January 3, 2009 by John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops

PHILADELPHIA – La Salle’s 81-66 win over the visiting Howard Bison was highlighted by Rodney Green’s 1,000th career point on Saturday afternoon.

Green’s milestone came on a free-throw with 8:46 remaining in the second half. He became the 46th player in La Salle history to score 1,000 career points.

The junior guard out of Prep Charter in Philadelphia was not keeping tabs as he got closer to the magic number.

“My teammates tried telling me but I didn’t pay attention,” said Green, who finished with game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (7). “It’s one of those things you don’t think about right now but I’m sure when I get older I’ll look back on it and say it was a great milestone.”

Green’s coach, Dr. John Giannini, said that he told Green that he is on track for an outstanding career “not because of the points but because he put himself in position to be a leader for the program.”

“Getting a milestone in points like that is like a coach winning a certain number of games,” said Giannini. “The points and the wins, in themselves, do not mean that much. What means something is that Rodney has been on the court a heck of a lot for us from day one because he is a leader, a good player and a cornerstone of what we are trying to build. The points is just a byproduct of that.”

Today’s game was a complete reversal of last season’s game when Howard came back from a 17 point deficit to defeat the Explorers 69-63 in Washington, D.C.. Giannini credited the presence of junior transfer Vernon Goodridge as being the difference this time around.

“Last year we couldn’t score on them inside, we just missed a lot of shots,” said Giannini “Now the biggest player on the other team has to guard Vernon so now Yves Mekongo Mbala has a guy his own size on him. Last year, Yves had the 6-9 center on him. Just by Vernon’s mere presence, not only does he block shots and alter things but now everyone on our team is being guarded by a smaller defender.”

Goodridge finished the game with three points, six rebounds and three blocks. As a team, the Explorers scored 48 points in the paint. La Salle shot over 60 percent from the field for the second straight game.

Junior Kimmani Barrett, arguably one of the most improved players in the conference scored 16 points. He shot the ball very well after having his eight-game double-digit scoring streak was snapped against Manhattan on New Years Eve. Barrett shot a very economical 7-for-10 from the field.

Junior Ruben Guillandeaux scored 12 points and dished out five assists for the Explorers. La Salle does not have a defacto point guard but Guillandeaux has stepped up admirably to fill the void. The offense is still facilitated by Green but Guillandeaux has shown improved judgment over the last month.

Howard was able to match scores with La Salle for the first ten minutes of the first half but the Explorer’s used a 16-1 run to push their lead to 34-18. The Bison got to within six points at the beginning of the second half but a 15-7 run gave La Salle a double digit lead that they would go on to hold comfortably.

The Bison were led in scoring by Philadelphia native Eugene Myatt with 19 points. The senior guard, who graduated from the Lutheran Christian Academy, said he had at least 25 family members and friends in the stands. Cheers erupted every time the visitors scored, an occurrence that usually only happens when one of the other Philadelphia-area schools are playing at the Tom Gola Arena.

“I’ve been back in Philadelphia every year but it is always a special feeling,” said Myatt.

Freshman guard Chris McHenry put on a show down the stretch, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half. He also hit 4 of his 5 three point attempts.

Paul Kirkpatrick led the Bison with six rebounds.

La Salle is off until next Sunday afternoon when they will host Temple in the A10 opener for both schools.

POSTGAME AUDIO: (right-click and save as… if you have any problems playing the audio)
Dr. John Giannini, Rodney Green and Vernon Goodridge Post Game Press Conference

John Lamb can be reached at johnlamb@a10collegehoops.com

December 31, 2008 by John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops

PHILADELPHIA – Five players scored in double figures for the Explorers, who cruised to a 89-64 victory over the visiting Manhattan Jaspers at the Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

Three La Salle (7-5) players, Ruben Guillandeaux (22 points), Vernon Goodridge (15 points) and Terrell Williams (14 points), put up career highs for points scored. Rodney Green added 18 points and Yves Mekongo Mbala 10 for the Explorers, who have now won three of their last four games.

Guillandeaux also led the team with eight rebounds and seven assists — both career highs. As a team, La Salle had 20 assists to just 12 turnovers. Coming into the game, the Explorers averaged 12.5 assists and 15.7 turnovers.

