PHILADELPHIA – La Salle men's basketball returns home from a two-game road swing on Wednesday evening for 7:00pm matchup against St. Bonaventure. The Explorers will seek to avenge a 66-51 loss at St. Bonaventure earlier this season. The game is student-athlete recognition night and also the annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. Wear pink to the game!

St. Bonaventure Bonnies (16-11, 6-7 A-10) at La Salle Explorers (12-14, 4-8 A-10)
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 | 7 PM | Tom Gola Arena

Radio: 990 AM WNTP (Kale Beers, Steve Degler)
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Game Notes
La Salle | St. Bonaventure

Coach's Corner
"We lost two games to two very good teams on the road. We're certainly disppointed and are going through a very tough stretch here. Our strength of schedule has been unforgiving. There is a quarter of the conference season left. We have some very important goals that we can still accomplish.

We have proven players. The problem is that we have guys in roles that they have more responsibility than they've had in the past. But our big guys are playing well, Tyreek's playing well. We certainly have the potential to win.

Last year we raised the ceiling, and that's a distant memory right now. But raising the floor in your program is important too. If the floor in our program can become winning seasons with one of the toughest schedules in the country, that would be an important point of growth for me. If we can have our third straight winning season in a row, that also sets a precedent. If you can still win games with a high strength of schedule in a tough year, that's raising the floor."

Last Time Out
The Explorers fell 62-49 to Richmond on Saturday afternoon. The Blue and Gold led 24-23 at the break, but the offense and defense struggled to get things going in the second 20-minutes. La Salle shot just 33.3% (8-of-24) from the field compared to the Richmond's 63.6% (14-of-22) in the second stanza. Senior guard Tyreek Duren was the a bright spot for the Explorers, pouring in a season high 26 points and six three-pointers in the loss.
 
Previous Matchup
La Salle will seek to split the season series with St. Bonaventure after falling to the Bonnies 66-51 at the Reilly Center on January 22. The Explorers went 15-of-50 from the field in the contest, as the Bonnies pulled away down the stretch in the second half. Tyreek Duren paced the Explorers with 16 points, while Tyrone Garland added 14.
 
The last time the two teams met at Tom Gola Arena was the season finale to the 2011-12 season. The Explorers downed the Bonnies 71-61 behind Duren's game-high 21 points and four assists.
 
Scouting the Explorers
With four games remaining in the regular season, the La Salle will look to gain some momentum heading into the Atlantic 10 Tournament.  The Blue and Gold will have extra incentive to close out the month of February on a successful note, as they hope to gain season split with the Bonnies.
 
While the offense has struggled in recent games, the defense for the Explorers has remained strong. The Explorers ranks 7^th in the conference during A-10 play in scoring defense, allowing conference opponents to score just 69.2 points/game. Excluding their double-overtime loss to VCU, the Explorers have allowed conference opponents a stingy 67.4 points/game average at Tom Gola Arena.
 
One area where La Salle will want to exploit St. Bonaventure is creating second chance opportunities and getting to the free-throw line. The Explorers rank 5^th in the conference in A-10 play in both offensive rebounding (11.6 per game) and free-throw percentage (70.3%). Doing well in these two areas could help spark the offense against the Bonnies.
 
Senior guard Tyreek Duren continues to be the Explorers most consistent offensive threat this season. He leads the team in scoring (14.9 points/game) and assists (3.6 assists/game) this season. Duren has brought his game to the next level in conference play, ranking 8^th in the conference in scoring at 16.5 points/game. He has been red hot from range, ranking 3^rd in the conference sinking 31-of-63 (49.2%) shots from beyond the arc in A-10 play. Duren is coming off a season high 26 points and six three-pointers against Richmond this past Saturday.
 
The frontcourt has been paced by the powerful combination of junior forward Jerrell Wright and junior center Steve Zack. Both players have enjoyed breakout seasons for the Explorers in 2013-14.
 
Wright is third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.7 points/game while adding 6.4 rebounds/game. He is ranks 3^rd in the conference in A-10 play in offensive rebounds, pulling down an average of 3.3 per contest. He ranks 10^th in field goal percentage, sinking 54.7% of shots in A-10 games.
 
Zack continues to lead the conference in rebounding, averaging 9.8 boards per game. He also has been a strong defensive presence for the Explorers; ranking 4^th in the A-10, averaging 2.1 blocks in conference games this season. Zack leads the A-10 and ranks 13^th nationally with 13 double-double games this season.
 
Scouting the Bonnies
St. Bonaventure enters their rematch with the Explorers with an overall record of 16-11 and a 6-7 mark in Atlantic 10 play. The Bonnies had their three-game winning streak snapped with a rare home loss, falling 87-78 to Rhode Island. The Bonnies are 4-7 in games away from home this season and 2-4 in away conference games.
 
The Bonnies are a strong offensive squad, ranking 4^th in the conference averaging 73.0 points in A-10 games this season. The Explorers will want to avoid putting the Bonnies on the line, as they are tops in the conference shooting 76.5% from the charity stripe.
 
Their backcourt combo of Matthew Wright and Charlon Kloof pace the Bonnies on the offensive end. Wright leads the offense averaging 16.1 points/game this season, while he has averaged 15.9 points/game in conference play, ranking 12^th in the A-10. He is particularly potent from the charity stripe, where he ranks 3^rd in conference play sinking 53-of-58 (91.4%) free-throws.
 
Kloof ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points/game this season. He excels as the Bonnies primary creator on the offensive end. He leads the team by a wide margin with 130 assists on the season. Kloof ranks 2^nd in conference play, averaging 5.2 assists/game. He also is very prudent with the basketball, ranking 2^nd in conference play in assist/turnover ratio (2.4:1).
 
Youssou Ndoye paces the frontcourt for St. Bonaventure. He ranks third on the team, averaging 9.7 points/game this season. Ndoye has been even better in conference play, averaging 11.3 points/game. He ranks 8^th in conference play in field goal percentage, shooting 55.4% from the field. He is also the Bonnies biggest presence on the glass, averaging 5.6 rebounds/game. He is tied for the best mark in conference play in blocks, averaging 2.8 blocks/game.
 
Up Next
The Explorers will return to action on Saturday evening, as they hit the road for a 5:00pm tip against Fordham. The game will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network.