LaSalle-Explorers.com 2002-03 Articles

2002-03 La Salle Explorer Articles

2002-03 Season in Review
3/17/03
Exclusively from La Salle Explorers.com

Expectations of the season changed a few times during the season. First, the loss of Reggie Okosa for the entire season due to unspecified rules violations had turned a promising season into one of uncertainty. How would the Explorers replace Okosa's rebounding and scoring? Next, Mike Cleaves' injury to his knee which caused him to miss a couple of games and limited his minutes in a handful of other games. Who would pick up the leadership? On January 11 Lewis Fadipe suffered an elbow injury and was lost for the remainder of the season. How would this affect the rotation? Then, the unthinkable happened. On February 8, in a game against Duquesne, Steven Smith injured his ankle and was lost for the remainder of the season. Could the Explorers survive without him?

The first answer is that Steven Smith became one of the best inside players in the Atlantic 10 and he won 3 A10 Rookie of the Week Awards prior to his injury. Smith averaged 14.4 points (on 51% shooting) and 8.1 rebounds per game. Second, A10 ROY Gary "The Silencer" Neal (18.6 ppg) and Jermaine Thomas (11.5 ppg and 4.3 apg) learned a great deal from Cleaves and played extended minutes. Third, the loss of Fadipe hurt Lewis the most as he was starting to develop into a good inside player. David "Bones" Bell (7.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg) gained valuable experience for next year. And finally, the Explorers could only beat Fordham and Duquesne without the services of Steven Smith.

The Explorers had a record of 10-10 on February 8 and looked poised to make a run at the NIT. The loss of Smith due to injury ended that run. With a win credited due to a Saint Bonaventure forfeit, the Explorers finished the season at 13-16.

Coach Hahn has promised that the players will have an off-season program that includes weight training. Most of the players will also participate in the Sonny Hill Summer League.

With a talented incoming freshman class and continued improvement from this years' group the Explorers should finally see a winning season next year.

Closure to Frustrating Season Due to Injuries
3/13/03 by Explorer Steve
No. 25 Saint Joe's Wins 68-48.
The Explorers held the lead for the majority of the first half but trailed 28-23 at halftime. Gary Neal and Jermaine Thomas scored 13 each. Jameer Nelson picked up his 3rd fould with 17 minutes to go but did not pick up another one the rest of the game.

La Salle tied the game at 28 with 18:30 to go but then started to make bad decisions. For some reason Pat Carroll was left wide open and he nailed two consecutive three pointers that put the lead of what was a close game at 12 with 13:50 to go.

Did you notice the ref blowing the whistle while the Explorers were running their offense to "warn" Martelli that if he kept up the screaming he would be given a technical! Coach Hahn was livid; is it even in the NCAA rules while the other team has the ball to stop play to warn a coach? Also, the game was still close when Martelli should have received the technical. Dick Jerardi, of the Philadelphia Daily News, admitted to me that the ref was "wrong" for doing this.

The injured Steven Smith and Lewis Fadipe made the trip and sat on the bench. Thus concludes the strangest season in Explorer basketball history. However, we have very much to look forward to next season when the healthy Explorers look to payback opponents for lumps they had to take this season.

The Silencer is A10 ROY and 2nd Team All-A10
3/11/03

Gary "The Silencer" Neal a 6-4 Freshman Guard from Baltimore, MD was named Atlantic 10 Rookie Of the Year for 2002-03.

Gary led the Explorers in scoring with an 18.7 point per game regular season average which was tops among Atlantic 10 rookies. The 5 time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week scored 30 or more points 5 times so far this season. He led La Salle in scoring 15 times during the regular season. He also averages 4.2 rebounds a game.

Gary has scored 527 points in the 28 games this season.

Neal was also named to second team for the A10 conference and for All-Rookie team. Teammate Steven Smith was also selected to the All-Rookie team.

Explorers Get Ticket To Dayton
3/10/03 by Explorer Steve
La Salle handles Fordham in A10 Opening Round 74-62.

Gary Neal (21 points), Jermaine Thomas (18 points) and David Bell (13 points, 8 boards) paced the Explorers at Gola Arena.

