GAME NOTES: The La Salle Explorers conclude a three-game homestand tonight, as they take on the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in Atlantic 10 Conference play at Tom Gola Arena. After reeling off three straight wins, all on the road, the Explorers figured to be in pretty good shape heading into their current home swing. Unfortunately, things haven't gone exactly to plan, as La Salle has dropped its first two games on the homestand, including an 81-74 setback to Saint Louis on Saturday. The team has now dropped all three of its league home games, while going 2-0 on the road against conference foes. The Explorers, who now sit at 7-11 overall, have fallen in four of their six games overall at Gola Arena this season. As for SBU, it remained winless in league play (0-5) following an 89-77 setback to Rhode Island on Saturday. It was the fifth loss in a row for the Bonnies, who slipped to 6-13 overall. To make matters worse, SBU now takes to the road, where it has gone a dismal 0-10 thus far. SBU was defeated by La Salle, 72-61, earlier this month and that knotted the head-to- head series at 9-9 between the programs.

The Bonnies haven't had much success at the offensive end of the court this season, averaging only 64.9 ppg on a modest 41.5 percent shooting from the field. Michael Lee however, has been a bright spot for SBU and he leads the team in scoring (17.2 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg) and steals (30). Zarryon Fereti has formed a solid one-two punch with Lee and he contributes 15.1 ppg and 4.3 rpg. In the team's last game, the Bonnies turned the ball over 17 times and that led to 19 points for Rhode Island in an 89-77 setback. SBU, which knocked down 12-of-31 long-range attempts to hang around, was only able to create five turnovers in the loss. Fereti paced SBU with 26 points on 5- of-9 three-point field goals, while Lee was held to eight points and seven rebounds.

At the offensive end of the floor and on the boards is where the Explorers have fared well this season, scoring 73.7 ppg and outrebounding their foes by 6.4 rpg. Darnell Harris is the team's top scorer at 16.1 ppg and he is shooting a sizzling 48.9 percent from long distance. Rodney Green has helped to take some of the pressure off Harris, as he puts forth 12.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg. In the club's prior contest, La Salle lacked any sort of defense, allowing Saint Louis to shoot a blistering 63.0 percent from the floor in an 81-74 loss. The Explorers kept things close by knocking down 10-of-25 long- range attempts, but it just wasn't enough in the end. Yves Mekongo Mbala guided the team in defeat with 18 pints, while Jerrell Williams notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Harris also got into the mix, scoring 13 points.

La Salle is due for a win at home and behind a solid showing on offense, it should be able to get the job done against a slumping SBU club.