February 11, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ruben Guillandeaux matched his career-high with 22 points as La Salle broke a three-game losing streak with a 68-57 victory over George Washington on Wednesday night.

Kimmani Barrett and Rodney Green added 14 apiece for La Salle, and Guillandeaux also had three assists and four steals.

The Explorers (13-10, 4-5 Atlantic 10 Conference) never trailed, took a 16-point lead after a 14-0 run late in the first half and held on after GW cut the gap to three with 8 minutes left in the game. Guillandeaux’s 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining made the score 61-50, essentially ending the Colonials’ hope for a comeback.

Damian Hollis scored 20 points in 21 foul-plagued minutes for the Colonials (7-14, 1-8), who have lost 12 of 13 games. Hollis picked up his fourth with 15:20 remaining and fouled out with 2:43 to play.

February 7, 2009 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Chris Matthews scored 15 points Saturday to help St. Bonaventure beat La Salle, 72-67.

Malcolm Eleby’s 14 points and nine rebounds were both season highs for the Bonnies (12-10, 3-6 Atlantic 10). Jonathan Hall and Andrew Nicholson had 12 points and eight rebounds apiece, with Nicholson adding six blocks.

Kimmani Barrett and Rodney Green scored 13 points each for La Salle (12-10, 3-5 Atlantic 10). Ruben Guillandeaux had 12 points, Darryl Partin scored 11 and Jerrel Williams added eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Bonnies held a 12-point lead with 2:24 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Partin ignited a 10-1 La Salle run that cut the lead to 68-65. The Explorers threatened to take the lead, but a slam-dunk by Nicholson with 36 seconds remaining sealed the Bonnies’ victory.

February 4, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Marcus Johnson jammed in a missed shot with 1.8 seconds left to give Dayton a 63-61 victory over La Salle on Wednesday night.

Johnson had 16 points and Chris Wright 14 for Dayton (21-2, 7-1 Atlantic 10), which won its seventh straight.

Rodney Green had 25 points and Ruben Guillandeaux 12 for the Explorers (12-9, 3-4).

The Flyers, who led by as many as 17 points in the first half, held a 60-54 lead with 3:35 left. Green then scored five straight points, cutting the lead to 60-59.

After a free throw by Wright, Green’s 6-foot turnaround jumper tied the score at 61-all with 46 seconds remaining.

But La Salle never got another shot, and Johnson’s follow-up basket off a Wright runner was the winner.

Leading 16-12 early in the first half, Dayton went on a 17-4 run to lead 33-16 with 4:55 left in the half. Dayton held a 39-28 advantage at the break, hitting on 13 of 23 shots, while La Salle shot 8-for-20 and committed 11 turnovers.

The Flyers lead 21-13 in the series and have won 13 of 15.

January 31, 2009 | AP Press

KINGSTON, R.I. — Kahiem Seawright had 25 points and eight rebounds, while Delroy James added 22 points to pace Rhode Island to a 98-88 overtime win over La Salle on Saturday.

Lamonte Ulmer finished with 19 points for Rhode Island. The Explorers were led by Rodney Green who hit 7 of 15 from the field for 22 points and five assists. Ruben Guillandeaux chipped in with 15 for La Salle.

Rhode Island (15-7, 4-3 Atlantic 10) led 46-35 at halftime.

La Salle’s (12-8, 3-3 A-10) Kimmani Barrett evened the score at 80-80 and sent the game into an extra session when he knocked down a three point shot with 22 seconds remaining in regulation. The Explorers went on a 13-2 run in a span of 2:44 to tie the game in regulation.

The Explorers shot 56.1 percent from the floor to the Rams 55.6 percent.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Yves Mekongo Mbala scored 22 of his career-high 26 points in the first half, Rodney Green had 20 points and eight assists, and La Salle won its third straight game, 76-66 over George Washington on Wednesday night.

Ruben Guillandeaux scored 14 points, Paul Johnson had 13 and Vernon Goodridge grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds for the Explorers (12-7, 3-2 Atlantic 10).

Mbala’s 22 points at halftime is the most by a La Salle player since Steve Smith scored 23 in the first half of an 84-63 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 22, 2004. Smith finished that game with 35 points.

Noel Wilmore scored 16 points, Rob Diggs 11 and Travis King 10 for the Colonials (6-12, 0-6), who lost their 10th in a row. George Washington hasn’t won since Dec. 23, a 59-47 victory at Sacramento State.

George Washington also matched its longest losing streak since the 2001-02 season and remains the only team without a victory in the 14-team conference.

La Salle trailed 58-57 after a 3-pointer by Wilmore with 5:57 remaining. But the Explorers went on a 7-0 run — 3-pointers by Guillandeaux and Green and a free throw by Goodridge — to take a 64-58 lead with 3:34 left.

George Washington never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

January 24, 2009 | AP Press

AMHERST, Mass. — Rodney Green scored 22 points and made clutch contributions in the second half to help La Salle to a 62-54 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.

The Explorers (11-7, 2-2 Atlantic 10 Conference) were clinging to a 51-50 lead when Green made back-to-back baskets to preserve the victory. Kimmani Barrett, with 11 points, was the only other double-figure scorer for La Salle.