The Fordham Rams were led by Michael Haynes with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

It is on to Dayton Arena on Thursday to play the Hawks in a revenge game.
Can the Explorers make a run in the tourney without Steven Smith? Will the Hawks be ready for Hahn's revised offensive game plan?

Injured Explorers Caught In Spiders Web
3/8/03 by Hoops Tick
The Richmond Spiders took full advantage of the injured Explorers in the regular season finale. Final score Richmond 75, La Salle 62.

Gary Neal continued his awesome season with 21 points and 5 rebounds in 38 minutes. He did not get much help from his teammates. How did we let Jamal Scott score 22 points and how does La Salle only have 4 assists for an entire game? There has to be more heart and desire to prevent that type of performance despite the injuries.

La Salle will close out another season at the Gola Arena with an A10 first round tourney game against the 2 win Fordham Rams on Monday. The Explorers had better be ready to play.

Temple Dooms Explorers 68-58
3/6/03 by LSU Mascot

The Explorers were down 1 at the half. The game was tied at 8 minutes to go and at 4 minutes to go. Close throughout before Temple made one last spurt to push us away.

Jermaine Thomas had some open shots, Gary Neal did not. Thomas hit his shots, Neal did not. Flo Larkai played hard, scored some important baskets, and did not look clueless against 6-11 Butler of Temple. Quadri hit some shots, and is listed as having 3 turnovers during the game. I saw him hit some shots, saw him miss a few more, but could have sworn he had at least 4 turnovers in the second half alone, two in a row against Polk, actually.

La Salle lost, and this was a game we needed to win. Maybe a better outing against Richmond?

Dukes Dethroned by Explorers 71-66

3/1/03 by LSU Mascot

The following are my game-day observations.

From the pregame radio show, La Salle announcer, Kale Beers talked about how Coach Hahn was emphasizing to his team at practice that this season is not over. There are three winnable games in front of us, which would take us to 14-13 (with a win from a St. Bonaventure forfeit) and a home game in the first round of the A10 tourney. We can win these games, and will take a shot at the Dukes, Temple and Richmond before the tourney. That is the message I heard.

Duquesne took a very early lead, then La Salle went on a run. Although up by 14 in the second half, up by 7 with 5 minutes to go, our cold shooting let the Dukes back in to take a lead with only 2 minutes left. Yet we came back with some good defense and timely free throw shooting.

We had 36 free throws and the Dukes had 15. Since I only heard the game on the radio, I assume the refs did a fine job. I would like to see more games with a 36-15 free throw advantage to our Explorers. This will become more likely when we drive strong to the hoop more and play more of an inside game going forward.

With our win and GW's heartbreaking loss, we put ourselves in good position to get a home game for the first round of the A10 tourney. Two more wins would guarantee a home game - let's work on that.

Quadri was our leading scorer at halftime with 14. He finished with 14. We won.

Nightmare Near Locust Street
2/24/03 by Explorer Steve
Injury Plagued Explorers Lose at Palestra
La Salle played tough for the first 15 minutes of the first half and were tied at 22 but the absence of Steven Smith was evident as Saint Joe's finished the half on a 18-7 run. David Bell shot a horrendous 0 for 9 from the field for the half and a dismal 2 for 15 for the game. He finished with 11 points, 13 boards. Gary Neal had 13 points and Rasheed Quadri finished with 10 points. Jermaine Thomas (1 point and 4 assists in 17 minutes) is still hampered an aggravated knee injury from the Rhode Island game.

The Hawks are for real and are a definite NCAA caliber team. Their leader Jameer Nelson had a game high 18 points.

The Explorers missed open layups and jumpers in a 26% shooting effort. It looks as though this team will have to settle for playing out the string and get healthy for next season.

Neal Seals the Deal
2/24/03
Gary "The Silencer" Neal won his fifth A10 ROW Award. Gary averaged 34 points for the week.

Discouraging and Infuriating Loss to Lowly GW
2/22/03 by Explorer Steve

It was a game that the Explorers should have won. Instead they come home with a 72-67 loss. The Smith Center curse continues as La Salle is now winless there in 8 attempts.

