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.

AP Photo

March 1, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA — Rodney Green and Darryl Partin each scored a career-high 30 points to lead La Salle past Massachusetts 97-88 on Sunday.

Ruben Guillandeaux added 14 points while Vernon Goodridge had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Explorers (16-12, 7-7 Atlantic-10), who set season highs in both points and 3-pointers (10).

Ricky Harris scored 20 points, all in the final 11:12, and Anthony Gurley also had 20 for the Minutemen (10-17, 5-9), who have dropped four of their last five. Chris Lowe added 15 points and nine assists and David Gibbs had 10 points.

La Salle led 46-29 at halftime and extended the margin to 26 points twice in the second half. A three-point play by Guillandeaux gave the Explorers a 72-46 lead with 11:21 remaining.

Massachusetts used runs of 11-2 and 11-3 to cut the margin to 84-75 on a layup by Lowe with 2:23 left. But the Explorers hit 13 of 14 free throws in the final 2:16 to seal the win, with Green going 6-for-6 and Partin 5-for-6.

February 14, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Rodney Green scored 20 points and Kimmani Barrett added 20 as La Salle upset city rival St. Joseph’s 75-68 Saturday.

Jerrell Williams had 12 points and Ruben Guillandeaux added 11 points and 8 assists for La Salle (14-10, 5-5 Atlantic 10), while Darrin Govens had 21 points and Ahmad Nivins 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks (14-10, 7-3).

Nivins, whose 20 points per game leads the conference in scoring, was held to only three shot attempts in the game.

La Salle never trailed in the second half, and twice led by 10 points before the Hawks closed to 57-53 with 4:52 left. The Explorers then went on a 10-3 run, capped by a three-point play by Guillandeaux at the 1:27 mark, which helped seal the win.

The Hawks jumped out to an early 20-8 advantage, but La Salle responded with a 17-2 run helped by two treys by Green to lead 25-20. La Salle led 35-30 at the half, heading off 40 shots while making 15.

St. Joseph’s went 7 for 18 and committed 12 turnovers.

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 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.