Feb. 25, 2010
La Salle Explorers vs. Temple Owls
Date: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tom Gola Arena
Game: Atlantic 10 Conference
Radio: WHAT 1340 AM
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La Salle Explorers (11-16, 3-10) (Big 5: 1-1)
Conference: Atlantic 10, (12th place)
The Explorers enter the final week of the regular season on Sunday when they host the No. 20 Temple Owls. Sunday will be the first of three games for the Explorers this week, but they should have the advantage since two of their final three games are in Tom Gola Arena.
La Salle and Temple will clash for the second time this season, but with this game counting toward the Big 5 standings, even more implications are on the line. If the Explorers are able to avenge the loss at Temple, La Salle will still have a shot at sharing the Big 5 title if they can also defeat Saint Joseph’s in the final game of the season.
Due to three injured seniors on its roster, La Salle has had a lack of manpower, but that hasn’t stopped it from maintain its aggressiveness under the glass. As of Thursday, the Explorers are outrebounding their opponents by 5.8 boards a game
Juniors Steve Weingarten and Jerrell Williams have been major factor in how the Explorers have been able to continue their physical attack under the net. After putting together 18 points and 17 rebounds last Sunday, Weingarten poured on 10 points in La Salle’s latest game at George Washington. Williams is closing the season out by playing some of his basketball as he has captured double-doubles in each of his last two games.
Senior Rodney Green continues to move up the ladder on La Salle’s all-time scoring list. Following a 21 point performance on Wednesday, Green trails eighth place on the all-time list by 74 points. Green is currently the Explorer’s leading scorer with 18.2 ppg, ranking him third in the A-10.
No. 20/18 Temple Owls (23-5, 11-2) (Big 5: 3-0)
Conference: Atlantic 10, (Tied-first place)
Coming off a low-scoring affair with Dayton on Wednesday, Temple will enter Sunday's game looking to pick up a win order to continue to move up in top 25 rankings when they are released on Monday. The Owls are currently ranked 20th in the AP poll and 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and have an RPI of 14.
The Owls have now strung together four straight and find themselves in a three-way tie for first place along with Richmond and Xavier.
In Temple's 49-41 win against Dayton, senior Ryan Brooks exercised his senior leadership by pulling down 17 boards, while sophomore Ramone Moore led the team with 13 points.
Moore has been the story of late for the Owls and is the reigning Big 5 Player of the Week. Moore, came off the bench in the last meeting of the two teams to score a game-leading 14 points, entered the starting line-up on Feb. 6 to replace the injured Juan Fernandez. Moore has led the team in scoring in six of the past seven contests and averaging 16.2 points per game in those seven contests. He has scored in double figures in seven straight games.
Brooks is leading the Owls with 14.8 ppg and is one of only two players to start all 28 games this season, along with Luis Guzman.
Lavoy Allen leads the Owls in rebounding with 10.5 a game and is one of three players in the Atlantic 10 averaging a double-double (11.3p/10.5r). Allen is also the Owls’ leading shot blocker with 44 on the season.
Sophomore TJ DiLeo will get a chance to play where his father, Tony, played his collegiate basketball. Tony, who wore the Blue and Gold from 1976-78 after transferring from Tennessee Tech, is currently the senior vice president and assistant general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. His son, TJ, has seen playing time in 20 games this season for the Owls.
Since taking over Temple’s men’s basketball program back in 2006, it’s always a reunion for head coach Fran Dunphy when his team faces the Explorers. Dunphy is a 1970 graduate from La Salle, the school where he spent his college basketball playing days under former head coach and legendary Explorer Tom Gola. Dunphy also served as an assistant coach under Lefty Ervin from 1979-80 before returning for a second stint in 1985 as an assistant for Ervin and Speedy Morris until 1988.
The Series
Temple leads the all-time series 66-40 after defeating the Explorers 64-52 back on Jan. 30 at the Liacouras Center.
Sunday’s game between the Owls and Explorers will be the back side to this season’s home-and-home series, making this the third straight season in which La Salle and Temple played each other multiple times.
In last season’s Big 5 clash, the Explorer defeated the Owls 70-63 at the Liacouras Center. With the win, La Salle halted Temple’s four-game winning streak in the all-time series and clinched the runner-up spot for the Big 5 title.
