La Salle outlasts Prairie View

There was no ocean breeze wafting through the city's Olney section and there were no palm trees swaying alongside Tom Gola Arena Thursday, but banners on the wall and on the court insisted that La Salle and Prairie View were competing in the Cancun Challenge.

The Explorers may have expected a day at the beach against a smaller, less-talented opponent, but the Panthers (1-3) made them work much of the game for their 88-74 victory.

After a choppy first half, La Salle (2-1) opened the second half with a four-minute stretch of precision play to open a nine-point lead that Prairie View was unable to overcome.

Three Explorers dominated the scoring. Jerrell Williams, a diligent, 6-foot-8 senior, had 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, repeatedly putting back his own missed shots. Senior guard Ruben Guillandeaux had 17 points. Burdened by foul trouble throughout the game, 6-10 sophomore Aaric Murray still scored 19 points, making all 11 of his free throws.

La Salle, which was coming off a hard-fought loss at No. 17 Baylor, will play four games in the Cancun Challenge. The Explorers will host Morgan State on Saturday, then depart for Cancun, Mexico, where they will go against Providence on Tuesday and either Missouri or Wyoming on Wednesday.

The Explorers' brief flurry to open the second half was the kind of smooth, balanced play that coach John Giannini hopes to see more of as the season evolves. Five players combined for 10 points that spread the lead to 49-40. Prairie View could get no closer than six points. But two free throws each by Williams and Guillandeaux sandwiched around a three-point jumper by freshman guard Sam Mills raised La Salle's lead to 59-46 and sealed the Panthers' fate.

Williams had his double-double by halftime with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

La Salle was up by only 39-35 at the break as the Panthers stayed close despite shooting 37 percent by beating the Explorers to most of the loose balls. Prairie View's scrappy play had Giannini shuffling players in and out in an attempt to find more effective combinations.

Guillandeaux, who had three three-point jumpers in the first 20 minutes, got off to a hot early start. One of his three-pointers gave the Explorers a 28-21 lead, but Prairie View refused to let the Explorers take command of the game. Twice late in the half, the Panthers pulled within a point, but Williams single-handedly held them off by scoring La Salle's final six points. He scored his 14 points in the final 6 minutes, 33 seconds of the half.

Prairie View opened the season with lopsided losses at Marquette (97-58) and Wisconsin (99-55) before defeating Arlington Baptist.