Yves Mekongo

Player, School                 Major                   GPA Yves Mekongo, La Salle          Integrated Science             3.82 Malcolm Ingram, Philadelphia U. International Business           3.62 Mike Yocum, Philadelphia U.    Marketing                    3.95 Sharif Bray, Cheyney             Recreation, Leisure Management 3.44 ...

After a disappointing basketball season, La Salle received good news Tuesday when the Atlantic Ten Conference granted senior guard Ruben Guillandeaux a medical hardship redshirt, allowing him to play next season. Guillandeaux was injured at the Charleston Classic in November. A stress fracture in his right foot caused him to miss the rest of the season. "I'm excited," Guillandeaux said. "I am finally able to show everyone my true potential after not doing it this year. " With Guillandeaux back, La Salle has a veteran presence in its backcourt to usher in new guards Earl Pettis and recruits Tyreek Duren and Sam Mills.

When this season began, Ruben Guillandeaux figured to be the fourth La Salle senior to reach 1,000 points. When Explorers coach John Giannini imagined what this team might become, he thought of playing with four 1,000-point scorers and freshman big man Aaric Murray. Well, Guillandeaux may reach 1,000 points. It just won't be this season. Guillandeaux has not played since Nov. 22 and will miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his right foot. "Losing a veteran ballhandler and shooter who has played at a high level was a major loss for us," Giannini said.

Injuries are nothing new for the La Salle basketball team. Neither are close games. Going into last night's Atlantic Ten game at Fordham, seven of the Explorers' previous eight games had been decided by six or fewer points. So it was no surprise that the shorthanded visitors found themselves trailing the last-place Rams at halftime in Rose Hill Gymnasium ? or that the game wasn't decided until the last minute. But the Explorers took charge in the second half and held on for an 80-73 victory despite long stretches of minimal production from senior guard Rodney Green.

La Salle jumped out a 13-point halftime lead, fell into a deep slumber, then woke up in time to escape with a 69-60 victory over Rider last night. "We earned every bit of that win with the way that Rider challenged us," coach John Giannini said after his Explorers improved to 6-2 heading into Saturday's game against top-ranked Kansas in Kansas City, Mo. "We responded. " La Salle responded with clutch free throws after Jhamar Youngblood's foul shots pulled Rider within two points (62-60)

A tip-off time just after noon led to a less-than-glossy performance for La Salle yesterday. The Explorers scratched out a win anyway, getting past Tulane, 61-59, to finish a 2-1 performance in the Charleston Classic. La Salle (3-1) hung in with South Carolina in a 10-point loss Thursday, then blew past Davidson on Friday and grounded out the victory against the Green Wave. "Certainly three is great and two is good," Explorers coach John Giannini said of victories in this event.

Once the game sped up, Davidson couldn't keep up. La Salle used its versatility and athleticism to break away from the outmanned Wildcats in the first half - and run away in the second half of an 84-70 Explorers victory last night in the Charleston Classic's consolation bracket. "We just did what the coaches drew up," said senior point guard Rodney Green, who led five Explorers in double figures with a game-high 21 points. "We played like a great team. " The Philadelphia native, who scored 23 points Thursday in a loss to South Carolina, also led the team with 10 rebounds.

Every player has a spot on the court where he feels most comfortable making shots. For La Salle's Kammani Barrett, that spot is the right wing - behind the three-point line. Barrett knocked down a career-high five three-pointers, scored a career-best 25 points and helped the Explorers overcome injuries, suspensions and sickness in a 75-62 win over Hartford yesterday afternoon in front of 1,782 fans at Tom Gola Arena. "[The right wing] is my favorite spot on the court," said the senior guard, who missed just two of his seven attempts from three-point range.

DAYTON, Ohio - The Dayton Flyers handed La Salle its fifth loss in a row tonight, rolling to a 68-54 men's basketball victory at the UD Arena. Dayton pulled away from a 49-49 tie with seven minutes left by going on a 19-0 scoring run to seal the victory. Senior guard Rodney Green scored 16 points to lead the Explorers, who have lost seven of their last nine games. Marcus Johnson's 16 points led the winners. La Salle fell to 11-14 overall and 3-8 in the Atlantic Ten. Dayton improved to 18-7 and 7-4. The Flyers have won 12 of 13 home games this season and remain in the hunt for a first-round bye in next month's A-10 tournament.

COMING INTO the season, La Salle had thoughts of capturing the Atlantic 10 title. That was before the injuries - and the losses - began to mount. Now, with four regular-season games left, the shorthanded Explorers will be fortunate to qualify for the conference tournament - especially after losing yesterday to visiting St. Bonventure, 77-66. La Salle coach John Giannini's focus, however, was geared more to the well-being of his remaining players, even after his team's losing skid reached a season-high six games.

