Jermaine Thomas had another strong effort with17pt.s and 5 assists

"The Shermanator: was back at it again with nine points including this critical rebound and put-back

Darnell Harris has become one of the A-10's most-feared snipers - going 4-9 from three-point land today

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The La Salle men’s basketball team (17-7, 9-4 Atlantic 10) won its seventh consecutive game, dropping Dayton (12-14, 4-8), 74-71, in a contest that saw the lead change hands 20 times. The Explorers were led by the play of senior Steven Smith (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast), who scored a game-high 25 points, including a clutch turnaround three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring.

After the two teams battled back and forth for the first 32 minutes, the Explorers put together an 8-2 run to take an eight-point lead. During that stretch came Smith’s back-breaking three. Coming out of a timeout with only 10 seconds on the shot clock, junior Mike St. John (Northboro, MA/River School) passed up an open three and kicked the ball out to sophomore Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Francis), who also passed on a trey with three ticks left on the clock. Instead, he fed the ball to Smith, who hoisted a turnaround jumper from behind the arc that somehow found the bottom of the net.

The Flyers would fight back, cutting the lead down to one point with under two minutes to play, but Smith sank a pair of free throws to give La Salle some breathing room. Dayton had a pair of chances to tie it at the close of the game. With two seconds left, the Flyers’ Brian Roberts attempted a three, which did not fall. The rebound was tipped right back to him and he tried again to tie the game, unsuccessfully. Roberts finished with 24 points.

La Salle got a solid performance from Harris, who sank four trifectas on his way to 16 points. Teammate Jermaine Thomas (Frederick, MD/Thomas Johnson) added 17 points.

With 17 victories, La Salle has already achieved its highest win total since its last winning season, 1992-93, when the Explorers won 20 games.

The Explorers have won seven straight for the second time this season after opening the year 7-0 before falling to then-No. 3 Villanova. La Salle will venture to Washington, DC, to take on No. 7/8 George Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 22.