Jordan Price a scoring machine for unbeaten La Salle basketball

For the time being, the NCAA’s leading scorer resides off of 20^thand Olney Avenue in North Philadelphia. Averaging 29.3 points so far, junior guard Jordan Price has been sensational for the undefeated La Salle Explorers (3-0).

On Monday, Price poured in 33 points on 11-for-14 shooting in an 83-75 victory over Lafayette (1-3). He was just one point away from tying his career-high of 34.

“He has always been highly recruited, highly thought of and highly talented,” Explorers coach John Giannini said of Price. “He’s matured, he’s grown, he’s become a better overall player and he’s kept himself in great shape. He deserves credit for being in the shape he is and being the better overall player he is, but the scoring thing … I think he’s [been doing] that since coming out of the hospital after being born.”

Price is nearly doubling his scoring output from a season ago (17.2 points) while increasing his numbers across the board. Price credits much of his early success to his teammates.

“In practice, we just work on finding each other,” Price said. “I have to give credit to my teammates. They found me when I was open. I was happy to make the shots so then I could give them assists.”

He won’t have much rest this week. La Salle faces Penn (3-1) Wednesday before playing Rowan (2-3) on Saturday. Two wins would give La Salle its best start since the 2005-06 season.

“My main focus as a captain is to lead this team and be happy for everybody,” Price said. “That’s what makes me most excited, when my young guys like Tony [Washington] step up.”

Sophomore forward Washington shined on Monday, notching 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes. He missed La Salle’s previous two games with a concussion that he suffered in practice. In the lineup for the first time all year, he impressed his coaches and teammates.

“Tony being here last year and getting his feet wet in some games made a big difference,” Giannini said. “He was terrific. [He made a] big impact in terms of his role and big impact in terms of our depth.”

La Salle faces Penn at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will air on the Ivy League Digital Network.