PHILADELPHIA — The La Salle men's basketball team snapped a five-game losing streak by beating George Washington, 75-64, on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center.
With the win the Explorers improved 3-6 in A-10 play and 9-13 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Explorers had an impressive first half, as they jumped out to a 15-5 lead on the Colonials through the first eight and a half minutes. Mamadou Doucoure paced the Explorers with six points during that run.
- Then, the Explorers increased the lead to 32-18 after Josh Nickelberry came off the bench and scored 10 points that included him hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. The Explorers would take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
- In the second half, the Colonials stormed back to take a 45-39 lead after going on a 17-4 run to start the half.
- However, the Explorers got some big-time stops on the defensive end, starting with Fousseyni Drame saving the ball from going out of bounds and passing it to Jhamir Brickus, who then fired a pass to Nickelberry in transition to allow him to throw it down for a two-handed jam to cut the deficit to 45-41.
- Then, Brickus stole the ball off a GW player and make a breakaway layup to cut the Colonials' lead to two. After that, Nickelberry managed to grab an offensive rebound and find Fousseyni Drame for a two-handed slam to help the Explorers take a 47-45 lead with 13:02 left.
- Following Drame's dunk, Rokas Jocius made a layup in the lane to cap a 10-0 run for the Explorers.
- From there, the Explorers and Colonials traded baskets for the next seven minutes until Anwar Gill managed to make a layup and get fouled on the play to put La Salle up 62-59 with 5:04 left.
- Then, Brickus hit a big shot two possessions later, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing to give La Salle a 65-59 lead with 4:12 left.
- The Explorers fended off George Washington over the final four minutes, as they made the Colonials go 1-for-5 from the field while outscoring them 10-6 to earn the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Khalil Brantley led all scorers with 15 points, seven of which came from the free-throw line.
- Nickelberry, Brickus, and Fousseyni Drame finished in double figures. Nickelberry had 12 points, Brickus added 11, and Drame chipped in 10 for La Salle.
- Brickus had a game-high six assists and three steals for the Explorers in the win.
- Drame paced the Explorers on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds.
- The Explorers limited James Bishop, the Atlantic 10's leading scorer at 21.6 points per game, to 14 points.
UP NEXT
- The Explorers head across town on Sunday to take on rival Saint Joseph's in their second matchup of the season at Hagan Arena. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Tip-off is set for noon.