La Salle led 34-28 at halftime.

UMass (7-ll, 2-3 A-10) was in front only three times, the last at 10-9 in the early minutes.

Tony Gaffney led the Minutemen with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Lowe added 10 points and three assists.

La Salle dominated the first half, leading by as many as 13 points (33-20) near the intermission.

January 21, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Rodney Green scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the second half to lead La Salle past Penn, 79-70, on Wednesday.

Yves Mekongo Mbala added 13 and Paul Johnson had 12 for the Explorers (10-7).

Tyler Bernardini scored 23 points while Zack Rosen and Harrison Gaines added 10 apiece for the Quakers (4-9), who fell to 0-3 in the Big Five and lost for the first time at Tom Gola Arena since Dec. 7, 1999. Penn had won three straight at La Salle’s on-campus arena.

La Salle led 31-17 at halftime and held a double-digit advantage for most of the second half.

Penn trailed 57-45 with 6:55 remaining before its bench was whistled for a technical foul. The Quakers then scored six straight to get within 58-51 on a 3-pointer by Rosen with 5:48 left. But they never got closer than eight the rest of the game.

January 18, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – B.J. Raymond scored 16 points, hitting long shots over La Salle’s zone defense, and No. 16 Xavier relied on its offensive balance to beat the Explorers 73-53 on Sunday and remain unbeaten atop the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Xavier (15-2, 4-0) has won six in a row since a home-court loss to Butler on Dec. 23, with its freshmen blending in better as the season goes along.

La Salle (9-7, 1-2) was coming off a 68-61 win over Charlotte on Wednesday that moved the Explorers three games over .500 for the first time in two years. They never led against Xavier, which squeezed the momentum out of La Salle in the first half with its halfcourt defense.

Yves Mekongo Mbala and Rodney Green led La Salle with 15 points apiece.

Xavier showed offensive balance against La Salle’s zone defense, getting the ball inside for easy baskets and going 8-of-17 from behind the 3-point arc. Raymond went 4-of-8 from behind the arc. Derrick Brown added 15 points, slicing inside the zone defense with acrobatic moves.

The main problem for Xavier: free throws. Xavier went only 19-of-36 from the line, allowing La Salle to hang in after falling behind by 22 early in the second half.

The Musketeers set the tone defensively on the first possession of the game, forcing a shot clock violation. Ruben Guillandeaux was dribbling beyond the arc when the clock ran out.

Xavier took control with a 12-1 run in the first half that featured a four-point play by Terrell Holloway — Green slammed into him after his on-target shot from beyond the arc — and acrobatic baskets by Brown, who used his quickness to get inside La Salle’s zone defense. Brown had a putback, a turnaround bank shot and a lay-in after he drove the baseline and made a 360-degree spin move to get free.

The Musketeers led by as many as 19 in the first half and were up 39-22 at the break, matching La Salle’s lowest-scoring half of the season. The Explorers had more turnovers (10) than field goals (9) in the half.

Raymond hit a pair of 3s early in the second half that helped Xavier extend the lead to 22 points. La Salle never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Green, the Explorers’ leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, picked up his fourth foul with 17:42 to go.

January 14, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ruben Guillandeaux scored 14 points and LaSalle defeated Charlotte 68-61 on Monday in Atlantic 10 action.

Terrell Williams had 10 points and 11 rebounds for LaSalle (9-6, 1-1), which outrebounded Charlotte 50-25.

Rodney Green and Yves Mekongo Mbala added 11 points each and LaSalle scored 27 second-chance points to Charlotte’s five. It was LaSalle’s first victory against Charlotte in five tries since the 49ers (5-10, 0-2) joined the conference. The Explorers have won four out of their last five.

Lamont Mack had 23 points, Charlie Coley added 11 and Phil Jones chipped in 10 points for the 49ers, who lost their fourth straight.

Charlotte was 4 of 21 from 3-point range, and, despite the descrepency in rebounding, took a 51-50 lead on a 3-pointer from Phil Jones with 6 minutes left.

January 11, 2009 by John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops

PHILADELPHIA – As a rule, Big 5 games have a reputation for being wild affairs. Sunday night’s match up between the Temple Owls and the La Salle Explorers was the exception.

The Owls (8-6, 1-0 A10) led from wire to wire and won 75-68 behind Dionte Christmas’ 10th career 30 point performance. La Salle  (8-6. 0-1 A10) weathered an early storm and kept the game close enough to make things interesting but, in the end, they had no answer for Christmas.

This game was the 105th meeting between the two North Philadelphia schools. Temple improved to 3-0 all-time against the Explorers in A10 conference openers. La Salle fell to 2-12 all time in their opening conference game since joining the Atlantic 10.

The Explorers managed to cut Temple’s lead to five on two separate occasions in the closing minutes of the game but big threes from Christmas and Ryan Brooks crushed any hopes La Salle had of making a late comeback.

