Game 42: Men vs. LaSalle

The men's team hosts LaSalle (8-12, 3-4) tonight at the Smith Center. GW (5-12, 1-6) is coming off of a 93-80 loss at Temple on Sunday afternoon. In that one, Maureece Rice (22 points, six assists), Rob Diggs (19 points, six rebounds), and Noel Wilmore (18 points) had strong performances for the Colonials, but the Owls closed the game on a 24-10 run to hand GW its sixth-straight loss, the first such losing streak for the program since the 2003-2004 season.

The Explorers, who were picked to finish 13th out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 10-20 and failed to qualify for the conference tournament. LaSalle has three players averaging double figures in scoring: 6-1 senior guard Darnell Harris (15.8 points per game this season), 6-5 sophomore guard Rodney Green (13.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, three assists), and 6-8 freshman forward Jerrell Williams (10 points, 7.5 rebounds). Coach John Giannini is 46-61 in his fourth season with the Explorers; he is 343-210 in 19 seasons as a head coach.

LaSalle is coming off of a 75-62 loss at #15/15 Xavier on Saturday night. In that one, three Explorers reached double figures in scoring: Green (18 points, three assists), Williams (16 points, seven rebounds), and 6-7 sophomore forward Yves Mekongo Mbala (13 points, 11 rebounds). However, the Musketeers shot 24-52 (46.2%) from the field and had six players reach double figures in scoring. La Salle has lost three of its last four games and is 5-8 away from its home court.

This is the 24th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 17-6. The last meeting came on February 24, 2007 in Philadelphia, PA, which the Colonials won 86-74. In that one, five GW players reached double figures in scoring: Rice (21 points), Carl Elliott (16 points, 11 rebounds, six assists), Diggs (13 points, six rebounds), Damian Hollis (11 points, four rebounds), and Dokun Akingbade (11 points, 12 rebounds). Harris had 13 points for LaSalle, while Green had 12 points and five rebounds. The Colonials shot 32-62 (51.6%) from the field, while holding the Explorers to just 22-62 (35.5%) shooting. GW has won seven-straight in the series and is 11-0 against La Salle at the Smith Center.

The pick here is for GW to snap its six-game losing streak and win a game that is important if the squad wants to qualify for the A-10 Tournament.

Julian Gompertz and Jordan Teller have the call for WRGW with Ben Sugarman and Ben Toder handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 7.10 p.m. Our own Greg Shapiro will join Byron Kerr for the WFED broadcast. You can listen here starting at 7.20 p.m.

Game notes: Diggs is the reigning A-10 Player of the Week...GW is 32-3 in its last 35 home games...The Colonials have lost back-to-back home games...It is the first time that has happened since falling to Massachusetts and Xavier in January 2005...GW is just 2-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used nine different starting lineups through 17 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...Rice needs two points to pass Vaughn Jones for 28th place in program history...Rice needs two threes to pass Numbo Hammons for seventh place in program history...Rice needs three threes to pass Dirkk Surles for sixth place in program history...Wynton Witherspoon needs four points for 400 for his career...Rice is averaging 10.5 points per game in four career meetings with LaSalle...GW is 2-4 on Wednesdays and 3-8 coming off of a loss...If the A-10 Tournament started today, GW would not qualify for it...Since the A-10 expanded to 14 teams before the 2005-2006 season, only Duquesne (2006), LaSalle (2007), and St. Bonaventure (2006 and 2007) have failed to do so...LaSalle is outrebounding opponents by roughly six boards per game.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off.

Update, 7.33 p.m. - Here are the starting lineups:

LaSalle
G - Darnell Harris (6-1 senior from Baltimore, MD)
G - Rodney Green (6-5 sophomore from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Paul Johnson (6-6 junior from Washington, DC)
F - Yves Mekongo Mbala (6-7 sophomore from Elizabeth, NJ)
F - Jerrell Williams (6-8 freshman from Paterson, NJ)

GW
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
G - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Wynton Witherspoon (6-7 junior from Duluth, GA)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)
F - Hermann Opoku (6-9 sophomore from Vienna, Austria)

Update, 7.42 p.m. - 11-straight from the Explorers to start the game. Can't leave Harris, who was one of the nation's leaders in three-point shooting coming in at 76-152 (50%), open. GW has struggled with perimeter defense at times this season, so Harris could have a big night. Also, we've already seen Damian Hollis, Johnny Lee, and Noel Wilmore off of the bench.

Update, 7.51 p.m. - Can somebody give Johnny Lee a scholarship already? He seems to be the only Colonial awake at this point with a nice steal and a big offensive rebound. You can see why coach Karl Hobbs loves what the diminutive walk-on brings to the team.

Update, 8.04 p.m. - 26-7 LaSalle with about eight minutes left in the half. This one has to be up there with the first half against Longwood for worst home performances of the season. This is a very important game for the Colonials in terms of qualifying for the A-10 Tournament. So far, it doesn't look as though they seem to care.

Update, 11.33 p.m. - Well, there you have it. A 22-point LaSalle win gives GW its first three-game home losing streak since the 2002-2003 season. It's also now a seven-game losing streak, the longest for the program since dropping 10 consecutive contests during the 2001-2002 season. Perhaps the most embarrassing loss of the season.

At 1-7 in A-10 play, GW is going to need some help to qualify for the conference tournament. That's all for tonight. We'll be back on Saturday when the men host Dayton. As always, thanks for stopping by.