La Salle get past Richmond 68-62, extending its A-10 win streak to five games
After being down by as much as eight points in the first half, La Salle rallied to their fifth win in a row.
The longest active win streak in the Atlantic 10 continues.
After being down by as much as eight points in the first half, La Salle rallied to their fifth win in a row, 68-62 over Richmond on Wednesday night in Tom Gola Arena, La Salle (13-13, 7-6 A-10) mounted a comeback win in a tightly-contested game against the Spiders to even their record. La Salle dominated the boards, grabbing 35 rebounds to the Spiders’ 27.
Tyler Burton and Neal Quinn led the Spiders (13-14, 6-8) with 16 points apiece.
“For a team to win, somebody’s got to rebound. Any team you’re going to outrebound, you’re going to win against,” Fousseyni Drame said.
Brotherly love
Twin brothers Fousseyni and Hassan Drame made a significant offensive impact for the Explorers on Wednesday night. The senior forwards both scored in the double-digits against Richmond.
Fousseyni Drame contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He shot 6-for-12 from the floor, and also recorded an assist.
Hassan Drame led La Salle with 16 points, just one off his season-high. Hassan Drame made four three-pointers against the Spiders, with each coming at key moments in the second half and each bringing the crowd to their feet. Going 4-for-5 from long range, Hassan Drame set a new season high in three-pointers made.
“I was just catching and shooting,” Hassan Drame said. “The way they were playing defense, they were not playing to contest my shots. They were playing for me as a driver.”
Jhamir Brickus contributed 12 points.
“If we’re going to win a game like this, lots of people have to step up. Our depth is helping us,” Fran Dunphy said.
Struggles from beyond
Coming off Saturday’s game where the Explorers tied their season high with a collective 11 three-pointers against UMass, La Salle struggled from long range on Wednesday.
The Explorers failed to sink a single shot from behind the arc in the first half, going 0-for-6. Richmond fared a little better, going 3-for-13 (23.1%) in the same span, and was able to build a five-point lead at halftime.
Senior guard Josh Nickleberry, La Salle’s most prolific three-point shooter with 57 made this season, went 0-for-2 from long range in the game coming off the bench.
“[Nickelberry is] as good a team guy as you want,” Dunphy said. “He would like to play well, but he was the first guy off the bench cheering and the best guy in the locker room.”
However, Hassan Drame was able to pick up the slack, as the only Explorer to sink a shot from behind the arc.
“[Hassan Drame] was feeling it,” Dunphy said. “I thought our penetration was good in the second half. We made some really good plays from really good passes.”
Up next
La Salle will look to make it six in a visit to George Mason on Saturday (4 p.m., ESPN+).