La Salle

Who: No. 13 La Salle (21-9) vs. No. 13 Boise State (21-10) What: NCAA opening round (West Region), at Dayton, Ohio. When: 9:10 p.m. TV: truTV (Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson) Radio: WNTP (990-AM), WIP (610-AM). History: This is the first meeting. How they got here: La Salle (at-large from Atlantic 10). Boise State (at-large from Mountain West). Up next: The winner faces fourth-seeded Kansas State (27-7) in Kansas City. Coaches: John Giannini (La Salle)

Many coaches will tell you that consistent free throw shooting can lead the way to many victories. The La Salle women's team, shooting a nation-leading 80.2 percent through Monday, proved it again last night. The 20th-ranked Explorers connected on five of six foul shots in the final 31 seconds to hold off host St. Peter's, 73-67, and clinch the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title. Junior Cheryl Reeve scored a career-high 29 points and added 8 rebounds and 7 assists for La Salle (24-3, 11-1)

Another strong pitching effort from Dom Cuoci; solid defense; and two big innings, mixed in with some luck, led to La Salle's first Catholic League baseball championship since 2005. Saturday afternoon's 10-0, five-inning triumph over archrival St. Joseph's Prep at Widener also served as redemption. Last year, before making their run to the PIAA Class AAAA state crown, the Explorers bowed to Neumann-Goretti in eight innings in the league final. "As awesome as it was for us to win a state title last year, not winning the Catholic League left a bad taste in our mouths," senior first baseman Chris Melillo said.

Who's hot La Salle's Ramon Galloway has averaged 21.3 points in the three NCAA wins and is shooting 22 for 41 (.536) from the field and 12 for 23 from beyond the arc. Cleanthony Early, a 6-foot-8 junior, has averaged 18.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 26 minutes during Wichita State's NCAA wins over Pitt and Gonzaga.   Who's not La Salle sophomore guard D.J. Peterson has shot just 3 for 10 in the Explorers' three NCAA games. Wichita State center Ehimen Orukpe had just five rebounds in 30 minutes during the two NCAA wins.

LA SALLE sophomore big man Steve Zack, who suffered what coach John Giannini called "a sprained ligament in his foot" during Saturday's win over Duquesne, will not play in the Explorers' final two games, Wednesday at home against George Washington and then Saturday at Atlantic 10 leader Saint Louis. Zack is getting around in a walking boot and will be re-evaluated in a week. The sophomore has been an integral part of the rotation this season. After a freshman season in which he showed flashes, Zack (6.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 54.5 percent shooting in 22 minutes per game)

RICHMOND - Derrick Williams scored a career-high 22 points, including a layup with 5.8 seconds left, to lift Richmond to a 78-76 victory over La Salle at the Robins Center last night. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Spiders (13-12, 4-6 Atlantic 10), who lead the 26-game series, 14-12. "It was a heartbreaking loss," La Salle coach Dr. John Giannini said. "I'm stunned we didn't get a good shot with 16 seconds left on the shot clock. I just don't understand.

After a year hiatus from the state lacrosse tournament, La Salle returned with a performance that coach Bill Leahy classified as "surgical. " The more casual spectator might have gone with dominant, overwhelming, or just plain awesome. La Salle simply did not do much, if anything, wrong en route to a 16-4 drubbing of Great Valley in the first round of the PIAA championships Wednesday at Plymouth Whitemarsh. Great Valley (14-10), which had a fine season that included a run to the District 1 semifinals before injuries and tougher competition caught up with it, had no answer for La Salle (18-4)

AFTER SPLITTING their first two games at home, the La Salle Explorers hit the road for the first time and bagged a win. The Explorers, behind Tyreek Duren's 15 points, never trailed and beat Hartford, 64-51. The damage was done in the first half with La Salle owning a 40-22 lead at the break. Jerrell Wright scored all 14 of his points in the first half and hot-shooting Ramon Galloway hit all three of his three-point shots, was 4-for-5 from the field overall, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first 20 minutes.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - An efficient passing game, an unlikely receiving hero, and a big payoff on a fourth-quarter gamble helped La Salle earn its third straight Final Four football berth. The Explorers also overcame an early injury to a two-way standout while holding off pass-happy Nazareth, 41-33, in a PIAA Class AAAA state quarterfinal Saturday at Liberty High's Frank Banko Field. With La Salle (12-1) forced away from its usual ground-and-pound approach, Matt Magarity hit on 15 of 21 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns.