Senior Earl Pettis added a team-leading 15 points and seven rebounds while junior Ramon Galloway added 14 points. For Northeastern (3-2), Jonathan Lee had 11 points.
La Salle (4-3) shot .500 to the Huskies’ .320. The Explorers remain undefeated at home this year and have won five straight at Gola dating back to last year.
“I’m very pleased,” head coach Dr. John Giannini said of the win. “They’re good kids. They want to win and I love this group. There’s personally not much not to like about these guys.”
Coming out of the break with a 24-18 lead, the Explorers played more physical and put together an explosive offensive effort. Sophomore Tyreek Duren started off the run with a drive to the basket for a layup.
Back-to-back-to-back three pointers by sophomore Sam Mills, Galloway and Pettis sent the crowd into a frenzy and capped off a 12-0 run by the Explorers that put the squad up 38-26 with under 15 minutes to play.
The Explorers shot a blistering .875 in the second half from long range, connecting on 7-of-8 three-pointers. Five players, including all but one of the Explorers’ starters, sunk a three as La Salle shot .450 from deep for the game.
La Salle wouldn’t let the Huskies closer than 13 points for the remainder of the contest.
The second half was a contrast to the cold shooting from the floor by both teams in the first half. The Explorers shot .360 to Northeastern’s nearly .260.
The Explorers couldn’t get into an offensive rhythm early. Their first four possessions ended after a pair of offensive fouls and two traveling violations as Northeastern jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
“We’re not doing as much live five-on-five during practice as I would like to,” Giannini said. “Sometimes we need to adjust at the start of games. I think sometimes we just settle down as the game goes on and get comfortable.”
The Explorers would hold the Huskies scoreless for nearly eight minutes and took the lead as the first half wound down. Northeastern’s Quincy Ford broke the scoring drought with a jumper at the 4:36 mark. By then, La Salle had a 17-15 advantage.
The 51 points was the lowest tally Northeastern was held to all year.
Guarded by Mills, Northeastern’s top scorer, Joel Smith, who was averaging over 17 points a game, was held to just three points.
“He just flat out played a great game today,” Giannini said of his guard.
Freshman D.J. Peterson made his first collegiate start in place of Earl Pettis. Pettis, playing with an injured finger, would check in early in the first half, seeing 32 minutes.
With 399 career wins after tonight’s victory, Giannini inches closer to number 400.
He will get an opportunity for that win when the Blue and Gold host Bucknell at Tom Gola Arena on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
To celebrate the Explorer’s birthday, all children under 12 will get in free. La Salle will also honor its three A-10 Championship teams (men’s and women’s cross country, and women’s soccer) along with the league-best four A-10 Coach of the Year awards.
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