Dec. 4, 2009
La Salle Explorers vs. Hartford Hawks
Date: Sunday, December 6
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tom Gola Arena
Game: Non-Conference
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La Salle Explorers (4-2)
Conference: Atlantic 10
Following a 79-67 victory over the Lafayette Leopards at Tom Gola Arena on Thursday evening, the La Salle Explorers ready themselves to take on the Hartford Hawks Sunday afternoon.
Thursday's game marked the fourth time this season that the Explorers had at least four players in double figures. La Salle is 3-0 this season when at least four players finish in double-digits.
On Thursday, senior Rodney Green had a game-high 19 points to propel La Salle to victory. With 6:38 remaining, La Salle's 15-point lead was cut in half. Green knocked down back-to-back three-point shots, along with setting up Terrell Williams with an alley-oop jam, to help the Explorers attain their largest advantage. In the process, Green passed Larry Foust for 19th place on the school's all-time scoring list.
Sitting out the last two games, it has been announced that senior guard Ruben Guillandeaux will be out indefinitely due to a stress fracture. Guillandeaux will be evaluated on an on-going basis. Through four games, he has averaged 9.5 ppg.
The Explorers have shown a great commitment to their rebounding game, ranking 18th in the nation in offensive rebounding and 24th in total rebounds per game. In the Atlantic 10, the Explorers are second in the conference in rebounding margin, while outrebounding their opponents by 10 boards a game.
After the Explorers downed the Hawks on the road last season, 70-64, they increased their record to 2-0 in the all-time series with Hartford.
Hartford Hawks (2-6)
Conference: America East
After losing to Seton Hall, 89-56, on Thursday night, the Hartford Hawks look to snap a four-game skid on Sunday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena.
Junior Joe Zeglinski, who is joined on the team by his brother Zach, led the Hawks with 13 points, while draining 4-of-7 from three-point range in the loss. Zeglinski has led Hartford in scoring for the past two seasons and so far owns a team-best 13.9 ppg this season.
Junior forward Anthony Minor, freshman guard Charles White and Zeglinski make up the core of the starting lineup; all of which happen to be Philadelphia-natives. Hartford's roster consists of five players from the Philadelphia area.
Along with Zeglinski, juniors Joel Barkers and Morgan Sabia are averaging double figures in their scoring totals. Barkers is the team's leading rebounder with 5.4 boards per game, while Sabia is shooting a team-best 48.8 percent from beyond the arc. Hartford has already defeated one Atlantic 10 opponent this season. On Nov. 21, the Hawks tamed the Fordham Rams at home to clinch a two-game winning streak after defeating Marist just three days earlier.
Key Matchup: Kimmani Barrett vs. Joel Barkers
These two players are not necessarily the primary scorers on their respective teams, but have shown they can be a threat over the course of a game. In two games already this season, La Salle's Kimmani Barrett has been his team's leading scorer. At Villanova last Saturday, Barrett finished three points short of his career-high as he totaled a team-best 17 points. Barrett has been a tremendous compliment to Green since being able to reach double figures in each of the last four games.
Hartford's Joel Barkers has not started a game yet this season, but that has not stopped him from making his presence felt. Barkers is first on the team in rebounds per game (5.4) and trails only Zeglinski for the team lead in scoring with 12.3 ppg. Through eight games, Barkers is only averaging 24.3 minutes a game. If his minutes and numbers increase, Barkers will join Zeglinski for one dominant scoring duo.
