Dec. 29, 2011

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Kicking off a three-game road trip, the Boston University men's basketball team fell to La Salle, 70-53, on Thursday night in its first-ever appearance at the Tom Gola Arena. Playing without sophomore point guard D.J. Irving for the second consecutive game, the Terriers drop to 4-9, while the Atlantic 10's Explorers improve to 9-4.

Redshirt-freshman Malik Thomas led BU with a season and team-high 17 points and eight rebounds, while senior Darryl Partin was the second Terrier in double figures at 12 points. Classmate Matt Griffin tied a career high with six assists and added three points along with four rebounds.

Tyreek Duren ignited the Explorers' offense with 23 points and five assists while also posting seven rebounds. Jerrell Wright and Devon White each had eight rebounds along with 10 and eight points, respectively. Ramon Galloway added 13 points off the bench.

As a team, La Salle shot 45.5 percent from the field and held BU to 40 percent shooting while also finishing ahead in rebounds, 39-30. Committing only eight turnovers, the Explorers enticed the Terriers into 11 turnovers and recorded 17 fast break points.

After sophomore Travis Robinson's 3-pointer gave the Terriers an early 3-2 lead, the Explorers went on an 11-0 run to take the lead for good. Senior Jeff Pelage cut the deficit to seven (15-8) at 13:04, but La Salle then added a 10-0 spurt.

Trailing 42-23 with 3:48 remaining in the first half, BU moved within 12 (43-31) on a Partin jumper at 18:49 in the second and could have drawn closer, but the Explorers' defense held strong, as La Salle pulled away with a 12-2 run.

The Terriers' road trip will continue Saturday (Dec. 31) at Quinnipiac with tip-off set for 12 p.m. NESN and SNY will broadcast the game live.