 Green Leads Explorers To Senior Day Victory Over UMass, 89-78
March 3, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Rodney Green had a senior day to remember, scoring 30 points and leading La Salle to an 89-78 win over Massachusetts on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena. He led four Explorers in double-figures and helped the Blue and Gold reach a season-high in points. "It was my last time here in Tom Gola Arena and I just wanted to give 120%," Green said. "I got a lot of open shots and they were falling tonight." The win was important for Atlantic 10 playoff implications. La Salle is now tied for 11th place with Saint Joseph's and the Minutemen. The top 12 teams will qualify for the conference tournament, which begins Tuesday on campus sites. A win on Saturday over St. Joe's would give La Salle the 11th seed, while a La Salle loss and Rhode Island victory over UMass would give the Explorers the 12th seed. The only scenario that would leave La Salle at home is an Explorer loss at SJU and a Massachusetts win over Rhode Island. Green was sensational against the Minutemen in his final appearance at Tom Gola Arena. The Philadelphia product, who also scored 30 versus UMass last season and owned a 18.3 ppg. scoring average against the Minutemen coming into the game, shot 8-for-17 from the field and 13-for-16 from the line. It was two short of a career-high set earlier this season and gives him 1,902 points for his career. But he was far from alone in leading LU to victory. Junior Jerrell Williams filled the stat-sheet, scoring 14 points, dishing a career-high tying nine assists and grabbing eight boards. Freshman Aaric Murray and Steve Weingarten each had 13 points. Massachusetts' Ricky Harris did all he could to keep his young team in the contest, scoring 31 points on 11-for-26 shooting. He made eight threes and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. La Salle (12-17, 4-11 A-10) led by eight at halftime and held a double-digit advantage for most of the second half. A 8-0 UMass (10-19, 4-11 A-10) run made it 63-59 with 7:55 to play but it was as close as the visitors would get. The Explorers recognized their four seniors in a pre-game ceremony. Green joined classmates Ruben Guillandeaux, Kimmani Barrett and Yves Mekongo prior to the game with head coach Dr. John Giannini and director of athletics Dr. Tom Brennan. La Salle visits Saint Joseph's on Saturday at 4 PM. The game will be televised locally on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.
|
