PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The La Salle men's basketball team is peaking at the right time, the offense exploding in an 85-76 victory on Saturday afternoon to defeat Duquesne in the regular season finale inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
The Explorers head into the conference tournament with a three-game win streak to sit at 10-18 on the season and 5-13 in conference play. Duquesne has now dropped 15 straight to fall to 6-23 and 1-16 in Atlantic 10 action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Dukes won the opening tip, setting the stage for history to be made on the opening possession. Clifton Moore denied a driving Duke, tallying his 77^th block of the season to tie Lionel Simmons for the all-time single season record.
• Early foul trouble from Jhamir Brickus gave Khalil Brantley an early run into the game, the freshman registering a quick six points to help the Explorers to an early 19-14 advantage.
• Jack Clark gave the Explorers the largest lead to that point after backing his defender in, a turnaway fade tickling the twine for a 28-19 lead.
• Clark found rhythm, sinking his 14^th point from distance after back-to-back possessions with dunks, the corner three extending the lead to 35-21.
• Holding their double figure advantage throughout the closing stages of the half, the Explorers fell victim to a late four points from Duquesne that cut the lead to 39-31 for La Salle heading into the break.
• The Explorers went out on the front foot again out of the break, Clark knocking down two triples before Josh Nickelberry hit a heat check from the wing to grab a quick 9-0 run to extend the lead to 53-38, forcing a Duke timeout.
• Clark would score an easy bucket moments later, surpassing his career-high of 21 points with over 14 minutes left in the contest.
• The hosts mounted a charge back into the contest, cutting the deficit to as little as five after a pair of Primo Spears free throws gave the freshman 29 points to cut the lead to 73-68. Brickus responded in turn, driving the length of the court to finish at the basket and draw contact to extend the advantage back to seven after unable to convert the and-one.
• Brickus would atone for the missed free throw with another drive into the paint, finding a wide open Clark cutting the baseline for his 28^th point after slamming it home.
• One last Duquesne run would be cut short from Nickelberry, draining two straight triples in the closing stages of the contest to eliminate any chance of a comeback bid, walking out of UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse with an 85-76 victory.

 
GAME NOTES

• Clark finished with a career-high 30 points, eclipsing his previous mark of 21. Efficiently, Clark finished 13-19 from the field and 4-6 from deep while adding eight rebounds and three assists. Clark's 30 point outburst was the first 30+ game from an Explorer since Isaiah Deas dropped 31 against Morgan State in the 2019-20 season.
• Nickelberry tallied his first 20+ point game of the conference campaign, finishing 9-13 from the field and 5-7 from three to finish with 23 points.
• Anwar Gill and Brickus combined for 13 assists in the win, Brickus adding nine points.
• Christian Ray combined for nine points and eight rebounds to fall just shy of a double-double.
• Moore walked off injured in the second half, but not before tallying a block to tie Lionel Simmons with the all-time program record for blocks in a single season at 77.
• La Salle finished 35-58 (60.3%) from the field, the first time in the Ash Howard era that the Explorers eclipsed 60% from the field.
• Shooting 57.1% from deep, the Explorers knocked down more than 50% of their attempts for the first time since Jan. 23, 2021 at Richmond.
• The Explorers registered 21 assists, tied for the most on the season.
• The 85 points scored was the second-most from the Explorers on the season, two shy of a season-best set at George Washington.
• The win against Duquesne was the first win outside of the city of Philadelphia this season for La Salle, the only other road win of the season coming against Saint Joseph's.
• La Salle heads into the A-10 tournament tied for the longest winning streak of the season at three games.

UP NEXT
The Explorers meet the Hawks of Saint Joseph's for the third time on the season in the opening round of the tournament, the 12/13 game being played on March 9 at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.