Jordan Price Reaches The 500 Points In A Season Mark
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 2/27/2016 – The La Salle Explorers won third Atlantic 10 game of the season defeating the Patriots of George Mason 76 – 68 at The Gola Arena. Explorer junior guard Jordan Price led the way with 24 points, and in this game he surpassed the 500 point in a season mark. He now stands at 510 points for the campaign.
Price finished the game with 24 points shooting 8 for 17 from the floor and 4 of 10 from beyond the arc. Those are just statistics. The real meaning of what he accomplished today was that in the morning Price attended a funeral for a close, family-like member, and came from that to lead his team to the win.
“It was very emotional,” Price said about the day. “The funeral was like a celebration. I heard only good things about Uncle Johnnie and I just wanted to play for him and honor him.”
“As tough as it was, it was also uplifting and motivational,” said La Salle Coach Dr. John Giannini.
The funeral was for Johnnie Harris, a Philadelphia police sergeant who was close to Jordan and his family. A person that Price called “Uncle Johnnie.” He passed away on Tuesday.
Within the confines of the court the Explorers took control late in the second half going on a 15 – 3 run to take a 37 – 26 lead with 2:01 before halftime. In the second half Price got the milestone points off a reverse layup with 14:35 on the clock. George Mason threatened, but could not get closer than 4, and La Salle took their largest lead of 13 points late in the second half.
A major reason why the Explorers held the lead was that the team committed only four turnovers in the game and held a 17 – 4 edge in points off turnovers. It was the lowest number of turnovers La Salle committed this season. The Patriots had 15 turnovers.
“It’s the whole game,” said Giannini about the low number of turnovers. “Basketball is a simple game. You do that good of a job in taking care of the ball, you’re going to win almost all of the time.”
Two other La Salle players scored in double figures. Cleon Roberts scored 15 and Amar Stukes contributed 12 points. Tony Washington pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
George Mason had four players in double figures led by Otis Livingston with 18 points. Jalen Jenkins chipped in with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Shevon Thompson had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Marko Gujanicic totaled 12 points.
The Explorers improve to 7 – 20 on the season and 3 – 13 in conference. La Salle will close out the home schedule on Wednesday hosting Saint Louis. Giannini looks for better days in the future.
“Fans inspire players, and we’ve had some great fans,” Giannini said. “We haven’t given them enough to cheer about this year. We plan on changing the completely moving forward making this one of the toughest places to play in the Atlantic 10.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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