La Salle men end skid with 75-64 win over George Washington

Since opening Atlantic 10 play 2-1, La Salle’s men’s basketball team had been in a free fall, losing five straight, including three at home. The Explorers returned to Tom Gola Arena Wednesday night to face one of the better teams in the conference in George Washington and finally got back in the win column with a 75-64 victory.

La Salle (9-13, 3-6 A-10) had four players score in double figures led by Khalil Brantley, who finished with a game-high 15 points, followed by Josh Nickelberry (12), Jhamir Brickus (11), and Fousseyni Drame (10). Drame finished with a game-best nine rebounds and Brickus had game-highs in assists (six) and steals (three).

James Bishop, who entered the game seventh in the country in scoring at 21.6 points per game, was held to 14 points for George Washington (11-11, 5-4). Brendan Adams and Maximus Edwards had 12 points each, and Ricky Lindo finished with 10 points.

Trailing by one early in the first half, the Explorers went on a 16-2 run to take a 13-point lead, stifling the high-powered Colonials offense. With less than nine minutes left in the half, George Washington finally got going offensively, closing the frame shooting 9-of-15 from the field, but the Explorers remained in control thanks to 10 points over the final 7:17 by Nickelberry to enter the break with a 35-28 advantage.

After a jumper by Brantley immediately put La Salle up by nine at the start of the second half, George Washington went on a 17-2 run to take a six-point lead after trailing by as many as 14. The Explorers responded right back, scoring 10 straight to stop the bleeding and retake the lead, and to close out the game, La Salle used yet another big run.

This was a strong shooting game overall for the Explorers as they went 26-53 (49.1%) from the field, their fourth-best performance of the season. The Colonials entered Wednesday’s game second in the A-10 in scoring at 76.1 points per game but were held to just 64 points, tied for their second-lowest output on the year.

With less than six minutes to go and George Washington leading by one, La Salle went on an 11-2 run to take control. Anwar Gill, who was scoreless at that point, made two layups to start the spurt, and a three- pointer by Brickus gave the Explorers a six-point advantage.

Lindo made a layup to cut the Colonials’ deficit to four, but a jumper from Gill and two free throws by Brantley put La Salle up by eight with under three minutes left.

The Explorers won’t go far for their next game, traveling to Hagan Arena to take on Big 5 foe St. Joseph’s on at noon Sunday (ESPNU). The Hawks (11-11, 5-5) defeated La Salle 71-59 at Tom Gola Arena on Jan. 16 and have won five of their last six.