Courtesy of GoExplorers.com
PHILADELPHIA – Senior guard Cleon Roberts connected on six three-pointers to register a game-high 22 points while classmate Jordan Price added 20 for the La Salle men’s basketball team, who shot 13-of-21 from deep to secure an 89-78 victory over Drexel on Sunday afternoon at the Daskalakis Center.
Roberts hit his first six three-point attempts to run his string to 10 straight from beyond the arc over two games before missing on a three late in the second half. Price got going late, scoring 14 of his 20 points in the second stanza as the Explorers evened their record to 2-2 on the year.
A three-ball from junior B.J. Johnson fittingly started the scoring for La Salle, before a pair of driving hoops from classmate Amar Stukes gave the team an 11-5 lead less than four minutes into the contest.
Drexel trimmed the margin to one before Price connected on a trifecta and junior Demetrius Henry scored five of the team’s next seven points to begin an extended 22-6 run that moved the Explorers in front by 20. Roberts played a large role, hitting a pair of three-pointers during the span.
The Dragons moved to within 40-27 on a layup from Sammy Mojica, before Roberts hit another from long range to help La Salle head into intermission with a 44-27 advantage. The Explorers hit seven of their 11 three-point attempts and held Drexel to just 32.1 percent shooting.
Two straight buckets from Drexel freshman Kurk Lee moved the home team to within 44-31 less than a minute into the second half. A timeout from La Salle stemmed the tide and a quick 8-0 spurt that was bookended by two more three-pointers from Roberts moved the lead to a game-high 21 points at 52-31.
The Explorers pushed the bulge to as many as 23 points at the 16:15 mark, and again hit the mark after another three from Roberts with 12:27 on the clock. Drexel would not go down without a fight, however, and scored 12 straight points to come to within 68-57 midway through the half.
But La Salle responded with another three, this one from Price, and an old-fashioned three-point play from the 6-5 guard extended the lead back to 74-57. The cushion remained comfortable the rest of the way, as the Dragons hit a pair of three-pointers over the last 1:25 to cut the final differential to 11.
In addition to Roberts and Price, Stukes closed with 14 points and seven assists, Johnson added 12 points and junior Pookie Powell was the fifth Explorer to reach double figures with 12 points. Lee led Drexel with 21 points.
La Salle returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 30 against Lehigh at Tom Gola Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Leave a Reply