PHILADELPHIA – Visiting Central Connecticut State raced to a 20-9 lead in the first four minutes and led nearly the entire way to defeat La Salle, 81-74, on Sunday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena. Sophomore Jerrell Wright led four Explorers with 18 points and six rebounds, while junior Sam Mills added 16, including four three-pointers.
CCSU was led by Kyle Vinales, who poured in a game-high 23 points. Adonis Burbage had a career-high 21 points to join five Blue Devils in double-digits.
“Central Connecticut deserved to win that game,” head coach Dr. John Giannini said. “They made some really tough shots, they defend and they are tough.
The two teams were tied at nine after a flurry of action in the first two minutes but the visitors scored the next 11 points to take a 20-9 lead at the 15:30 mark of the first half. Vinales had eight points in the run.
“They came out breathing fire,” Giannini said. “We couldn’t pressure them at all and we had to back off.”
La Salle drew within two points on three more occasions in the first half but couldn’t take the lead and trailed 48-44 heading into the locker rooms.
Wright had a team-high 12 in the first half, while senior Ramon Galloway scored 11 of his 15 in the opening frame.
The contest remained tight early in the second half with La Salle (1-1) taking its first lead since the opening minutes on a junior Tyreek Duren lay-up with 12:06 to play to make it 62-61, Explorers. The advantage was short-lived as a Joe Efese lay-up put CCSU back ahead and the Blue Devils remained on top until a Mills jumped tied the game at 72-72 with 3:52 to play.
Two Burbage free throws put Central Connecticut State back ahead but Wright scored on a put-back to tie up the score with 1:57 to play. The Blue Devils scored the game’s final seven points to improve to 2-2.
Duren had 12 points and tied Wright with a team-best four assists. DJ Peterson played a career-best 33 minutes and scored seven points off the bench. He tied Wright with a team-high six rebounds.
“We played hard,” Giannini said. “They just played a little harder and made more shots and were a little tougher. But we did not lie down. They earned that win.”
The loss was just the fourth in the past 21 games at Tom Gola Arena for La Salle.
The Explorers visit Hartford on Tuesday night at 7 PM.
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