PHILADELPHIA-- La Salle University’s men’s basketball team’s second half rally against Big 5 rival, the University of Pennsylvania, would not be enough for the Explorers to finish on top. The UPenn Quakers won 77-74, even after allowing La Salle to erase a double-digit deficit at the Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.
The visiting Quakers jumped to an early lead, with the score at 8-2 within the first five minutes of the game. La Salle would make a few quick buckets to tighten up the score 16-14, but it wouldn’t last long. Penn would go on a 12-2 run, which would only be the start for a long first half for the Explorers. The score was held at 40-27 in the Quakers favor heading into halftime. Penn was shooting 52 percent, while La Salle only capitalized on 31 percent.
The second half consisted of La Salle making back to back shots which would put them in tight range, only to have Penn have their own streak of accuracy to put them far ahead once again. With just over three and a half minutes to go, the Blue and Gold tightened the score to 69-64, still in the Quaker’s favor. Senior Cleon Roberts was sent to the line where he sunk both foul shots to make it a one possession game.
The scoreboard showed 75-71 in favor of the Quakers before La Salle Senior Jordan Price hit a three pointer to put the game within one with three seconds left. However, AJ Brodeur of UPenn would add two points to the Quakers score off of free throws. La Salle’s court-length pass with 2 seconds to go was intercepted by UPenn to secure their win.
La Salle outscored UPenn 47-37 in the second half, and increased their FG completion from thirty-one to forty-three. BJ Johnson led La Salle in scoring with 15 points while Amar Stukes and Cleon Roberts trailed shortly behind with 14 points a piece.
Brodeur had a game high of 35 points and set the Penn record for most points scored by a freshman.
The La Salle Explorers (11-7) will travel to Saint Joseph’s University (9-10) Saturday, January 28th for an Atlantic 10 matchup.
The Quakers will travel to Cambridge to take on Harvard Friday, Feb. 3rd.