Feb. 18, 2010
La Salle Explorers @ Dayton Flyers
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: UD Arena
Game: Atlantic 10 Conference
TV: CBS College Sports
Radio: WHAT 1340 AM
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La Salle Explorers (11-13, 3-7) / Conference: Atlantic 10
When the Explorers head to Dayton to take on the Flyers at UD Arena for the first time since the 2006-07 season, they will be doing so with out three of its seniors who combine for 2,839 points. Just before its game at Duquesne on Sunday, La Salle announced that Yves Mekongo had been added to the injured list. He is expected to miss two to four weeks after undergoing surgery to fix the fractured pinky on his right hand.
On Thursday at Dayton, senior Rodney Green will likely solidify himself as one of La Salle’s great players of all-time. Green, who is currently in 11th place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,803 career points, needs only eight points to position himself inside the top 10 in school history, passing Ralph Lewis and Randy Woods. Averaging 18.5 ppg, Green is ranked second among all active players in the A-10 in career points, trailing only Massachusetts’ Ricky Harris by 13 points.
Dayton Flyers (17-7, 6-4) / Conference: Atlantic 10
Entering the season as the favorite to come out of the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Dayton Flyers are off and running with a 17-7 record, but have had their struggles in A-10 play as all four losses have occurred in nail-biting fashion.
Over the last couple seasons, the Flyers have made it extremely difficult for opponents to play at UD Arena. Dating back to last season, the Flyers own an astounding 30-1 record on their home floor. Already 12-1 this year, Dayton’s only loss on Tom Blackburn Court has been at the hands of Rhode Island, who escaped with a 65-64 win back on Jan. 23.
Junior Chris Wright and sophomore Chris Johnson have been a scoring and rebounding duopoly for Dayton this year. Wright, who is first on the team with an average of 14.4 ppg, and is ninth in the conference with 7.3 rpg, has been Dayton’s leading scorer 12 times this season. Johnson, his compliment, is providing 12.3 ppg and a team-best 7.7 boards a game.
The Series
A rivalry which began when the two teams squared off in the 1952 NIT Final, which the Explorers won, the Dayton Flyers hold the advantage in the all-series with a 21-13 record.
Dayton comes into the 2010 meeting on a one-game winning streak after it prevailed with 63-61 despite blowing a 17 point lead at La Salle last season. Vernon Goodridge finished the game with a game-high nine rebounds as senior Rodney Green led the Explorers with 25 points while senior Ruben Guillandeaux chipped in with 12 of his own.
Leading the Flyers in last season’s affair at Tom Gola Arena was senior Marcus Johnson, who had a team-high 16 points. Johnson has left an indelible mark on the minds of Explorer fans after he became responsible for breaking a 61-all tie on a dunk with 1.8 seconds left.
