City of Basketball Love

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)

--

La Salle used a strong second half to break its three-game losing skid and top Massachusetts by a score of 88-78 at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.

At First…
The two sides traded blows in the early going, with six lead changes and three ties occurring in the first 12 minutes of play. After that, UMass began to pull away as an 11-4 run over the course of 3:12 to take a 39-31 lead with just over a minute left in the first half. A triple from B.J. Johnson cut the Minutemen lead to five, 39-34, going into the half. Leading the way for La Salle in the first half was Jordan Price, who scored 10 points before the intermission, while Luwane Pipkins paced UMass with nine.

Turning Point…
After chipping away at the UMass lead out of the break, a 6-0 run for La Salle put the Explorers ahead 47-45 with 15:23 to play in the contest, their first lead since the 16:01 mark in the first half. Just minutes later, with La Salle leading 51-50, Johnson drilled back-to-back three pointers to extend the La Salle lead to 57-50 with just over 12 minutes to play, ultimately sealing the deal for the Explorers.

Standout Stars…
Johnson was a force for La Salle in the win, as the 6-foot-7 junior finished with team- highs of 28 points and 11 rebounds on the way to recording his third double-double of the season. Aiding Johnson was 5th year senior Jordan Price, who finished with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

For UMass, big man Rashaan Holloway caused problems for La Salle all night. The 6-foot-11, 310-pound center cashed in for a team-high 19 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.

Noteworthy Numbers…
5: Through La Salle first 20 games and a combined 40 opportunities for the two, Price and Johnson have fallen short of reaching double figures in scoring only five times; three times for Price in contests against Texas Southern, Villanova, and Dayton and twice for Johnson against Delaware and VCU.

3: This is the third game in a row that La Salle is without usual starting point guard and Memphis transfer Pookie Powell. Prior to suffering an injury in practice on January 24th, Powell was averaging 13.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest, all of which ranked in the top three on the team.

Up Next...
La Salle (12-8, 6-3 Atlantic 10) @ George Mason (14-7, 4-4 Atlantic 10) -- Sat., Feb. 4, 7:00 PM
Massachusetts (12-11, 2-8 Atlantic 10) vs. Rhode Island (14-7, 6-3 Atlantic 10) -- Tues., Feb. 7, 7:00 PM