March 4, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA — Kimmani Barrett scored 19 points and Rodney Green had 16 as La Salle pulled away in the last 10 minutes and defeated Fordham 79-59.

Ruben Guillandeaux added 13 points for the Explorers (17-12, 8-7 Atlantic 10), who hit on 31 of 62 shots in Wednesday’s game.

Jio Fontan had 23 points and Alberto Estwick 15 for the Rams (3-24, 1-14), who lost their ninth in a row.

The Explorers never trailed in the game, and led by 12 points twice in the second half before Fordham rallied to within 56-52 with 9:11 left in the game.

Barrett then scored 11 points during a 16-2 run, and La Salle built a 72-54 advantage with 3:46 to go.

The Rams kept close in the first half, but La Salle, who hit on 11 of 30 3-point shots in the game, led 37-30 at halftime.