salle took a 10-7 lead into the U12 media timeout, Jordan Hall with six of the seven points for the home team.
• After Josh Nickelberry fought off contact to finish a layup to put the Explorers up five, the hosts found 10 straight points, reversing the fortunes to give St. Joe's the advantage.
• The hosts extended their lead, using hot shooting and aggressive defense to increase their lead to as much as 33-19 in the opening frame.
• La Salle closed the first half strong, scoring the final five points to trim the lead back to single-digits, heading into the locker room trailing 33-24.
• Nickelberry led the Explorers with nine points in the first half on 3-3 shooting, the rest of the team combining for 5-27 from the field.
• Despite struggling to find the bottom of the net in the first half, the Explorers found no issues on the other end of the break. A 10-3 run to start the half, scoring the first 20 of 27 points, quickly erased the Explorer deficit and gave them a four point lead at 44-40. Jack Clark and Nickelberry proved incremental in the run, combining for 14 points between the two of them in that span.
• After trading baskets and holding a three point lead with over seven minutes to play, Clark pulled up from the elbow and grabbed a steal and slammed it home on the other end to push the lead to three possessions.
• The Hawks again tried mounting a comeback before Clifton Moore, the league's leading scorer in A-10 play entering the night, scored the next nine Explorer points to keep Saint Joseph's at bay.
• Nickelberry cut to the rim and was found by Jack Clark, finishing with the hoop and the harm to give the Explorers their first double-digit lead of the contest with just over a minute remaining, clearing the home fans from the building.
• La Salle's lead never dropped below nine, the Explorers knocking down free throws to grab their first A-10 win of the season in impressive fashion.

 
GAME NOTES

• The Explorers outscored the Hawks 51-31 in the second half, trailing by as much as 14 in the first frame. La Salle was held to its third lowest output of the season in the first half, scoring just 24 points in the opening 20 minutes.
• Clark led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, 18 of them coming in the second half. His effort matched a career-high, knocking down a collegiate-best five three-pointers while adding six rebounds and two assists.
• Nickelberry scored 19 points off the bench for La Salle, going 7-12 from the field in an efficient night from the guard. Nickelberry has now scored 36 points in his last two games.
• For the third-straight night, Moore tallied a double-double after a late flurry on both sides of the ball gave the redshirt-senior 16 points and 10 rebounds. Moore continues a strong stretch of play in conference action, recording his fourth-straight game scoring in double figures and his third-straight contest with 10+ rebounds.
• Khalil Brantley made his second start in a row, finishing with 10 points. The rookie has tallied 10+ points in four of his last five games.
• Mamadou Doucoure had just four points on the evening, but tallied six rebounds and a career-high three steals for the Explorers.
• Jhamir Brickus made his return after missing the previous two games, checking in at the 15:04 mark of the opening half.
• After shooting just 26.7% from the field in the first half, the Explorers went a blistering 17-33 (51.5%) from the field to overcome their deficit. La Salle proved stellar at the free throw line, knocking down 18-22 (81.8%) from the charity stripe.
• The win snapped a four-game losing streak, tallying their first win of the New Year and first since their win against another Philadelphia Big 5 foe in Penn. The win over St. Joe's does not count towards the Big Five standings, instead the home contest later this year going toward the record.
• The Explorer defense held the Hawks to 22-61 (36.1%) from the field. Taylor Funk finished with a team-high 16 points for SJU.
• La Salle held a significant 43-34 advantage on the glass. The Explorers also had a 23-12 tally in bench points, 18-11 in points off turnovers, 34-16 in points in the paint and a 15-6 advantage in second chance points.

 
UP NEXT

• Quick turnaround awaits the Explorers, making the trip to Rhode Island for a Wednesday matchup against the Rams.
• The ESPN+ matchup is set for action with a 7 p.m. tip.