WASHINGTON, DC – After flirting with an upset for most of the game, the La Salle men’s basketball team (17-8, 9-5 Atlantic 10) saw its seven-game win streak come to an end, falling to No. 6 George Washington (23-1, 13-0) at the Charles E. Smith Center by a score of 77-65. Sophomore Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Francis) scored a game-high 19 points in the loss.

The Explorers held a 35-31 lead at halftime and held on to that lead for the first four minutes of the second half before the Colonials made a charge to take control of the game. After a Steven Smith (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) jumper put La Salle up by seven points just into the second stanza, George Washington scored the next 10 points to go up by three with over 14 minutes to play. But the Explorers refused to let the game get out of reach.

Junior Mike St. John (Northboro, MA/River School) hit a three-pointer to put La Salle back on top with under 13 minutes left, but George Washington roared back with a 20-8 run that was punctuated with three-pointer by Philadelphia native Maureece Rice. After that, the closest the Explorers would get would be eight points.

The Colonials went the entire second half without their top player, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who suffered a knee injury late in the first half. Several George Washington players stepped up in his absence, including Regis Koundjia (13 points) and Omar Williams, who scored all of his seven points in the second half.

After La Salle held a 18-14 rebounding edge at halftime, the Colonials buckled down on the glass, pulling in 16 second-half rebounds, compared to the Explorers’ nine.

Harris scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half, helping La Salle hold off George Washington’s offensive surge. The sophomore hit three three-pointers in the game, all from long range. Smith finished with 12 points and senior Jermaine Thomas (Frederick, MD/Thomas Johnson) added 10, including a pair of treys.

Williams snared a game-high seven rebounds, while Smith and fellow senior Lewis Fadipe (Lagos, Nigeria/Forest Hill) grabbed six boards each to lead La Salle. The Explorers shot 50 percent from the field, slightly better than the Colonials’ 49 percent.

La Salle will have six days off before returning to action at Fordham on March 1 for its final road contest of the season.