On Tuesday, there will be a desperate battle between No. 7 La Salle and No. 10 Richmond in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tourney, with the winner moving on the quarterfinals.
The Explorers (20-11, 9-7) are coming in with a two game winning streak after beating George Washington and St. Bonaventure. Previous to those two games, La Salle had lost five of six and was reeling. It will be interesting to see which team shows up tomorrow night.
Earl Pettis will have to continue his exceptional play if the Explorers are going to make a cinderella run in the tournament. Pettis is not only the leading scorer but also the most consistent, always able to be counted on. Conversely, Ramon Galloway has to step up. He's scored just 16 points over the past two games.
The Spiders (16-15, 7-9) have also been playing well lately, winning three of their lost four with only a loss to Xavier. They come into the game with some confidence having beaten La Salle in a nail-biter back in February 78-76.
In that game, Derrick Williams had a wonderful effort with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Amazingly, the rebounding margin was 45-24 in favor of Richmond.
If the Explorers want to move on, they'll have to clean the glass with much better efficiency.
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