 Game Preview: La Salle Explorers vs. Saint Louis Billikens
Feb. 4, 2010 ATTENTION: Both the women's and men's games are still on as scheduled. There will be a snowman building contest beginning at 2:30 PM with the winning group receiving four free pizzas to the point. The first 500 students receive free soft pretzels! ATTENTION: The alumni Pre-Game Basketball reception scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. has been cancelled due to the approaching snowstorm. Anyone who has purchased tickets for these games may pick them up at "Will Call" in Tom Gola Arena the day of the game. Please look for more information about a rescheduled pre-game event later this season at www.lasalle.edu/alumni. La Salle Explorers vs. Saint Louis Billikens La Salle Explorers (11-11, 3-5) / Conference: Atlantic 10 With accumulating snow expected to fall on the Philadelphia-area on Saturday, the La Salle Explorers will play their second straight home game when they host the Saint Louis Billikens in a televised affair. Tom Gola Arena continues to be a difficult place for opponents to maintain large leads late in games. After being down by 17 against Rhode Island on Tuesday, the Explorers found a way to get within one possession of the Rams with less than two minutes left to play. Being such a resilient team has helped the Explorers be able to feel as if they are never out of a game. To date, the Explorers have mounted four comebacks on their home floor, in which they've erased double-digit deficits within the final three minutes. The talk around campus since Tuesday night has been centered on freshman Parrish Grant. Once the Explorers knew they would be without senior Kimmani Barrett for quite sometime, they knew they would have to find some other way to regain the production they would lose with Barrett not in the lineup. In his second collegiate start, Grant answered the call by playing 38 minutes and dropping a career-high 16 points on the Rams with a 6-of-7 shooting night and going 4-for-4 from three-point range. Now that La Salle has seen that Grant has a potential to be a reliable complement to senior Rodney Green in the backcourt, this team should gain some confidence as they play out the remaining eight games before the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Senior Yves Mekongo crept closer to the 1,000-point milestone on Tuesday. Mekongo comes into Saturday's game against the Billikens five points shy of becoming the 48th La Salle men's basketball player to notch the achievement. Saint Louis Billikens (13-8, 4-3) / Conference: Atlantic 10 The Billikens head to take on the Explorers just after they ditched a two-game losing streak. On Wednesday night at home against St. Bonaventure, the Billikens pulled out a 67-65 victory when sophomore Kwamain Mitchell laid up the game-winning shot with 1.6 remaining. Mitchell, a member of last season's A-10 All-Rookie Team, is Saint Louis' leading scorer while being ranked ninth in the conference with 15.8 ppg. Against the University of Missouri-Kansas earlier this season, Mitchell dished out a new career-high of 33 points. Prior to that, Mitchell's previous career high was 26 points in last year's final regular season game, which happened to be against the La Salle Explorers. Sophomore Willie Reed stands as the leading rebounder for the Billikens. With just over eight boards a contest, Reed is ranked sixth in the conference in rebounding. In seven occasions, Reed has racked up double-figures in his rebounding total. Based on its overall record, Saint Louis looks threatening. The fact of the matter is the Billikens are a very dominant team when it comes to playing in the home confines of Chaifetz Arena, where they are 12-1 on the year. Away from their home floor is a different story, as the team holds a record of just 1-7 away from campus. The Series Since the A-10 rivalry between La Salle and Saint Louis began back in 2005-06, the Bilikens hold a 3-2 record on the Explorers. Overall, Saint Louis is clinging to a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Explorers will be out for revenge on Saturday when head coach Rick Majerus and his Billikens come to town. Saint Louis ended the postseason prematurely for La Salle in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship, four days after the two teams met in St. Louis, Mo. for the final regular season game for both teams. In the regular season meeting, La Salle became a rare opponent to pick up a win in Chaifetz Arena. Rodney Green led the Explorers with 24 points after going 10-of-11 from the free throw line, while Mitchell went 9-of-14 on the day to post a career-high 26 points. |
