PHILADELPHIA, PA. 12/14/2019 – Senior guard Isiah Deas scored a career-high 31 points making 9 of 15 from the floor and 6 of 11 from beyond the arc to lead the La Salle Explorers to an 85 – 68 win over the Morgan State Bears at the Gola Arena. Fellow guard junior David Beatty also set a career-mark with 18 points.
It was the first time an Explorer had 30 or more points in a game since Pookie Powell hot for 30 against UMass in January of 2018.
Deas got hot from the floor in the first half. With Morgan State leading 19 – 16, Deas scored the next 17 La Salle points, five of them from distance to give his team a 33 – 21 lead with just under four minutes to play.
“It wasn’t a matter of me feeling like I had a hot hand,” said Deas. “It was just us running our offense and being the recipient of the plays. It could have been anybody in my position. It was based on how we play.”
Deas also set a collegiate-best with 6 made three-pointers.
From there court mate David Beatty started a streak of his own, 7 consecutive to up the advantage to 40 – 25 just before halftime. Beatty made 7 of 11 field goal attempts. The ball was being shared.
“Our teammates recognized who had it going and looked for it a little more,” Beatty said.
In the first half La Salle made 9 of 18 from the three-point line and made 13 of 29 from the floor.
The three-point shooting was cooler in the second half as only 3 of 15 connected. Morgan State was trying to get back in the game and cut the deficit to six points the last at the twelve and a half minute mark.
La Salle kept their poise and closed out the game by taking care of the basketball and making foul shots.
“I felt like we held them off because we didn’t turn the ball over,” La Salle Coach Ashley Howard said. “And we made free throws. Morgan State did everything they could to win it, we did a better job of being strong with the ball and making free throws and that was the difference in the game.”
For the game the Explorers committed 7 turnovers, a season-low. From the line LSU made 21 of 27, the most made this season.
The Explorers made 10 steals which led to a 28 – 11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Troy Baxter paced Morgan State with 15 points. Stanley Davis from Chester added 14 points.
The five-game home stand continues for the La Salle (6 – 3) as Wagner comes to visit on Wednesday and Fairleigh Dickinson will play at the Gola Arena at the Trumark Financial Center on Saturday.
The team is focusing on how to keep getting better.
“This was a perfect opportunity for us to get better and Morgan State helped us get better,” Howard said.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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