Box Score March 10, 2016 Video
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BROOKLYN, NY - Jordan Price scored 36 points to lead 14th seed La Salle (9-21) to an 88-73 win over 11th seed Duquesne (16-16) in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Micah Mason hit six 3-pointers in leading Duquesne with 26 points. Derrick Colter had 18 and Mar'Qywell Jackson added 10 for the Dukes.
"You've got to give all the credit in the world to La Salle," said Duquesne head coach Jim Ferry. "They really came after us. They guarded us well. The way they hold the ball. It's a tough team to come back against once you get down like that."
Price scored 18 and Cleon Roberts scored 13 in helping the Explorers to a 43-38 halftime lead. Mason, who was saddled with two early fouls, had 10 for the Dukes in 12 first-half minutes.
DU turned it over 11 times and was outscored 18-7 off turnovers in the first half.
Mason hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half to give the Dukes a brief 46-43 lead, before Price answered with two 3-pointers of his own to make it 51-46 La Salle.
The Explorers maintained the lead the rest of the way.
The Dukes cut it to six on three Jackson free throws with 4:58 left and had a chance to make it a three-point game when Mason, who was 4-of-6 from the arc in the second half, misfired on a 3-point attempt 15 seconds later.
La Salle answered with a Johnnie Shuler 3-pointer that started an 8-0 run that put the game out of reach. Roberts, who finished with 18, scored three during the run.
The Dukes had no answer for Price who finished 13-of-27 from the field, including 5-of-12 from 3-point. No other La Salle player finished with more than six field goal attempts.
"When you have a star that has the ability to get 40 in a night, it's always scary," said Ferry referring to Price. "I thought he came out really highly motivated tonight. He just got in one of those zones."
NOTES
• Micah Mason went 6-of-10 from 3-point to bring his school single-season record for threes in a season to 110.
• Duquesne shot .343 in the second half and .424 for the game ... La Salle shot .636 in the second half and .538 for the game.
• DU tied its season low with seven assists on its 25 field goals.
• The Dukes were outscored 34-26 in the paint and 25-18 off turnovers.
• La Salle, led by Price's game-high 12 boards, outrebounded Duquesne 35-28.
• Duquesne's largest lead was +4 (31-27) the last of which came with 6:14 left in the first half ... La Salle's largest lead was +18 (85-67) with 38 seconds left ... there were three ties and five lead changes before Price gave La Salle the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 17:20 left ... La Salle led for 30:04 and Duquesne led for 6:18 ... the game was tied for 3:38.