Late in the second half GW only commited 2 personal fouls to go along with 2 technical fouls!

Gary Neal had 31 points for the Explorers. The coaches have to find a way to get the rest of the players to play with the intensity and desire that Neal does. Jermaine Thomas and David Bell need to contribute much more offensively. Mike Cleaves' injury will limit his minutes the rest of the season as he is not the same player as he was last season.

3 Musketeers Bar Explorers Win
2/19/03 by Explorer Steve
The 14th ranked Xavier Musketeers beat an injured La Salle squad 93-71. Xavier was led by Romain Sato (35 points), Anthony Myles (17 points, 12 boards) and Lionel Chalmers (13 points).

Gary "The Silencer" Neal pounded the Xavier defense for a career best 37 points but did not have enough offensive support from his teammates. Rasheed Quadri had 7 points and 3 boards in 14 minutes. David Bell had a disappointing 6 points on 3 for 12 shooting. Jermaine Thomas also had a poor shooting night (3 for 16).

The Explorers need a victory against GW on Saturday to build momentum down the stretch. A game against Big 5 rival Saint Joe's follows on Monday.

The Silencer Wins Fourth ROW
2/16/03
Gary "The Silencer" Neal won his fourth A10 ROW Award.

He scored a game-high 30 points at Rhode Island. Gary also had seven rebounds and four assists against the Rams. He has scored 20 or more points in 11 games this season, including three games of 30 or more points.

With freshman teammate Steven Smith expected to miss 4 weeks Gary will have little competition for the A10 ROY award.

Explorers Sloppy in Loss
2 /12/03 by Hoops Tick
The Explorers could not score for the first 4 minutes of each half. To their credit their Explorers did battle back from deficits to cut the lead to 5 points at 57-52. However, there was sloppy execution on the offensive end and some unforced turnovers that contributed to the 77-65 loss.

Gary "The Silencer" Neal hushed the home crowd on numerous occassions as he poured in 30 points. David Bell had 12 points.

The Explorers remain winless in Rhode Island in a game that was within their reach. However, the Rams shot unbelievable at the charity stripe in connecting on 82%. They came into the game only shooting 65% for the season. Lazare Adingono had a career high 24 points for the Rhode Island Rams.

Hostile, Arrogant Official Greets Explorers and their Coach
It is never easy playing on the road against hostile fans. But when an official turns hostile and arrogant to the visiting team then that is a matter for the league office.

Referee Ray Perone set the tone for the entire game for La Salle. Coach Billy Hahn was hit with a Technical foul a couple of minutes into the game and told "you are done refereeing in this game" by Perone. Hahn hardly said anything to warrant a technical. Several minutes later Coach Barron of Rhode Island was on the free throw line arguing a call but Perone only yelled a few comments but no technical was given.

The other 2 refs (Joe DeMayo and Jeff Clark) called a fair game. In fact, Jeff Clark did not call a technical on the La Salle bench for screaming because he knew one of Perone's calls was horrendous. What is the point to all of this? Perone's lack of calls against physical Rhode Island play may have led to another major Explorer injury.

Jermaine Thomas (JT) was injured on what many would consider a hard foul by the opponent yet he was called for an offensive foul! JT returned to the game and was injured again on what should have been a foul against Rhodey but the whistles remained silent. Perone was the closest official on both of those plays.

Smith Out 4 Weeks
2/11/03

Steven Smith, the front runner for A10 Rookie of the Year, will miss at least 6 games due to an ankle injury that occured late in the second half of the Duquesne game.

The earliest Smith could be back is the regular season finale at Richmond on March 8.

Bell Rings Up Dukes
2/8/03 by Hoops Tick

Freshman David "Bones" Bell had a huge game as La Salle beat the Duquesne Dukes 82-74. Bell had a breakout game with a career best 20 points and 8 boards.

David Bell

Steven Smith had another double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Gary "The Silencer" Neal also chipped in with 19 points despite not shooting very well from the field.

The Explorers are back to .500 as they moved their record to 10-10.

Jimmy Tricco had 23 points for the Dukes as he connected on seven three-pointers.

