La Salle was picked 13th out of 14 teams in the preseason Atlantic 10 poll. Yet in the second week of January, the Explorers are riding a six-game winning streak and will visit Dayton on Saturday (7 p.m.) looking to maintain sole possession of first place in the conference.
At 2-0, La Salle is the final Atlantic 10 unbeaten. The Explorers opened conference play with impressive victories against Xavier and UMass, then defeated Penn on Tuesday in a non-conference game. Sophomore guard Tyreek Duren scored 21 points to lead La Salle against Penn and has notched double-digit scoring in every win during the streak. Duren is still third on the team in scoring, behind Ramon Galloway (14.8 points) and Earl Pettis (14.4).
Dayton is 2-1 in the conference after losing to St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. Josh Parker scored a season-high 19 points to lead the Flyers, but Bonnies forward Andrew Nicholson was too much to handle, registering 30 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks.
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