Philly native Wooga Poplar leads No. 24 Miami in a tight win over La Salle
Also in Big 5 action, Temple came up short against VCU despite strong performances from a number of players.
A strong second half wasn’t enough to lift La Salle, which lost, 84-77, to No. 24 Miami on Saturday at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
The Explorers were done in by a stingy Hurricanes (8-2) defense and a game-high 25 points from Wooga Poplar, the Math, Civics and Sciences alumnus.
Guard Khalil Brantley led La Salle (8-3) with 23, shooting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Daeshon Shepherd added 15 points and eight rebounds, and freshman Tunde Vahlberg-Fasasi had 10 off the bench.
La Salle returns to the floor for a tune-up game against Rosemont at Tom Gola Arena on Thursday (2:30 p.m., ESPN+).
Hot shooting VCU downs Temple
Despite five players finishing in double-digits, Temple found itself losing, 87-78, to VCU from the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va.
Transfer forward Sam Hofman led the Owls (6-4) with 17 points and Hysier Miller added 16, while Matteo Picarelli and Steve Settle III added 12 points each. Temple received valuable bench points from Jahlil White, who finished with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Zeb Jackson and Max Shulga finished with 19 points for VCU (6-5) with Shulga, the senior guard from Kyiv, Ukraine, shooting a perfect 10 of 10 from the line.
Next up for Temple is a date with Nevada in opening round play of the Diamond Head Classic on Thursday in Honolulu (3 p.m., ESPNU).