LaSalle defeats Hawks at Palestra

The Associated Press Donnie Carr had 11 points for the Explorers (10-12). Andre Howard had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Damian Reid 11 points and 16 rebounds for St. Joseph's (11-11). After a sloppily played first half, neither team had more than a six-point lead in the second half. The Hawks took their biggest lead of the half, 49-44, with 10:20 to go. But Butler and Thomas sparked a 12-2 La Salle run, and a free-throw by Thomas gave the Explorers a 56-51 advantage with 2:38 to play. After a jumper by James Jordan gave the Explorers a 58-52 edge, two free throws each by Howard and Tim Brown cut the La Salle lead to 58-56 with 25 seconds to go. Julian Blanks made one of two free throws with 19 seconds left, and two desperation three-point attempts by the Hawks fell short. After five minutes of play in the opening half, the score was tied at 2-2 as each team hit only one of its first 12 shots. St. Joseph's finally moved out to an 11-4 lead and led 25-24 with 3:55 before the break. However, an 8-2 La Salle run, including three-pointers by Butler and Carr, gave the Explorers a 32-27 halftime lead. St. Joseph's played without leading scorer Marvin O'Connor, who was suspended for one game for fighting in Sunday's game against Fordham.