La Salle forced the Jaspers into committing 15 turnovers, which led to 20 points. The Explorers also held an edge in the fast break department as they scored 16 points to Manhattan’s two.

Manhattan was able to cut the Explorers’ lead to 13 with 16:30 left in the second half but that was the closest they came. La Salle went on to lead by as many as 26 points in the game.

Forwards Paul Johnson (concussion) and Jerrell Williams (back pain) were scratches. Becaue of the injuries, junior forward Steve Weingarten, a transfer from Connecticut College, saw the most playing time of his young La Salle career. He pulled down 3 rebounds to go along with a steal in 12 minutes of action.

Chris Smith, the Jaspers’ (7-5) leading scorer who averaged 15.5 points per game, was only able to manage 5 points on 1-of-12 shooting. Devon Austin and Antoine Pearson led Manhattan in scoring with 13 and 11 points respectively.

Austin and Andrew Gabriel each pulled down five rebounds. The Explorers held a 34-28 rebounding advantage.

The game was close for about eight minutes in the first half before the Explorers started to pull away. Three Explorers scored double digits in the first half, led by Green’s 13 points. Goodridge and Guillandeaux scored 11 and 10 respectively.

An emphatic Goodridge dunk with just under ten minutes to go in the first half started a 19-4 run that put the Explorers out in front 42-21 with 2:28 remaining. The junior forward also pulled down three boards and blocked two shots in the half.

Green went on a run of his own as he scored seven straight points to push the Explorers’ lead to double digits with 5:42 to go.

La Salle shot 69 percent from the field in the first half. They shot 60 percent for the game.

The Explorers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they welcome in the Howard Bison (1-10, 0-1) to the Tom Gola Arena.

December 23, 2008 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Rodney Green scored 17 points and sparked a late rally as La Salle defeated Mount St. Mary’s, Md., 65-59 on Tuesday night.

Kimmani Barrett added 15 points for La Salle (6-5), while Kelly Beidler, Jean Cajou and Jeremy Goode each had 11 points for the Mount (3-8), which lost its sixth straight.

A 3-point shot by Goode gave Mount St. Mary’s a 53-49 lead with 8:21 left in the game, but the Explorers then ran off 11 straight points, six by Green, to take a 60-53 advantage.

The Mount closed to 63-57, but La Salle’s Vernon Goodridge hit a 12-foot jumper with 1:44 remaining to end the threat.

The teams battled evenly throughout most of the first half until the Mount went on an 11-2 run capped by a 3-point play by Goode for a 32-26 lead at the break.

The Explorers made only 11 of 38 shots in the half, with all of their field goals either layups or follow shots.

December 20, 2008 | AP Press

ITHACA, N.Y. — Jeff Foote scored 25 points, 16 of them in the second half, as Cornell rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat La Salle 79-70 on Saturday.

Ryan Wittman added 18 points for Cornell, while Louis Dale chipped in 14. The Big Red (5-5) shot 44.5 percent from the floor and made 26 of 37 free throws.

La Salle’s Kimmani Barrett was the only player who had a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Rodney Green added 12 points for the Explorers (5-5), while Jerrell Williams and Ruben Guillandeaux scored 11 apiece.

La Salle shot 40 percent from the floor and was 78.3 percent on free throws, making 18 out of 23.

The Explorers held the lead through most of the first half, and led by 14 points at 18:28 in the second. After trading the lead a few times, Foote made it a 67-65 game after a pair of free throws with 2:49 left to play, giving Cornell a lead it would not relinquish.

December 17, 2008 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Rodney Green scored 19 points to lead La Salle to a 92-75 victory over Rider on Wednesday night.

Green added eight rebounds and eight assists for the Explorers (5-4), who never trailed and led by double figures the entire second half. Kimmani Barrett had 16 points, Ruben Guillandeaux 13 and Yves Mekongo Mbala 10 for La Salle.

Ryan Thompson paced four Rider players in double figures with 19 points. Mike Ringgold added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Broncs (5-3), who never got closer than 11 points in the second half. Novar Gadson had 14 points and Matt Griffin added 11 for Rider, which was outrebounded 46-31.

