ALBANY, N.Y. – Senior Ramon Galloway, the Atlantic 10’s top scorer, connected on six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 22 points as La Salle defeated Siena, 80-52, on Saturday night at the Times Union Center. Junior Tyreek Duren had 13 points while sophomore D.J. Peterson scored a career-high 11 for the Explorers, who continued their best start at 9-2 since the 1989-90 season.
“I thought that was the best game we’ve played,” head coach Dr. John Giannini said. “The reason I say that is that we were very good defensively and offensively, the numbers show that. It was just one of the nights where we started making three’s and our effort was at a high level. I thought we played terrific.”
Galloway remained hot, scoring 20 or more points for the fifth straight game. He leads the A-10 with six overall 20 point games. His six three-pointers tied a career-high and was the tenth straight game he has made at least three triples.
“It was just in the flow of the game,” Galloway said. “My teammates found me at the right time. Our shots were really falling today.”
Defensively, the visitors clamped down on the Saints, forcing the hosts into 33% shooting and the second worst loss in the 12-year history of playing at the Times Union Center. Siena shot just 3-for-17 from three-point range and committed 17 turnovers.
“We never really put a lot of emphasis on offense,” Galloway said. “We preach defense. It’s our focus every game. We have to make sure we take their guards out of their rhythm.”
The Blue and Gold had a tough time getting it going from long range early on but used a 13-4 run midway through the first half to break the game open. Leading 14-13, Galloway and Duren combined for 11 of the 13 points to make it 27-17 with 5:22 to play before intermission.
The lead stretched to as many as 17 before a late Siena basket made it 39-24 at the break.
A 21-5 run to open up the second half put the game out of reach for the hosts. The La Salle advantage remained at least 29 for the rest of the contest.
“One of the reasons we have a good team mentally is that our guys know that we can beat anyone and that if we let up, we can lose to anyone,” Giannini said. “That’s a good place to be mentally because it makes you work hard all the time.”
O.D. Anosike led Siena (2-11) with 14 points, including the 1000th of his career, and added 16 rebounds. He came into the game as the nation’s top rebounder.
La Salle committed 11 turnovers and had 21 assists on 31 baskets. It marked the tenth time this season the Explorers committed less turnovers and La Salle is now 9-1 in those games.
The Explorers won for the sixth time in its last eight road games and improved to 11-2 during the past two Decembers.
La Salle travels to Miami on Wednesday at 9 PM. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports South and online at ESPN3.com.
NOTES: Duren needs 51 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone…Tyrone Garland came off the bench to lead the team with seven rebounds…Steve Zack and Jerrell Wrighteach blocked a career-high four shots…It was La Salle’s first trip back to Albany since winning the 1992 MAAC Championship in Knickerbocker Arena, now the Times Union Center…The Explorers improve to 5-3 all-time versus Siena.
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