 Game Preview: La Salle Explorers Vs. Binghamton Bearcats
Jan. 1, 2010
La Salle Explorers @ Binghamton Bearcats La Salle Explorers (7-5) Saturday afternoon will be the Explorers last tune-up before they begin Atlantic 10 Conference play. When La Salle goes to snap its first losing streak of the season, which is currently at two games, awaiting them for the first-time ever will be the Binghamton Bearcats. Entering play against the Bearcats, the Explorers are coming off a 78-75 loss to Cornell on Tuesday. La Salle saw five of its players reach double figures, including junior Jerrell Williams who finished short of a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds. The loss gave them a 7-5 record for the season so far, which matches their record through the first 12 games just a season ago. Tuesday's game was only the second time this season La Salle was handed a defeat when it won the rebounding battle. In the final 4:35, the Explorers exposed probably their most intense pressure all-season. Being down nine points at that point cautioned the Explorers to get back in the contest. After going back and forth for the remainder of the game, La Salle was able to narrow the deficit to two points with 13 ticks of the clock remaining. Cornell's Ryan Wittman, who finished the game with a career-high 34 points while becoming the program's all-time leading scorer, hit a pair of free throws two separate times in the remaining seconds to keep the Explorers within six before senior Kimmani Barrett hit a three-pointer at the buzzard.
An 8-of-17 shooting day from beyond the arc against Cornell helped La Salle pull into fifth place in the nation for three-point shooting percentage (43.0%). The Explorers have gotten contributions from three-point range from much of their team this season. Seniors Rodney Green and Barrett have connected from three-point range 20 times each, which is the team-high. Rebounding continues to be a strength of La Salle's. With a handful of its team hauling down at least five boards a game, the Explorers are currently ranked 24th in the nation for offensive rebounding percentage. Binghamton Bearcats (4-10) Set to begin 2010, the Bearcats will continue a busy week as it plays its fourth game of the week on Saturday when they host the La Salle Explorers. Binghamton is coming off a win against Marist at its Events Center on Sunday before the St. Mary's Classic in California, where it played the host school and Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Prior to the St. Mary's Classic, junior Greer Wright and freshman Dylan Talley are the only two Bearcats to average double figures for the season. Wright has been Binghamton's key player all year thus far, as he owns team-bests in scoring rebounding and assists per game averages, while also having team's highest shooting percentage from the field. It goes with out saying that Binghamton is struggling this season, just one year removed from its America East title and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bearcats' depth is young with six freshman on the roster. Just before Binghamton's 2009-10 campaign began, it was forced to add six walk-ons to fill roster vacancies once it released six players for violating program policies. As conference play nears, the Bearcats hope to revive themselves in order to make a run at defending the conference crown. Eye on an Explorer: Jerrell Williams With senior Ruben Guillandeaux out with a stress fracture, Jerrell Williams has seen much more playing time. The junior forward has flown under the radar likely because he is overshadowed by Green, Barrett and Murray also in the lineup, who all pose quite a threat. Williams has been a major key in why La Salle's rebounding game has been so strong this season. Six boards a game has Williams ranked as the second-best rebounder for the Explorers. In his last game, Williams had eight rebounds, including six in the offensive zone against Cornell. Various times this year, Williams has been effective from the shooting field this season with nearly nine points a contest. In some of La Salle's major games this season (vs. South Carolina, at Villanova, at Kansas and vs. Cornell) Williams has averaged 15.2 ppg and 8.5 rpg in those four, showing he has a capability to takeover a game Key Matchup: Rodney Green vs. Greer Wright Leading the pack for the La Salle Explorers is Rodney Green with 18.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 24 steals. The senior guard has scored in double-figures in 37 of his last 38 games. His latest was a 19 point performance on Tuesday, which moved him into 17th place on the all-time scoring list at La Salle, to pass Hubbie Marshall (1964-67). Green now trails former teammate Darnell Harris by 73 points for 16th place. In addition to shooting the ball well, Green is one of two players in the nation to average five boards and 12 points a game, which shows the talent he has to takeover a game for his team. Freshman guard Dylan Talley generated interest from La Salle during recruitment. Talley is a versatile and muscular guard. His aggression gives him the ability to score, which has helped him get his collegiate career off to a quick start with 11.3 ppg to be the team's second-highest scorer. |
