PHILADELPHIA – Leading by as much as 16 points in the second half, the La Salle men's basketball team found itself on the losing end of a 77-71 defeat to UMass on Wednesday evening inside Tom Gola Arena in TruMark Financial Center.
 
La Salle falls to 6-11 (1-6 A-10) on the year while the Minutemen move to 9-10 (2-5 A-10) on the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Opening the game on fire from deep, the Explorers used three different scorers to knock down three of their first four attempts from distance to take a quick 9-4 lead.
• The Minutemen closed the mark to within one before La Salle used another strong run as Daeshon Shepherd turned strong Explorer defense into a windmill slam, capping off an 8-0 run to take a 19-10 lead.
• The visitors clawed back into the game, using a strong spurt to grab their first lead at 28-27 after a triple from Trent Buttrick. Jack Clark responded on the other end, grabbing his 10^th point of the first half in his second three point field goal to regain the Explorer advantage.
• Josh Nickelberry spurred the Explorers on to close the half, scoring five of his 10 first half points in the closing stages of the opening period. Anwar Gill put a stamp on the opening half, the sophomore knocking down a triple from the wing with one second on the clock to push the Explorers with a 12-2 run over the final 2:25 to give La Salle a 42-32 lead at the break.
• On the other end of the break, the Explorers kept the momentum scoring eight of the first 10 points to extend the lead to 16. Back-to-back Buttrick threes and a 13-0 UMass run cut the deficit back under double-digits.
• The Minutemen would take their first lead of the second half with 5:47 to play, holding a 64-62 advantage.
• Trailing by four, Clark responded with a four-point run of his own to tie the game up at 71 with 1:08 remaining.
• UMass scored the final six points of the game, the Explorers unable to find the bottom of the net in the final minute as the Minutemen grabbed the 77-71 win.

 
GAME NOTES

• Nickelberry finished with a team-high 18 points for the Explorers, finishing 7-12 from the field. The junior added four assists (career-high) and four rebounds.
• Clark ended the night with 16 points, 10 of them coming in the first half. Clark's five assists tie a career-mark, also pitching in with five rebounds.
• Clifton Moore yet again broke double-figures, adding 14 points for his seventh game in double-digits. Jhamir Brickus tallied eight points and eight assists, a season-high in dimes.
• After only two first half turnovers, the Explorers finished with 12 on the night, also forcing 12. La Salle found itself on a 21-12 deficit in points off turnovers.
• As a team, the Explorers shot 27-59 (45.8%) from the field, holding UMass to 24-61 (39.3%). UMass dominated the glass with a 44-27 edge, outscoring La Salle 16-7 in second chance points.
• The Minutemen entered the game fourth in the country in three point percentage (40.2%), finishing the night 8-22 (36.4%) from deep. UMass held a 26-11 advantage in free throws.
• UMass was led by Ryan Kelly with 21 points and six assists. Buttrick finished with 16 points, T.J. Weeks and Javohn Garcia each ended with 11 points.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers hit the road for a two-game road trip, starting with Davidson on Saturday, January 29^th.
• The game is set to air on USA Network at 12:00 p.m.