Galloway leads La Salle past Army, 76-64

In his first year at La Salle, Ramon Galloway has helped transform and energize the Explorers.

A 6-foot-2 junior guard who transferred from South Carolina, Galloway continued his stellar season by setting career highs with 26 points and six three-pointers in La Salle's easy 76-64 victory over Army Saturday at Gola Arena.

It was the fifth straight win for La Salle (7-3), which tied a Gola record with its seventh consecutive home victory.

"It feels good to have a great game, [but] I'm just happy me and my team got the win," Galloway said.

Galloway was nearly perfect from the field, shooting 10 for 12 (83.3 percent) overall and making 6 of 7 (85.7 percent) from long range while setting a personal mark for three-pointers in a game.

A Philadelphia native who played two seasons at Freire Charter, Galloway regularly gets up with his teammates prior to their morning classes to shoot 500 jumpers. Then after practice, they launch some more.

"My coach always tells me you put in the work and the results will show," said Galloway, the Explorers' top scorer at 15.6 points per game.

The work paid off against the Black Knights (3-7), as La Salle came within three three-pointers of matching a school record by making a season-high 15 long-range shots. La The Explorers have made 29 three-pointers in their last two games.

"They work hard and they've been putting a lot of time in the gym putting up extra shots," coach John Giannini said. "They're not making those shots by accident."

Earl Pettis had 18 points and Sam Mills netted 10.Pettis, a senior who played his first two seasons at Rutgers, said Galloway has helped motivate the Explorers.

"He brings a lot of energy, he's always positive and he keeps guys going when they don't feel like practicing," he said. "His energy makes you want to keep practicing. You don't want to let him down. You want to follow his steps."

Said Giannini, "He really does a lot of things for our team that go way beyond the stat sheet."

Galloway played well in two seasons for the Gamecocks, averaging 10.7 points last season after netting 7.8 as a freshman. But he transferred to La Salle to be closer to his family, particularly his blind father and ailing grandfather, and earned a hardship waiver from the NCAA to become eligible for this season and not have to sit out the customary year required of transfers.