La Salle's defense shines again in win over St. Peter's

La Salle held its third consecutive opponent to less than 40 percent shooting on Saturday afternoon. Afterward, it was John Giannini's turn to get a little defensive.

"It's just good defense," the La Salle coach said after his Explorers defeated St. Peter's, 59-50, at the Tom Gola Athletic Center.

"I don't know why you guys want to make this complicated. We're holding people in the low 30s, and no one can score 60 points on us. And we turn people over, too. Our defense is at the highest level. Obviously, our offense right now is on the opposite end."

La Salle scored the game's first 11 points and never trailed despite shooting 28.8 percent from the floor. St. Peter's shot 31.9 percent and committed 15 turnovers.

"If we keep playing defense like this, we're going to win in spite of our offense," Giannini said.

Jordan Price led La Salle with a career-high 21 points and went 9 for 9 from the free-throw line.

La Salle (3-0) has held three straight opponents to fewer than 60 points for the first time since 2011. It matched the lowest scoring output of the season for winless St. Peter's (0-4). Giannini said he did not think the caliber of opponent had anything to do with the defensive success.

"I'd love to bring Kentucky in here and hold them to 50 points," he said. "By the way, we've held every team we've played to the 30s [in field-goal percentage]. It's not just this game. Coming in I think we were in the top 25 of defensive field-goal percentage, so this wasn't a new thing."

Dobbins graduate Jerrell Wright, who was day-to-day with back spasms, finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The senior could barely walk after Tuesday's win over Quinnipiac and, even 20 minutes before tipoff, Giannini was unsure whether Wright would be able to play.

"It's all mental," Wright said. "You have to go out there and go 100 percent. I rested it a little bit, did a lot of treatment, but I feel good."