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March 7, 2009 | AP Press

ST. LOUIS — Rodney Green scored 24 points and LaSalle overcame an early 14-point deficit to defeat Saint Louis 68-62 in an Atlantic 10 Conference game on Saturday night.

The Explorers (18-12, 9-7 A-10) ended the regular season with their fourth straight victory. They did so after falling behind 22-8 with 10:58 to play in the first half. Darryl Partin and Vernon Goodridge each tallied 13 points in the victory.

The Billikens (17-13, 8-8 A-10), who dropped their third straight, got a career-high 26 points from freshman Kwamain Mitchell. Willie Reed scored 13 points and Kevin Lisch added 10.

The Billikens opened up a 42-33 lead after Mitchell knocked down a 3-pointer with 15:19 to play in the game. But the Explorers used a 17-3 run over the next eight minutes to gain a lead they would never relinquish.

The Explorers shot 58 percent from the field in the second half (14-for-24) and outscored the Billikens 40-28 after trailing 34-28 at the half.

From the Explorers’ Website:
PHILADELPHIA, PA – La Salle University men’s basketball junior Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick’s) has been named to the ESPN the Magazine/CO-SIDA Academic All America Team.

Mekongo Mbala is just one of 15 players in America to be named to one of the three teams.  A second team selection, Mekongo Mbala boasts the highest grade point average of the five players on the second team and only four of the players on the first team have a higher GPA.

Until suffering a hand injury that has kept him out of the last five games Mekongo Mbala had posted a team high streak of 60 consecutive starts.  At the time of his injury he was, and remains, the team’s leading rebounder (6.4 rpg) as well as its third-leading scorer with 11.1 points per game.

Mekongo Mbala, a major in Integrated Science, Business & Technology, is one of just three underclassmen named on all three teams.

He becomes the fourth Explorer men’s basketball player to be named Academic All-American since Jack Hurd earned the nod in 1992.  The other Explorers to earn the honor are ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler (1988) and current Philadelphia 76′ers head coach Tony DiLeo (1977).

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.

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 25, 2008 by John Lamb | A10Collegehoops

In the era of Power Conferences and Mid-Majors a basketball team can measure its success with signature wins against BCS schools. Although it is very early in the ‘08-’09 season, as of Tuesday evening, the Atlantic 10 is 4-9 versus BCS teams. Xavier has two wins over Missouri and Virginia Tech. St. Bonaventure beat Rutgers in overtime and St. Louis knocked off 53-50. So just where does the A-10 stand on the college basketball landscape?

There is no question that the conference has seen marked improvement in the past few years. Last season the league sent three teams (Saint Joseph’s, Temple and Xavier) to the NCAA Tournament, another four teams (Charlotte, Dayton, UMass and Rhode Island) to the NIT and one team to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (Richmond).

At one point last season it was feasible that the A10 was going to send five teams to the Big Dance. Then the war of attrition that was last year’s conference slate occurred. Dayton was one of the chief victims of the league’s parity as the Flyers raced out to a 14-1 record and a top 25 ranking before limping to the finish line with an 8-8 conference record. Injuries to freshman sensation Chris Wright and junior Charles Little certainly did not help but even if those two were healthy it is hard to forecast where they would have ended up in the final standings.

A year ago, a conference record 11 of the 14 teams had at least 15 wins. The difference between the A10 then and now is that last year the league had signature wins against the big boys across the board. The conference was a mediocre 17-28 against BCS schools but 7 of the 14 teams in the league notched at least one victory against a power conference foe. Xavier led the way with a 5-2 record against the BCS. When conference play opened up the teams beat up on each other but the ones who made statements early in the year were sitting pretty for post season play.

This year the A10 has come very close on many occasions but has yet to seal the deal. Rhode Island came within seconds of knocking off perennial powerhouse Duke. George Washington fell apart against Auburn after racing out to a 44-29 lead at halftime. Charlotte lost in the final minute against Clemson a week after Temple ran out of gas against the Tigers at the Charleston Classic.

