BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The La Salle men's basketball team (16-16, 6-12 A-10) claimed a first-round victory in the Atlantic-10 tournament for the third straight season, defeating the George Washington Revolutionaries (15-17, 4-14 A-10), 61-60. The Explorers advance to the second round, where the St. Bonaventure Bonnies await as the No. 7 seed.
 
The game featured ten lead changes and eight ties in the second half alone. Jhamir Brickus scored the game-winning basket through contact with 20 seconds remaining. The Explorers held strong on defense on the final possession to secure the victory.
 
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HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half

• The Explorers opened the game cold from the field, only connecting on one of the first seven shot attempts, allowing George Washington to get out to a 9-2 lead.
• Khalil Brantley knocked down a three but was quickly followed by five more points from GW (14-5, GW).
• La Salle ripped off seven straight points to pull within two. The run was punctuated by a step-back three from Brickus. The Revolutionaries countered with their own 7-0 run to put the lead back at nine points, 21-12.
• Brantley drilled another three to end the run and gave way to nearly three minutes of no points from either side.
• La Salle's defense was stellar, holding GW without a field goal for over five straight minutes of game time. Neither side could gain much of an advantage as GW held a 24-19 lead going into the U-4 timeout.
• The Revolutionaries hit two threes sandwiching a La Salle bucket to stretch the lead back to nine points. Anwar Gill hit a pair of free throws to close the half, 30-23 GW.

Second Half

• La Salle opened the period with four quick points to cut into the lead, 30-27. The Explorers held George Washington scoreless for the first 4:06 of the half.
• GW got out to a 36-30 lead, but Brickus and Rokas Jocius nailed back-to-back three-pointers to tie things up at 36.
• Brantley scored on an iso, and Daeshon Shepherd converted an and-one to take La Salle's first lead since 2-0 44 seconds into the game, 43-38.
• GW scored 12 of the next 14 points to retake a 50-45 lead. Shepherd got La Salle back on track with a three (50-48, GW, 6:22 remaining).
• The two launched into a back-and-forth. George Washington's lead was expanded to four via a James Bishop IV three. Brantley knocked a jumper and Shepherd hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 57 with 3:19 left.
• Brickus and Bishop exchanged blows again to give GW a 60-59 lead with under two minutes remaining. Neither team was able to score again until Brickus scored the game-winning basket with 20 seconds left on the clock. Bishop had two attempts to win the game, but fell short on both attempts.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• La Salle has now won five of its last seven games.
• The Explorers are now 16-13 all-time in the first/second round of the A-10 tournament.
• This is the second time in three years that La Salle has earned a 3-0 sweep against an A-10 rival. The Explorers defeated Saint Joseph's thrice in 2021-22.
• Khalil Brantley grabbed nine rebounds, He has now pulled down five or more boards in eight straight games. He reached double figures for the 62^nd time in his career. He also added 15 points for his fifth straight game in double figures.
• Jhamir Brickus scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds. It is the 10^th time in his career exceeding 20 points and the fifth time passing the seven rebound marker.
• Rokas Jocius tied his career-high in steals with two.

 
UP NEXT

• The Explorers face St. Bonaventure in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The game will tip at 5 p.m. on USA Network.