La Salle was 18-13 in 2008-09. The 2009-10 season was where all the work was going to pay off. Coach John Giannini had four seniors on his roster. Somewhere during the season, all were going to be 1,000-point scorers and, by season's end, the Explorers were going to be in their first postseason tournament since 1992. That was the plan. The plan was altered when three of the four seniors were injured and missed most of or substantial parts of the season. First, Ruben Guillandeaux.

Player, School                 Major                   GPA Yves Mekongo, La Salle          Integrated Science             3.82 Malcolm Ingram, Philadelphia U. International Business           3.62 Mike Yocum, Philadelphia U.    Marketing                    3.95 Sharif Bray, Cheyney             Recreation, Leisure Management 3.44 ...

After a disappointing basketball season, La Salle received good news Tuesday when the Atlantic Ten Conference granted senior guard Ruben Guillandeaux a medical hardship redshirt, allowing him to play next season. Guillandeaux was injured at the Charleston Classic in November. A stress fracture in his right foot caused him to miss the rest of the season. "I'm excited," Guillandeaux said. "I am finally able to show everyone my true potential after not doing it this year. " With Guillandeaux back, La Salle has a veteran presence in its backcourt to usher in new guards Earl Pettis and recruits Tyreek Duren and Sam Mills.

Usually, fever-pitched emotion has a strong influence on the outcome of games between Big Five rivals. Certainly, there was plenty of it when St. Joseph's and La Salle went at it last night at Hagan Arena. But more so, cold calculation ultimately was the difference as the Hawks grabbed the 12th and final playoff berth in the Atlantic Ten Conference tourney with a methodical 74-59 win in a regular-season finale. The victory put St. Joe's (11-19, 5-11 A-10) in a first-round game against No. 5 seed Rhode Island on Tuesday night in Kingston, R.I. For La Salle (12-18, 4-12)

If they had their druthers, the St. Joseph's Hawks and La Salle Explorers would be playing for higher stakes than the 12th and final playoff position in the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament when they meet today at Hagan Arena in the final regular-season game for both teams. But considering the long, difficult seasons the Big Five rivals have had, along with the possibility that the loser will be packing away the uniforms, there's little doubt they will go at each other as if a championship were on the line.

Early in the second half last night, Rodney Green offered the meager Tom Gola Arena crowd that has followed his exploits through four years at La Salle a perfect photo opportunity. The 6-foot-5 guard who typically performs with understated grace, flushed the ball through the hoop with a flourish after making a steal at mid-court, hanging onto the rim with two hands for an extra moment, as if posing for a snapshot. It was senior night, and Green and his teammates wanted to at long last experience the joy of winning, which they did as La Salle (12-17, 4-11 Atlantic Ten)

The next time a coach tells a bench player he'd better be ready because you never know what might happen, he should cite Steve Weingarten as Exhibit A. Weingarten is a 6-foot-8 junior forward at La Salle who didn't figure to be much of a factor this season. But as injuries and a suspension pared coach John Giannini's roster down to seven scholarship players, Weingarten was called on to step it up. Has he ever. Weingarten had one of the better performances this season by an Atlantic Ten player in Sunday's 77-66 loss to St. Bonaventure, scoring 18 points and pulling down 17 rebounds, nine off the offensive boards.

There may be no college player in the city carrying a heavier burden than La Salle's Rodney Green. He and the three senior classmates who entered the university four years ago had designs on turning around a program that hasn't been involved in March Madness since 1992. But the 6-foot-5 Green is the last senior standing. The others - Ruben Guillandeaux, Kimmani Barrett, and Yves Mekongo - have been reduced to spectators because of injuries. In a 77-66 loss to St. Bonaventure yesterday at Tom Gola Arena, one that extended La Salle's losing streak to six games and further jeopardized its chance of qualifying for the Atlantic Ten Conference tourney, it appeared that the strain on Green may have taken a toll.

COMING INTO the season, La Salle had thoughts of capturing the Atlantic 10 title. That was before the injuries - and the losses - began to mount. Now, with four regular-season games left, the shorthanded Explorers will be fortunate to qualify for the conference tournament - especially after losing yesterday to visiting St. Bonventure, 77-66. La Salle coach John Giannini's focus, however, was geared more to the well-being of his remaining players, even after his team's losing skid reached a season-high six games.

DAYTON, Ohio - The Dayton Flyers handed La Salle its fifth loss in a row tonight, rolling to a 68-54 men's basketball victory at the UD Arena. Dayton pulled away from a 49-49 tie with seven minutes left by going on a 19-0 scoring run to seal the victory. Senior guard Rodney Green scored 16 points to lead the Explorers, who have lost seven of their last nine games. Marcus Johnson's 16 points led the winners. La Salle fell to 11-14 overall and 3-8 in the Atlantic Ten. Dayton improved to 18-7 and 7-4. The Flyers have won 12 of 13 home games this season and remain in the hunt for a first-round bye in next month's A-10 tournament.