LaSalle had not one but two chances to knock off a big name team. Poor execution down the stretch by the Explorers allowed Florida State to eek out a victory at the Tom Gola Arena. LaSalle gave UConn all they could handle but a team can’t expect to win when their opponent makes 19 more foul shots than  they attempted (LaSalle 9-10 from the line; UConn 29-40).

The good news is that there are still plenty of opportunities for the A10 to make some noise on the national scene. All three Philly schools have Villanova to play as per the Big 5. December is a big month for Temple as the Owls will go on the road to play Penn State, Kansas and ‘Nova while welcoming Tennessee to the Liacouras Center.  Duquesne has games against Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Xavier has a chance to solidify its status as a true powerhouse in college basketball. Games against Auburn,  Cincinnati, Duke, Virginia and LSU highlight the Musketeers upcoming non-conference schedule. A winning record in these five games would cement Xavier’s national status and finally put to bed any doubts whether or not they are a mid-major.

A successful rest of the non-conference schedule is essential for the league on two levels. First, if the A10 is going to claim the mantle once more of premier non-BCS basketball conference then its teams must improve their OOC records. Damaging losses to the likes of Jacksonville State by UMass do nothing to help the national profile of the conference. Secondly, a solid OOC record will get the national pundits talking about the league. Everyone knows that the Big East is the best and deepest conference in college basketball but, in terms of parity, the A10 is right there as well. Right now, however, the league is viewed as Xavier and a bunch of other teams.

Can it be done? It is possible, even though the conference has started out behind the 8-ball. While a winning record against the BCS is probably out of the question at this point there is no doubt the a few wins here and there will go a long way in establishing the A10 as a source of quality basketball this season.

team-win-loss

John Lamb can be reached at Johnlamb@A10collegehoops.com

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.

November 21, 2008 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — Kemba Walker scored 23 points and Jeff Adrien added 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead No. 2 Connecticut to a hard-fought 89-81 victory over La Salle on Friday in the Paradise Jam.

The Huskies trailed in the early minutes, but were up 46-40 at halftime under the leadership of guard A.J. Price. They never trailed in the second half, leading by as many as 10 points.

Connecticut shot 54.7 percent from the field, scoring 40 of its points in the paint.

But the Explorers ran the Huskies ragged, scoring 12 points on fast breaks.

Rodney Green had a game-high 25 points for La Salle. Ruben Guillandeaux and Yves Mekongo Mbala each had 13 points.

Both teams struggled with 3-pointers. The Huskies attempted 10 shots from behind the arc, making two, while the Explorers (1-2) tried 13 and hit four.

The Huskies (3-0) will take on Miami (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) in the second round on Sunday. La Salle will play Southern Mississippi.

November 18, 2008 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Sophomore guard Jordan DeMercy scored the game’s last four points in the final 27 seconds and Florida State defeated La Salle 65-61 Tuesday night.

Toney Douglas had 18 points and Ryan Reid 11 for Florida State (2-0), the first school from the Atlantic Coast Conference to visit La Salle’s Tom Gola Arena.

Yves Mekongo Mbala had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Jerrell Williams 10 points for the Explorers, who evened their record at 1-1.

La Salle took its biggest lead of the game, 43-34, with 10:55 left. But the Seminoles rallied behind Douglas and took their biggest lead of the second half, 55-52, with 4:12 remaining.

Williams hit a free throw to tie the score at 61-all with one minute left. But DeMercy made an 18-footer at with 27 second left and then converted two free throws with 11.4 to go to clinch the victory.

November 15, 2008 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Rodney Green and Kammani Barrett each scored 15 points and Jerrell Williams had 12 points and 11 rebounds as La Salle defeated Morgan State 64-61 on Saturday in the season-opener for both teams.

Jermaine Bolden had 14 points and Rogers Barnes 13 for Morgan State (0-1), which made only 21 of 64 shots in the game.

Neither team had more than a five-point lead in the second half, which saw 10 lead changes and six ties.

With the scored tied at 58-58, Williams scored five straight points giving La Salle (1-0) a 63-58 with 16.2 seconds to go.

Bolden then hit a 3-point shot with nine seconds left, and after Barrett made one of two free throws at 2.7, Bolden missed a long, off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Both teams struggled in the first half, with La Salle hitting eight of 22 shots and the Bears hitting eight of 30.