La Salle nearly upsets 18th-ranked Rhode Island

B.J. Johnson (29 & 23) was a monster in the overtime loss to the Rams.

Johnnie Shuler of La Salle walks off the court after their 95-93 overtime loss to Rhode Island d on Feb. 20, 2018 at Tom Gola Arena.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Published Feb. 20, 2018, 10:53 p.m. ET

Upsets over ranked teams don't come easy. It takes 40 minutes of high-quality play.

La Salle gave the full 40, but couldn't overcome an extra five minutes of overtime against 18^th-ranked Rhode Island on Tuesday at Tom Gola Arena.

The Explorers committed their 18^th turnover of the game when B.J. Johnson lost a ball out of bounds with five seconds left and the Rams came away with a hard-fought 95-93 victory.

Johnson had a season-high 29 points and a career-high 23 rebounds for the Explorers (11-17, 5-10 Atlantic Ten); his rebound total was second highest in Division I this season. Saul Phiri scored 16 and freshman Miles Brookins added 13 points.

[Box score]

"It was a great college basketball game," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "The kids played their hearts out.

"It was tremendous drama. They were one play better than us. We had two possessions at the end and didn't get anything out of them. As a coach, I feel terrible, because that's on me."

Dowtin made free throws to put Rhode Island up, 81-78, with 6.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

Rather than let La Salle take a three-point shot, the Rams fouled Pookie Powell (12 points, seven assists), sending him to the line to shoot two free throws.

Powell made the first and intentionally missed the second. Powell's free throw hit the backboard and barely glanced the rim.

Tony Washington rebounded the miss and put the ball in the basket to tie the score, 81-81.

The Explorers started well enough in their quest to beat a Top-25 team for the first time since 2016.

Behind Johnson's scoring and rebounding, La Salle pushed the pace against Rhody and sprinted to a 30-18 lead with 6½ minutes left in the first half.

Still, the Rams had not won 13 of 14 games in the A-10 without knowing how to deal with some occasional adversity.

E.C. Matthews had seven points, an assist and a steal to lead Rhode Island on a 14-0 run in a 3½-minute span and took a 32-30 lead.

Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds at the half, but the Explorers trailed, 39-37. La Salle was hurt by 10 turnovers.

Johnson's big effort wasn't enough to keep the Explorers from losing for the fourth time in five games.