Penn Vs. Columbia: Quakers Take On Lions In Ivy League Matchup

The Penn Quakers and Columbia Lions will face off tonight in the teams' first Ivy League Matchup of the season.

La Salle Vs. Penn Final Score: Explorers Lead Wire-To-Wire, Down Quakers 68-57

The La Salle Explorers never relinquished the lead they held throughout out the first half, keeping the Penn Quakers at bay throughout the second stanza. The Explorers would go on to win 68-57, improving to 14-4 on the season. The Quakers fell to 7-10 on the year.

The Quakers went over three minutes without a bucket at 11:21 mark of the second half. The Explorers took advantage, expanding their lead from eight points to to 13 during the stretch. They promptly hit an even worse skid, however, going over five minutes without a basket at the 6:46 mark to let the Quakers back within five points. Penn would hit just one more basket down the stretch, however, allowing La Salle to walk away with the 11-point victory.

Sophomore Tyreek Duren led the way for the Explorers, scoring 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 7-of-8 on free throws. He added six assists, of which Earl Pettis (18 points) and Sam Mills (12 points) were the biggest beneficiaries. Fran Dougherty led the Quakers off the bench, scoring 14 in addition to his six rebounds.

For more coverage of the Big 5 matchup between La Salle and Penn, stay tuned to our storystream.

La Salle Vs. Penn First Half Score: Explorers Lead 39-29

The La Salle Explorers lead the Penn Quakers at the half, 39-29, from The Palestra.

Penn started the half off ice cold shooting 1-7 while La Salle was 3-6. The Explorers also hit 5-6 from the free throw line to jump out to a 11-2 early lead. After the lead was extended to 12-2, Penn then fought back by hitting shots and forcing turnovers. The lead quickly dwindled to 3 for the Explorers.

La Salle continued to make shots and dominate the boards and extended their lead to 17-11 by the halfway mark of the first half. Penn had trouble making their shots and La Salle kept up their scoring pace. With 7:07 to play, La Salle's lead had ballooned to 25-13.

Penn started to make a game of it again later in the half by cutting into La Salle's rebounding advantage. The Quakers still didn't shoot well but the rebounding helped them get to the free throw line where they were 10-11 in the first half. Just when Penn got the lead down to 31-27 with 2:02 to play, La Salle got six quick points. The Explorers ended the half on an 8-2 run.

La Salle was led by Tyreek Duren with 11 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Sam Mills had 8 points and Earl Pettis had 7 points. Penn got their scoring mostly from senior guard Zack Rosen and forward Fran Dougherty who both had 8 points. Tyler Bernardini chipped in 5 points for the Quakers.

For more coverage of the Big 5 matchup between La Salle and Penn, stay tuned to our storystream.

La Salle Visits Penn In Big 5 Matchup At The Palestra

The La Salle Explorers and Penn Quakers play in a Philadelphia Big 5 contest at The Palestra (7 p.m.).