PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team will look for a third consecutive Atlantic 10 victory on Wednesday when it takes on defending conference champion St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y.

La Salle Explorers (16-6, 6-3 A-10) at St. Bonaventure Bonnies (11-11, 4-5 A-10)
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 | 7 PM | Reilly Center
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Game Notes
La Salle | St. Bonaventure

Last Time Out
The Explorers ousted Fordham 89-53 on Saturday afternoon at Gola Arena behind a program-record tying 18 three point buckets. Sam Mills led all scorers with a career-high 21 points (7-8 3PT) and Ramon Galloway added 19 points (6-9 FG, 5-7 3PT, 2-2 FT) and six assists. Tyrone Garland (17 pts; 6-13 FG, 0-4 3PT, 5-6 FT) and Tyreek Duren (16 pts; 5-5 FG, 4-4 3PT, 2-2 FT) also posted double-digit scoring outputs for the Explorers. In addition to Duren's perfect afternoon shooting the rock, the junior notched a game-high eight assists and committed only one turnover. Steve Zack (4 pts, 7 reb) and Jerrell Wright (4 pts, 7 reb) led the Blue and Gold on the glass.

All-Time Series
La Salle leads St. Bonaventure 13-11 in 24 meetings including wins in the last two. Last season, the Blue and Gold toppled the Bonnies 71-61 behind a game-high 21 points from Duren.

Coach's Corner
Head coach Dr. John Giannini on...

His team's last week:
We had one game this past week and we played extremely well. Obviously we made a lot of shots but that doesn't always happen. The reason I felt good about the game was our defense was as good as our offense. It was one of those rare games where everything comes together. I think that the bye week helped us. It got us physical refreshed. It helped us with some nagging injuries so we were very pleased with that outcome. But of course, we look at a typical Atlantic 10 week ahead of us with some very difficult games.
 
Scouting the Explorers
La Salle has won its last two and four of its last five, suffering only a one point setback to UMass on January 30 in that span. The Explorers have registered back-to-back 80 point scoring outputs behind a 45 percent (56-124) mark from the field and 50 percent (29-58) clip from behind the arc in the two contests.

Sam Mills' shot continues to round into form, stroking nine of his last 13 three point attempts. The junior converted 42 percent of his triples a season ago and has upped his tally this season to 34 percent behind his recent hot stretch.

Ramon Galloway's 17.1 points/game are good for third in the A-10. The senior has notched double-digit scoring in four straight, averaging over 20 points/game during that span. Galloway ranks third in the conference in three point field goals/game (2.8) and steals/game (2.3).

Tyreek Duren's points, assists, and steal tallies (14.2 ppg, 3.6 apg, 2.1 spg) rank in the top 15 in the A-10. The junior also is one of the conference's most sturdy ball-handlers with a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio (sixth in A-10). Duren has dished out 24 assists against nine turnovers in the Explorer's last five games.

Scouting the Bonnies
St. Bonaventure has won two of its last three and four of its last six, with victories over Temple and Saint Joseph's coming in that stretch. Most recently, the Bonnies upended Rhode Island 67-71 on the road Saturday afternoon.

The Bonnies are one of the most efficient teams in the A-10 from the free throw line and long range, ranking first in free throw percentage (.739) and third in three point field goal percentage (.372). St. Bonaventure also ranks in the top half of the conference in scoring offense (70.3 ppg), turnover margin (+1.45), and assist/turnover ratio (1.1).

Senior forward Demitrius Conger leads the Bonnies in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg). Conger converts at 84 percent from the free throw line. Senior swing man Chris Johnson comes in at 12.5 points/game. Johnson shoots 82 percent from the charity stripe and 42 percent from behind the arc. Senior guard Eric Mosley (10.5 ppg) ranks third in the conference in three point field goal percentage (.440).

Coach's Corner:
St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt on...

The challenges La Salle presents his team:
Doc's done a great job at getting them to play together. They can go big and they can go small. They have very good guards that space you out but if they want to go big with Zack and Wright inside that makes it a little bit more difficult inside. But the strength of their team is their perimeter players and it's hard when they're shooting the ball from the perimeter because all of those guys can take you off the bounce. When guys can shoot it and take you off the dribble they present a difficult task. 

Up Next
La Salle will take on Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's on Saturday at 1 PM at the Palestra. The game will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network.