La Salle defeats Rider

In the absence of one of their senior leaders, it was the newcomer who stepped up and led the way.

Ramon Galloway, a junior transfer, knocked down four three-point shots en route to a team-high 21 points as La Salle knocked off Rider, 82-70, Saturday afternoon at the Palestra.

Galloway, who transferred from South Carolina, showed no signs of the concussion he suffered on opening night, an injury that sidelined him for three games before he returned in Friday's loss to Robert Morris.

Along with being a leading scorer, Galloway said he aims to be one of the team's "key defenders." Sophomore guard Tyreek Duren said that with Galloway the Explorers are a much deeper team and are able to apply more ball pressure.

"For some reason, I'm a high energy guy. I'm glad to be a high energy guy," said Galloway. "That's all I know - go hard or go home. I try to focus mainly on defense, and the offensive end will come."

In the second half, as the Explorers' lead dwindled to just one, Galloway took over. He scored eight straight La Salle points, including two "threes," as the team went on a 19-3 run to lead the Broncs, 70-53, with 9 minutes, 21 seconds left. Rider was unable to recover.

The play of Galloway was needed, because senior guard Earl Pettis left the game midway through the first half with an apparent injury to his left pinky, suffered on a coast-to-coast layup that gave the Explorers a 16-7 lead.

Coach John Giannini called the cause of the injury "mysterious" and said Pettis had been taken for X-rays.

The Explorers also lost touted freshman Jerrell Wright. The forward left the game late in the second half with what Giannini said was a muscle strain in his upper leg.

Before leaving the game, Pettis knocked down three of his five three-point attempts and finished with 11 points. His first "three," on the opening possession, established that the Explorers weren't afraid to launch from behind the arc, despite going just 3 for 22 on Friday.

The Explorers finished 10 for 22 from three-point range.

For the second straight game, senior forward Devon White fouled out. But this time his contribution was large as he poured in 17 points and seven rebounds. His performance helped mask the absence of Pettis.