Feb. 6, 2009
La Salle Explorers @ St. Bonaventure Bonnies
Date: Saturday, Feb. 7
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Reilly Center
Game: Conference
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La Salle Explorers (12-9, 3-4)
Conference: Atlantic 10
For the fourth straight weekend, the La Salle Explorers will play an Atlantic 10 opponent away from their home venue. As the team travels to Olean, NY to face the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Saturday, the Explorers will be in search of their fifth win in five years (4-1) over the Bonnies under Head Coach Dr. John Giannini. In their latest two contests, the Explorers have fallen behind early, but have been able to overcome double-digit deficits to deadlock both contests with less than a minute to play. After only posting nine points in the first half in Wednesday’s 63-61 home loss to the Dayton Flyers, junior Rodney Green put up 16 in the second half to finish the contest with a game-high 25 points. In conference games, Green (19.3 ppg) now ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, only behind Saint Joseph’s senior Ahmad Nivins (20.9) and Temple senior Dionte Christmas (20.0). Even with being outrebounded for only the fifth time this season, the Explorers managed to demonstrate one of the best all-around defensive performances of the year on Wednesday. Against Dayton, the Explorers compiled four blocks, seven steals and 19 forced turnovers. Junior Vernon Goodridge made his presence felt all night long with a game-high nine rebounds to go along with a block and a steal. Last season, the Explorers swept a home-and-home series from the Bonnies. The first matchup featured a 72-61 road victory for the Explorers with then-freshman Jerrell Williams securing his second double-double in three games to join three other La Salle scorers in double figures. A little over two weeks later, when the teams met up again, Darnell Harris went 7-for-7 from beyond the arc to lead the Explorers to an 84-61 home win. In that game, Harris’ shooting efficiency from beyond the arc tied last season’s NCAA record for highest three-point shooting percentage in a game. If the Explorers plan to rekindle the success they had against the Bonnies last season, they must set the tempo early on Saturday.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies (11-10, 2-6)
Conference: Atlantic 10
As the St. Bonaventure Bonnies prepare to host the Explorers on Saturday for Homecoming weekend, they will be looking to snap a four-game losing skid. The Bonnies go into Saturday’s game with the second-best rebounding offense (39.7) and the second-most blocked shots (114) in the conference. For St. Bonaventure to demonstrate how good they are in these categories, they will need freshman Andrew Nicholson to continue the great stride he has been on this season. Nicholson is second on the team in scoring (13.3), third in rebounds (6.1) and his 66 total blocks rank him second in the conference. Junior Jonathan Hall has been even more effective this year. So far this season, Hall has put together a team-best 13.4 points per game and has pulled down 6.2 boards per game, ranking him second on the team, to go with his 62 assists and 26 steals. In the latest contest, the Bonnies fell to Duquesne on the road Wednesday night, 74-68. In the loss, Nicholson poured in a game-high 29 points, on 13-of-18 shooting, in addition to a game-high tying 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Hall was also a big contributor as he posted the second St. Bonaventure double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. If the Bonnies plan to reverse their recent misfortunes on Saturday, they will need to continue the one thing they have done so well this season: rebound. The Bonnies should be one of the toughest rebounding teams the Explorers will face this season. In Wednesday’s loss to Duquesne, the Bonnies outrebounded the Dukes, 52-27.
Eye on an Explorer: Vernon Goodridge
Over the last three games, junior Vernon Goodridge has shown significant improvement. In the course of those three games, Goodridge has put up nearly six points per game and 8.3 rebounds. As a result of his experience on the floor with each passing game, Goodridge’s defensive awareness has caused him to stay out of foul trouble. If he can continue to build upon his recent effectiveness, the Explorers will certainly be a threat as the Atlantic 10 Championships draw near.
Key Matchup: Ruben Guillandeaux vs. Chris Matthews
So far in conference play, La Salle junior Ruben Guillandeaux and St. Bonaventure junior Chris Matthews have been large contributors for their teams. Matthews is averaging 13.6 points in eight conference games thus far, while Guillandeaux is posting 11.6 points per game in seven of those games. Since conference play started, both players have had a dramatic influence on their team’s scoring. In an 80-68 road loss to Dayton on Jan. 25, Matthews netted a career-high 28 points, including eight three-pointers which tied a school record. His latest game featured a 12-point and seven rebound performance. For La Salle, Guillandeaux has been a tremendous impact on his team since being placed in the starting lineup. On Wednesday night, 10 of Guillandeaux’s 12 points came in the second half which made him one of two Explorers to finish in double figures. On New Year’s Eve, in an 89-64 home win over Manhattan, Guillandeaux scored a career-high 22 points and also totaled two more career-highs with eight rebounds and seven assists.
