La Salle 80, George Washington 58

2/6/2008 8:52 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -Darnell Harris scored a game-high 20 points Wednesday as La Salle beat slumping George Washington 80-58 in an Atlantic 10 Conference game.

It was the first win ever for La Salle (9-12, 4-4) at the Smith Center, where the Explorers had lost their first 11 games. Paul Johnson of Washington, D.C., added 13 points for La Salle, which had lost its last seven games overall against GW.

George Washington (6-13, 1-7) has now lost seven straight games. It's the longest losing streak for the Colonials since 2002, when they lost 10 in a row.

La Salle led 11-0 as George Washington missed its first seven shots from the field. The Explorers made 10 of their first 15 field goal attempts and led 38-20 at halftime despite making 12 turnovers.

Damian Hollis came off the bench to score 14 points for the Colonials, who had 11 turnovers and made just seven of 32 shots from the field in the first half. Hollis had 10 points in the first half.

Rob Diggs, who made all 10 field goal attempts in GW's last home game, missed all three shots and was held scoreless in the first half. He had 13 points in the second half.

The Colonials cut the lead to 52-39 midway through the second half. But Harris, who had six 3-pointers, made a 3-pointer with 8:07 left to give La Salle a 64-46 lead. A pair of baskets by reserve Kimmani Barrett gave La Salle a 72-50 lead with 6:16 left, and GW never threatened again.