City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Teddy Bailey (@TheTeddyBailey)
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With its full complement available for the first time this season, La Salle stayed unbeaten on the young season, handling Lafayette with relative ease in an 83-75 win on Monday evening.

At First…
La Salle raced out to an 18-9 lead within the first five minutes courtesy of Jordan Price. The 6-foot-5 junior guard scored 14 points before the first media timeout en route to a game-high 19 points in the first half.  Lafayette was able to use consistent free-throw shooting to claw back, trimming the deficit to just 44-41 at halftime.

Turning Point…
Just like in the first half, the Explorers came out hot from the break, with a 13-2 run making it a 14-point lead for the home team before the Leopards could even blink. Lafayette was never able to get within double-digits again as La Salle pulled away to lead by as many as 18 with under four minutes to play, putting the game out of reach.

Standout Stars…
One of the top scorers in the country this season so far has been Price, who entered play on Monday with the fifth-highest average in the country--and he didn’t disappoint in this contest either. Price matched his season high of 28 points with more than 16 minutes remaining in the contest and finished just one shy of his career-high 34, going to the bench with five minutes remaining and 33 to his name after missing the front end of a 1-and-1 just seconds earlier.

In his first serious collegiate action, La Salle redshirt sophomore center Tony Washington made quite an impact, going for 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds, including three on the offensive end; he also had three assists and two blocks.

For the second straight game, Lafayette forward Matt Klinewski was a problem inside, bullying his way to 23 points, just three shy of his career high. Before scoring 26 against NJIT on Saturday, the 6-8 sophomore forward from Voorhees, N.J. had never scored more than a dozen points in a game, but now he’s accomplished it twice in a row.

Noteworthy Numbers…
La Salle's terrific 3-point defense to start the year continued, as the Explorers limited a normally sharp-shooting Lafayette to 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from beyond the arc. Coming into the game, La Salle's opponents were 11-of-38 (28.9 percent) from 3-point territory.

Both teams had struggled on the glass this season, with Lafayette getting out-rebounded by 15 rpg and La Salle by 8.5 rpg heading into play. The return of Washington certainly helped, as the Explorers dominated the boards to the tune of a 43-25 rebounding advantage, including 17-7 on the offensive end.

Up Next…
La Salle (3-0) @ Penn (3-1) (Nov. 25, 7 PM)
Lafayette (1-3) @ Princeton (2-1) (Nov. 25, 7 PM)