March 1, 2008

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

PHILADELPHIA, PA- The La Salle University Explorers (14-14, 8-6 A-10) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end 91-85 at the hands of the University of Rhode Island Rams (20-10 7-8 A-10) on Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena.  The win ended the Rams five-game losing skid. 

 

La Salle sophomore Ruben Guillandeaux (Brooklyn, NY/ St. Patrick's) had a season-high 18 points, along with senior Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/ St. Frances Academy) who also added 18 on 4-7 three-point shooting. 

 

The Rams led 8-5 early on, but Harris hit his first triple at 16:15 to give La Salle their first lead of the game 10-8.  The Explorers went on a 15-4 run to surge ahead with a 20-12 lead (12:54), but three Explorer turnovers resulted in an 8-0 Ram run that tied it at 20 all.    

 

Guillandeaux knocked down a three to once again give his Explorers a 23-20 lead.  A Ram charge regained the lead 36-33 with five minutes, but La Salle's Kimmani Barrett (Paterson, NJ/ Paterson Catholic) went 2-2 at the charity stripe to get the Explorers within three (39-42).   Darryl Partin (Seattle, WA/ Charis Prep) hit a triple to tie it at 42. 

 

With a chance to take the lead heading into the break, sophomore Rodney Green's (Philadelphia, PA/ Prep Charter) lay-up would not be in time as the Rams led 44-43 at the halftime.  Green finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

 

The Explorers shot 50% from the arc in the first half alone, and 43% (9-21) on the day.     

 

URI's Jimmy Baron (E. Greenwich, RI/ Worcester Academy) hit a three and the Rams stayed ahead 55-48 to start the second half on an 11-5 run.  Baron finished 5-8 from three-point land. 

 

Partin got things going for La Salle with a three at 15:00, and junior Paul Johnson (Washington, D.C./ Gonzaga) hit two free-throws to cut the deficit to four (53-57).  Barrett added a lay-up, but URI stayed a step ahead 63-56 at 11:44.   

 

The Explorers shot just 34% from the field in the second half, and 43% for the game. 

 

URI's Baron knocked down two consecutive treys, but La Salle's Harris came right back with a trey of his own (68-75).  A five-point scoring binge from Guillandeaux put the Explorers within one (74-75) at 5:26. 

 

Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ/ St.Patrick's) iced two free-throws, and Harris knocked down his fourth trey of the night to tie it at 81-81.  URI's Baron came right back with a triple, but La Salle's fought back to cut the deficit to one. 

 

Senior Sherman Diaz (Diego Martin,Trinidad & Tobago/ Life Center) blocked a URI attempt, but the Explorers could not convert as the Rams took a 86-83 lead with 26 seconds remaining. 

 

URI's Baron sealed the deal with three made free-throw as the Rams ended their five-game losing streak 91-85 at Tom Gola Arena.