La Salle opened an early lead and led by double digits in the first half before the Broncs went on a 10-3 run and cut the deficit to 31-27 with 4:09 left. But a dunk by Paul Johnson started a 10-0 run and La Salle pushed its advantage to 41-27 with 2:42 left. The Explorers carried a 44-34 lead into halftime.

La Salle scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half, capped by a 3-pointer from the right wing by Barrett, to take a 53-36 lead with 18:17 left.

La Salle extended its advantage to as many as 21 points in the second half

December 14, 2008 by John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops

PHILADELPHIA – The #12/#15 Villanova Wildcats passed its second Big 5 test of the week as they defeated the La Salle Explorers 70-59 on Sunday night.

Sophomore guard Corey Stokes led the way for the Wildcats (10-1, 3-0 Big 5) with 18 points. Junior Scottie Reynolds added 13 points and two assists. The duo combined to shoot 7-of-12 from three-point land.

Villanova coach Jay Wright was thankful that his team was able to pick up a victory on the road.

“We played a very good basketball team,” said Wright. “They played Connecticut tough, they played Southern Miss tough and Flordia State tough in here. It’s a tough place to play. I’m very proud of our guys.”

“It wasn’t pretty but a Big 5 game, we’ll take it any time.”

Juniors Kimmani Barrett and Rodney Green led the Explorers (4-4, 0-1 Big 5) with 16 points. Sophomore Jerrell Williams and Junior Vernon Goodridge each added eight rebounds.

Goodridge, who Wright said presented a matchup problem in the post, got off to a hot start, hitting his first shot of the game , a turn-around baseline jumper.

“Antonio Pena guarded [Saint Joe's Center Ahmad] Nivens and a lot of guys in the Big East last year,” said Wright. “The first time [Goodridge] got the ball and he hit that turn-around jumper on the baseline we thought ‘Oh man, that’s going to be a tough match up’ but after that Antonio just did a great job on him.

The closest the Explorers got in the second half was nine points but it was too little, too late for La Salle, who saw their three game winning streak snapped.

La Salle coach Dr. John Gianinni harped on his teams passing ability after the game.

“Our passing is abysmal,” said Gianinni, whose team had a 9-to-15 assist-to-turnover ratio. “That is our biggest problem.”

“It’s not a lack of talent, it’s not a lack of attitude. We just can’t get the ball from point A to point B.”

The Wildcats held a 36-26 advantage at the half. Stokes led the way with 14 first-half points, three above his season average. 12 of his 14 points came from three-pointers. As a team, the Villanova shot 55.6 percent from beyond the arc.

The Explorers, on the other hand, were only 1-of-8 from long distance for the half. Junior Kimmani Barret scored the lone three-point field goal for the team with 3:50 remaining. La Salle shot 28.6 percent (4-14) from three-point range for the game.

Senior Dante Cunningham, arguably the Wildcats best player this season, was limited to seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. The fact that Cunningham was not available for most of the game forced other players to step up defensively.

One of those players was Stokes, who is not noted for his defensive play. At one point in the game Wright told Stokes that it was his defense that he needed.

“That’s the greatest feeling, coming from Coach Wright putting me in for defense,” said Stokes, who also had three rebounds and a steal. “That’s going to be a bigger role throughout the season for me. I’m looking forward to it.”

One bright spot for the Explorers was their ability to score in the paint against a bigger, stronger opponent. La Salle finished the game with 28 points in the paint.

They also got to the line 20 times, making 13 free-throws. That was one less than the total number of foul shots that the Wildcats took as a team.

The two teams played evenly for the first 10 minutes of the game. Every time it looked as if the Wildcats were going to break the game open one of La Salle’s players answered with a basket of their own.

Villanova used an 18-1 run midway through the half to break an 18-all tie and take a commanding 36-19 lead. Nine of Stokes’ points came during this stretch.

“Reggie Reading and Shane Clark off the bench really gave us incredible energy,” said Wright. “Both teams were kind of battling there and those two came in really fresh. Shane Clark was all over the glass and Reggie was driving and making plays and defending.”

Goodridge gave the La Salle faithful something to cheer about when he came across the paint and sent what looked to be an easy lay-up for Reynolds into the first row with a tremendous block. He finished the half with two rejections.

