Lewis Fadipe

Jermaine Thomas

Steven Smith

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Led by an outstanding performance from Steven Smith (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast), the La Salle men’s basketball team (18-9, 10-6 Atlantic 10) locked up a first-round bye in the A-10 tournament, defeating Saint Louis (16-12, 10-6), 62-52, to clinch the third seed. Smith scored 26 points and snared a career-high 16 rebounds in front of a Senior Day crowd at Tom Gola Arena.

The Explorers, who led for almost the entire game, jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, but the Billikens fought back to take their only lead of the game at 8-7. Then La Salle switched to a zone defense in an attempt to confuse Saint Louis. The change worked, as the Billikens turned the ball over on their next possession and the turnover resulted in a Sherman Diaz (Diego Martin, Trinidad/Life Center Academy) three-pointer. On Saint Louis’ next trip down the court, Smith blocked a hurried shot by Ian Vouyoukas, setting up a three-pointer by senior Jermaine Thomas (Frederick, MD/Thomas Johnson).

La Salle kept the Billikens at bay for the rest of the half, but Saint Louis closed the gap to three points, heading to the locker room with the score 25-22.  The Explorers kept plugging away, refusing to let Saint Louis get within reach.

Smith hit a back-breaking three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire to put his team up eight points and take the wind out of Saint Louis’ sails. La Salle would lead by no fewer than six points the rest of the way.

Diaz tied a career-high with 11 points and Thomas finished with 10. Vouyoukas led Saint Louis with 13 points. Tommie Liddell registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Smith’s 26 points moved him past Kareem Townes and into seventh place all-time in scoring at La Salle. The senior now has 1,930 points.

The game also marked the final appearances at La Salle for seniors Smith, Thomas and Lewis Fadipe (Lagos, Nigeria/Forest Hill School). Fadipe grabbed seven rebounds and added four points.

With the win, the Explorers will not have to play in the A-10 tournament until Thursday, March 9 at 8:30 p.m., when they will face the winner of the game between the sixth and 11^th seeds.