CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The La Salle men's basketball team fell to college basketball blue blood the North Carolina Tar Heels, 93-67 on the road Saturday evening.
Guard
Eric Acker made his long awaited season debut, scoring 13 points.
Demetrius Lilley led La Salle in scoring with 16.
Explorers' fans can follow the team on X/Twitter @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @LaSalleMBB.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Five early points from Lilley and a three from Jahlil White gave the Explorers an early 8-2 advantage. UNC tied the contest at 8 by the first media timeout.
- A massive scoring run from the Tar Heels put North Carolina firmly in control, leading 22-10 with ten minutes remaining.
- Despite fouls taking Corey McKeithan and Jahlil White out of the game early, La Salle stayed in the fight thanks to strong play off the bench from Mac Etienne and Deuce Jones.
- North Carolina stayed hot from the field, controlling the glass to take a 42-25 lead into the break
- Deuce Jones led all scorers in the first half with 11 points.
Second Half
- The Tar Heels opened the second on a 10-5 run to expand the lead to 23, 52-29.
- Following five straight points from Lilley to trim the advantage to 21, UNC splashed back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead to 65-38 with 11:52 remaining, its largest of the evening.
- Lilley and Acker each knocked down three-pointers to keep the lead from escalating.
- Acker continued to shine late
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Jones put together his second consecutive impressive performance. The reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week scoring 13 points.
- Lilley added 16 points while grabbing a team-high 6 rebounds. He set a new career-high in threes (four) for the second straight game.
UP NEXT
- La Salle returns home with FDU next on the docket. The Knights will visit on Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at GoExplorers.com. The game will stream on ESPN+.
