TOWSON, Md. - The date was December 29, 2010. Towson had just beaten La Salle, 93-90, in overtime with seven players that included two walk-ons. Isaiah Philmore and Braxton Dupree had 27 points each to lead the Tigers in one of their best road wins in years.
The significance of that win? It was Towson's (0-7, 0-1 CAA) last victory in 27 games. Yes, the Tigers have lost 25 straight regular season games and 26 games if you include a loss in the CAA Tournament.
Why are the Tigers in this predicament? Philmore transferred to Xavier and Dupree left to play professionally. Erique Gumbs, who went scoreless against La Salle in 11 minutes, is the only player on this year's club who played in that game.
La Salle went on to go 15-18 overall and 6-10 in the Atlantic 10 last year. But, Dr. John Giannini's team appears to be on the right track this season despite having just two returning starters. One of his starters from last season, Aric Murray (13.6 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game), decided to transfer to West Virginia.
This year, the Explorers (5-3) have had some impressive wins against CAA teams at home, defeating James Madison (92-83) and Northeastern (68-51). Their last win came at home against Bucknell, 78-52.
The Explorers' losses came against Villanova on the road, 76-69, Pittsburgh on the road by four and Robert Morris (51-44) at The Palestra (Philly's historic field house).
One thing that jumps out at you that La Salle is a pretty small team so the Explorers must compensate with quickness. In their eight games, the Explorers average 72.6 points per game, so they like an up-tempo game. The Explorers shoot 44% from the field, 74.3% from the line and 39% (61-158) from beyond the arc.
The bad news is that the Explorers force 16 turnovers per game, which is not a good sign for a team that turns the ball over 22.1 times per game. The good news is that La Salle is getting outrebounded by five rebounds per game. Despite getting outrebounded by 15 against George Mason on Saturday, the Tigers are still outrebounding their opponents by more than two per game.
La Salle is led by senior wing Earl Pettis (6-5, 215), who originally started his career at Rutgers. Pettis leads the Explorers in scoring with a 14.3 average while shooting 43% from the field, 33.3% (13-39) from beyond the arc and 81% from the line. Pettis, who averages 4.9 rebounds per game, basically defends power forwards as the Explorers start four guards.
Point guard Tyreek Duren (6-0. 180) is second in scoring by averaging 13.9 points per game and leads the team with 37 assists. He shoots 48% from the floor and has made 31% of his three-point attempts (7 of 23).
Sophomore guard Sam Mills (6-2, 180) is a solid defender who is fourth in the A-10 by averaging 2.5 three point field goals made per game (18-for-38). He averages 12.3 points per game and shoots better from outside the arc (47%) than he does from the field overall (42%). He's also second on the team with 23 assists.
One of the major reasons La Salle can go four guards is that junior guard Ramon Galloway (6-3,175) transferred from South Carolina and was eligible to play right away after receiving a hardship waiver. He averages 13.6 points per game while shooting a blazing 49% from the floor and 41% (12-29) from beyond the arc. He missed three games earlier this season after suffering a concussion.
At center, freshman Jerrell Wright (6-8, 230) doesn't have to dominate offfensively. Wright averages 7.5 points per game (49% FG) and leads the team by averaging 5.1 rebounds per game.
On the bench, La Salle is led by senior big man Devon White (6-8, 240), who has started four games. He averages 7.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while playing 17.6 minutes per contest. Junior guard Taylor Dunn (6-2, 200) averages 4.0 points per game as 27 of his 32 points have come from beyond the arc.
The Tigers face La Salle on Wednesday night at the Towson Center at 7 p.m. There will be an in-game blog available on TowsonTigers.com and the game will be broadcast on WNST-AM 1570.
