PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team will look to get back in the win column when it welcomes Duquesne to Tom Gola Arena for a Saturday 4:00pm tip. The game will be broadcast live on SNY and The Comcast Network. Five new members of the La Salle Hall of Athletes will be recognized at halftime and inducted in a post-game ceremony. They are Jim Abel '66 (swimming), Rachel Papin Knox '08 (cross country/track), Jack Moore '54 (basketball), Sean Quigley '08 (cross country/track), and Mark Swiski '81 (baseball). 
 
Duquesne Dukes (10-9; 2-4 A-10) at La Salle Explorers (11-9; 3-3 A-10) 
Saturday, February 1, 2014 | 4 PM | Tom Gola Arena
 
TV: SNY, The Comcast Network, Root Sports-Pittsburgh (Frank Hanrahan, John Griffin)
Radio: 990 AM WNTP (Kale Beers, Rich Prendergast)
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Video Stream (FREE): CampusInsiders.com
 
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Game Notes
La Salle | Duquesne

Last Time Out
The Charles E. Smith Center proved extremely inhospitable in the Explorers rematch against George Washington Wednesday evening. Outside of senior guard Tyreek Duren the La Salle offense never got into sync, falling to the Colonials 69-47. The Explorers went 15-of-55 from the field and just 5-of-22 from three-point range in the loss. Duren was the only Explorer to hit double-figures, finishing with a game-high 22 points and five steals.
 
Previous Matchup
La Salle defeated Duquesne 75-56 January 12 at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Explorers hit the Dukes with a shooting barrage in the second half, swelling a five-point halftime lead to the 19-point victory. The Blue and Gold went 14-of-23 (60.9%) from the field, including 5-of-9 (55.6%) from beyond the arc, outscoring the Dukes 40-26 in the second session. Duren led all players with 23 points and six assists in the contest, while Tyrone Garland added 17 points. Steve Zack posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

Scouting the Explorers
La Salle has struggled to find its rhythm since their emotional win over Temple at The Palestra on January 18. The Explorers are 11-9 this season and have a 3-3 mark in A-10 play.
 
One area that has clearly stood out in contrasting La Salle's wins and losses has been their performance from beyond the arc. In the Explorers five-game winning streak to begin the month of January the team was scorching the net at a 38-for-96 (39.6%) clip from three-point range. Over the course of their current down stretch they have made just 12-of-51 (23.5%) from distance. The Explorers will want to exploit Duquesne in this area, as the Dukes enter with the worst three-point percentage defense in the Atlantic 10, allowing teams to convert at a 41.1% rate. The Explorers blitzed the Dukes nailing 10-of-22 three-pointers in their victory on January 12.
 
Senior guard Tyreek Duren has paced the Explorers on the offensive end and has been one of the few bright spots over their most recent stretch. Duren paces the Explorers and ranks 11 in the conference in scoring averaging, filling the net with 14.7 points/game. He also ranks 10^th in the conference in assists, dishing out 3.6 assists/game. Duren has been even stronger in A-10 conference play, averaging 17.3 points/game. He blitzed the Dukes for 23 points and six assists in their previous meeting this season.
 
Senior guard Tyrone Garland joins Duren to form a potent combination in the Explorer backcourt. He is second on the team and 13^th overall in A-10 scoring, averaging 14.3 points/game. He burned VCU for a career-high 30 points in the Explorers heartbreaking double-overtime loss last Saturday.

Junior center Steve Zack continues to be force on both the offensive and defensive glass. He leads the A-10 with 11 double-doubles this season, ranking at the top of the conference in rebounding, pulling down 9.5 rebounds/game. He averages just shy of a double-double on the season, adding 9.3 points/game. 
 
Scouting the Dukes
Duquesne has seemingly turned a corner over the last week of play. They battled conference front-runner Saint Louis to the bitter end in a 76-72 loss at A.J. Palumbo Center on January 22. The Dukes have won two straight since then, defeating St. Bonaventure 83-81 at home and most recently NJIT 71-64 on the road Wednesday evening. The Dukes enter Saturday afternoon's matchup with the Explorers with an overall record of 10-9 and a 2-4 mark in the Atlantic 10.
 
Duquesne attacks offensively with a run and gun strategy that has little trouble lighting up the scoreboard. They rank second in the Atlantic 10 behind UMass in scoring, averaging 76.8 points/game. However, their offensive strategy does hurt the Dukes on the defensive end. They rank second from the bottom in points allowed, giving up an average of 75.5 points/game.
 
Senior forward Ovie Soko paces the Dukes offense in the low block. He ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, averaging 18.2 points/game. He also is a major presence on the glass, ranking eighth in the conference collecting an average of 7.5 rebounds/game.
 
Junior forward Dominique McKoy joins Soko to form a formidable one-two punch down low. He is averaging 11.5 points/game and 8.7 rebounds/game in Atlantic 10 conference play. Overall, he ranks sixth in the conference averaging 7.7 boards per game. He also leads the Atlantic 10 with a .661 field goal percentage.
 
Sophomore guard Derrick Colter leads the Dukes backcourt. He is averaging 12.0 points/game and 4.3 assists/game in conference play. He ranks ninth in the conference assists/game average (3.8) and is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).
 
Up Next
The Explorers will head north to Amherst, Mass. to take on #21/#19 ranked Massachusetts next Wednesday evening. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:00pm with the game being broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.