La Salle had their chance to climb back into the game as Villanova did not score in the last 4:14 of the first half. The Explorers cut the deficit to 10 but missed a lot of opportunities to draw closer.

The Wildcats finished the first half with 10 assists on 14 field goals. They only committed three turnovers during the half and eight for the game.

“I told our bench to take a look at the way Villanova is executing and the way they pass the ball,” said Giannini. “They got great shots and it wasn’t because of a lack of effort on our part. They shot 54 percent in the second half and that was their ability to pass the ball, to get good shots, to make plays for each other, to get the ball to the right person at the right time.”

After the game, Wright was dismissive of the fact that Villanova is one game away from winning another Big 5 title.

“You can’t count on winning the Big 5 title if you are 3-1,” said Wright. “Temple, catching them last, that’s going to be a hell of a game.”

Villanova is off for 8 days before they take on Navy at the Pavillion.  La Salle will be back in action on Wednesday night when Rider comes to the Tom Gola Arena.

POSTGAME AUDIO:
John Giannini and Rodney Green Post Game Press Conference

Jay Wright, Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes Post Game Press Conference

John Lamb can be contacted at johnlamb@a10collegehoops.com

December 6, 2008 | AP Press

WEST HARTFORD, CONN.– Five La Salle players scored in double figures, including three with 14 points each, as the Explorers defeated Hartford 70-64 on Saturday.

Kimmani Barrett, Rodney Green and Ruben Guillandreaux each had 14 for La Salle (4-3), which extended its winning streak to three games.

Yves Mekongo Mbala added 11, and Vernon Goodridge had 10 for the Explorers.

Morgan Sabia with Jaret von Rosenberg paced Hartford (3-6) with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Joe Zeglinski added 12 for the Hawks.

December 2, 2008 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Kimmani Barrett scored 15 points and made three clutch free throws in the last 28 seconds as La Salle held off Bucknell 68-65 Tuesday night.

Rodney Green added 11 points for La Salle (3-3), which posted a 51-37 rebounding edge in the game.

Justin Castleberry had 20 points and G.W. Boon had 14 for the Bison (1-5). Bucknell trailed 60-46 at the 5:34 mark but used a 14-4 spurt to close to within 64-60 on two free throws by Darryl Shazier with 29 seconds to go.

Barrett then made one free throw with 28 seconds remaining and two more with 13 seconds left to seal the win.

The Explorers trailed only once during the first half, and led by Barrett’s 10 points took a 28-25 advantage at the break. La Salle now holds a 16-4 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1903.

November 24, 2008 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — Jerrell Williams scored 19 points, Yves Mekongo Mbala had 17 points and La Salle needed overtime to beat Valparaiso 75-70 on Monday at the Paradise Jam.

The Explorers, coming off a 76-72 overtime loss to Southern Mississippi in the tournament’s second round, took seventh place in the eight-team tournament here.

Kimmani Barrett scored 16 points for La Salle, which shot 38.8 percent for the game but dominated overtime with 75 percent shooting.

Valpo was led by De’Andre Haskins, who had a game-high 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, and Benjamin Fumey added 17 points and seven rebounds.

Valparaiso had a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint, but sent La Salle to the free throw line 43 times, where the Explorers picked up 30 points.

The two teams last faced each other in 1958.

November 22, 2008 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — Jeremy Wise scored a game-high 25 points Saturday to rally Southern Mississippi to a 76-72 overtime victory over La Salle at the Paradise Jam.

The quick junior guard, who went 8-for-17 from the field playing all 45 minutes, also grabbed four rebounds and dished four assists. Craig Craft added 18 points, connecting with four of six shots from behind the arc.

The Golden Eagles, who trailed 36-22 at halftime, steadily clawed their way back during the second half.

The teams ended regulation tied at 65, helped by Vernon Goodridge’s two failed free throw attempts with 1.8 seconds remaining.

Southern Miss dominated overtime with 66.7 percent shooting, holding La Salle to 42.9 percent.

Rodney Green led the Explorers with 22 points and six rebounds. Kammani Barrett added 15 points.

Southern Miss fell to No. 17 Miami, 70-60, in the Jam’s opening round.