“When [La Salle] went on their run it was unfortunate that those guys stayed in a zone,” said Christmas, who scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half. “Coach did a good job of letting me bring the ball up, pass to the wing and cut through. La Salle did a great job of hedging their back men up and keeping me from the ball. Lavoy did a good job of getting the ball in the middle and looking opposite and every time he did I was right there for the jump shop. I thought Juan did a good job as well as to getting to the gaps and the middle of their zone and finding me on the opposite side.”

Christmas has been counted on to take the big shots ever since Fran Dunphy took over the program three years ago. It is a role he still relishes.

“It is definitely a good feeling when I know my team needs me the most and I come through like that,” said Christmas. “Coach coming out of the huddle said that we need to score this possession and I just so happened to do a great job of finding the open spot and my bigs and my guards did a great job of finding me and I knocked it down.”

La Salle’s coach Dr. John Giannini was disappointed that his team allowed Christmas to run free in the closing minutes of the game.

“We screwed up on covering Christmas a couple of times – once in the second half and once in the first half where it was just a blatant mistake on our part,” said Giannini. “We didn’t get out on the ball screen on Christmas a couple of times. The two Christmas threes and the plays we didn’t take a charge – it adds up.”

“They were just more active.”

While Christmas’ latest scoring explosion will surely make the headlines, it was Temple’s sophomore forward Lavoy Allen who caused problems for the undersized Explorers. Allen was able to draw two quick fouls on Vernon Goodridge, La Salle’s biggest player at 6-9, which ultimately changed the landscape of the game for both teams.

“It certainly disrupted us early on,” said Giannini on Goodridge’s foul trouble. “It was certainly a factor.”

Goodridge, who played most of the second half with four personal fouls, finished with eight points, one rebound and no blocks in 17 minutes.

Allen collected a career-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He proved to be too much for the Explorers to handle on the offensive glass as five of his six boards came off of Temple misses. Allen also dished out five assists and blocked three shots.

“[Allen] is just really good,” said Giannini, who recruited Allen heavily. “He takes what the defense gives him and he is consistent. I knew that when [Temple] got him that it was a difference making situation in the city.”

Dunphy has been somewhat critical of his forward at times this season. The Owls coach has stated repeatedly that Allen can be a superstar in the league if he decides that is what he wants to be. Dunphy was satisfied with his play tonight – for the most part.

“[Allen] was tremendous in the early part of the game” said Dunphy, who improved to 17-5 lifetime against his alma matre. “He set the tone. I thought he did a great, great job on both ends of the floor. He was blocking shots. He gets three blocks. He does a great job on the glass on the offensive end, he was really battling that way. He stepped out and made a three, which I would like to see him take more of them. I think he has to step out and set some back screens and face the basket as he is one of our better passers.”

Freshman sensation Juan Fernandez seemed to hit a bit of a wall in his third game as an Owl. He finished the game with four points, two assists and two steals. He also committed three turnovers but they could be attributed to his teammates not expecting a pass coming their way.

“They like playing with him,” said Dunphy. “They understand that they are going to get the ball. Our big guys have to be a little more ready to receive those passes.”

Still, Dunphy preached patience with the newest member of the Owls.

“We are trying to be as patient was we can,” said Dunphy. “He made some plays tonight that you just can’t make. He took a couple of threes, one that I didn’t want him to take. But he is learning and growing as a player so you got to be a little bit patient with him.”

La Salle was led by the one-two scoring punch of Rodney Green (20 points) and  Ruben Guillandeax (17 points). The Explorers proved that they could match baskets with the Owls but it was Temple’s ability to get to the line that ultimately decided this game.

The Owls made more free throws (15) than La Salle attempted (10).

La Salle came into the game looking to replicate the success they had shooting against Howard and Manhattan. In Both games the Explorers shot better than 60 percent from the field. Giannini recognized after the game that Temple is on a whole different level than his previous foes.

“[Temple] made fewer mistakes and were more relentless,” said Giannini. “They ran better, they were more active rebounders and they got better shots. I tip my hat to them, they were just better.”

Temple threatened to blow the game open at the outset as they jumped out to a 17-4 lead with just over five minutes gone in the first half. Allen was a major force for the Owls as he scored their first 12 points.

The sophomore forward got it done in a variety of ways for Dunphy’s Owls, including a monster dunk in traffic to cap his mini-run and a long three-pointer from the wing. He finished the half with 17 points.

Temple’s Michael Eric was able to assert himself when Goodridge was forced to watch the game from the bench. The freshman center/forward scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in only eight minutes of action – all in the first half.

Guillandeaux was influential in keeping the Explorers in the game. It seemed as if every time the Owls looked to extend their lead the junior guard out of the Bronx answered with a big three. All nine of his first half points came from behind the three-point line.

Temple has two days off before they head to the Palestra to take on Dunphy’s former team, the University of Pennsylvania Quakers. The Explorers will also play Wednesday night as they will head down south to take on the Charlotte 49ers.

POSTGAME AUDIO: (right click and save as… if you have trouble hearing the audio)
Dionte Christmas and Lavoy Allen Post Game Audio
Fran Dunphy Post Game Press Conference
John Giannini, Rodney Green and Ruben Guillandeaux Post Game Press Conference
John Lamb can be reached at johnlamb@a10collegehoops.com