PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle University men's basketball team suffered through a tough shooting afternoon, connecting on just 37.7 percent of its attempts from the field in a 71-66 loss to Howard inside Tom Gola Arena on Saturday. The defeat snaps La Salle's seven-game home win streak to start the season and puts the team at 9-4 heading into Atlantic 10 action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Explorers led for the majority of the first 12 minutes before a jumper from Seth Towns jumpstarted a 10-0 spurt by the Bison, and gave the visitors a 27-21 lead with just under seven minutes to play in the period.
• La Salle responded with six straight, including a three-pointer from Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, to tie the game.
• Trailing by one, the Explorers scored six more in a row to take a five-point lead at 36-31, but Howard came right back with five consecutive points to knot the contest at 36-36 at halftime.
• Howard's run extended to 14 straight bridging both halves, and a layup by Marcus Dockery put the score at 45-36 in favor of Howard with 15:57 left in the second half.
• The margin remained nine at the 11:13 mark, when the home team went on a quick 9-0 spurt to tie the score with just under eight minutes to go.
• La Salle, however, could not quite get over the hump and take the lead, and an extended 9-0 run over a span of 4:03 gave Howard a 68-59 cushion with 2:58 on the clock.
• The Explorers made every effort to come back, and had the ball down four with just under a minute left but could get no closer.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Khalil Brantley led the Explorers with 17 points, but shot just 6-for-15 from the floor. Anwar Gill also struggled to get things going from the floor, going 5-for-15 en route to 15 points.
• Senior Jhamir Brickus (14 points) and junior Daeshon Shepherd (12 points, 13 rebounds) also registered double figures for La Salle.
• Dockery closed with a game-high 21 points, including a 5-for-7 showing from three-point range. As a team, Howard shot 9-for-22 from distance (40.9%).
• Howard won the battle on the boards, 42-32, including 12 offensive rebounds. La Salle also had 10 offensive boards.
• Seth Towns had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Bryce Harris also had 18 points and added 13 rebounds for Howard.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers begin Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at home as they take on George Mason (11-2).
• Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting goexplorers.com/tickets.