The Explorers travel to Rhode Island on Wednesday and then get a full week to prepare for Xavier at home.

Ugly Win Against Rams
02/05/03 by Hoops Tick

The Explorers beat the Fordham Rams 74-61 to extend Fordham's all-time winless record in the city of Philadelphia to 0-27. The game featured 41 total turnovers including 20 by La Salle.

After the game Billy Hahn said "we need to execute much better but we'll take the win."

Gary "The Silencer" Neal led the way again with 25 points. Sturdy Steven Smith had another double-double with 14 points and 14 boards. Flo Larkai had a career high 12 points in 24 minutes.

Michael Haynes of Fordham was held to 12 points.

Duquesne will be a very tough game on Saturday as they lost to Dayton at home by a point 76-75 this evening (Wednesday).

The Silencer Claims Third ROW Award
2/02/03
Gary Neal, the Silencer, received his third Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week award of the season. Gary averaged 20 points per game in two La Salle games this past week. Gary tied a career high with 33 points against Dayton.

Critical Turnovers Prevent Victory
2/01/03 by Explorer Steve

The Explorers lost 75-70 to the Dayton Flyers. A few critical turnovers by Mike Cleaves helped Dayton escape with the victory. Coach Hahn later admitted that Cleaves should not have played on his sprained ankle.
Photo by MJL93

The Explorer defense shut down Keith Waleskowski (#45), holding him to 7 points.

The Silencer, Gary Neal, had an awesome shooting game as he scored 33 points in 35 minutes. Steven Smith had 6 boards and 14 points. Jermaine Thomas contributed 11 points, 5 boards and 6 assists. La Salle shot over 50% from the floor but missed free throws were also costly as they only converted 50% from the line (8 for 16).

Brooks Hall had 17 points for Dayton.

The toughest stretch of the schedule is now behind the Explorers as they look to get back to the .500 level in the next couple of games. The injuries have not helped but Rasheed Quadri played today and did a good job defensively.

Quakers Experience Pays Off Big
1/28/03 by Explorer Steve
Photo by LSUMASCOT
Jermaine Thomas had 23 points against Big 5 rival Penn.

The Pennsylvania Quakers, playing on their home court, beat the Explorers 79-66 despite a 23 point effort by Jermaine Thomas. Mike Cleaves and David Bell each scored 10 points.

The Quakers were led by 6-8 senior Ugonna Onyekwe who had 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Photo by LSUMASCOT

La Salle rallied late in the first half to cut the Quaker halftime lead to 6 points. Penn started connecting on 3 pointers in the second half and it made things tough for the Explorers.

Third Time A Charm for Smith
Steven Smith Receives 3rd A10 ROW Award and First Big 5 Award.
1/27/03
Steven Smith earned his third Rookie of the Week award of the season. He averaged 18.5 points per game and 8 rebounds per game in two La Salle games this past week.

Smith also won the Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week Award. He is the first Explorer of the season to win this weekly honor.

Explorers Suffer Spider Bite
Officiating was horrific and favored Richmond.
1/25/03 by Hoops Tick

The Richmond Spiders escaped Gola with a 7 point win due in large part to a poor Atlantic 10 officiating crew. Moving picks and obvious travelling by Richmond were not called. Both coach Hahn and the crowd were livid at half time as Hahn scolded the officials.

Yet nothing changed in the second half. On one Explorer offensive sequence, two Richmond players hacked Steven Smith on the arm and when the whistles remained silent Richmond went the length of the floor and scored. I never witnessed officiating this bad even at the high school level. All any of us wants is even handed calls at both ends of the floor. The final was 62-55.

Photo by Explorer Steve

The Explorer defense held Tony Dobbins (with the ball) to 2 points in the first half and 15 total.

Steven Smith led La Salle with 20 points and 9 boards. David Bell is starting to play much better and contributed 7 rebounds to go with 12 points. Gary Neal missed 8 of 10 shots which was also a major disappointment.

Explorers Bruise Minutemen
La Salle Beats Old Foe Lappas Again.

1/22/03 by Explorer Steve

The Explorers played with the lead for most of the night as they pounded the Massachusetts Minutemen 78-57. The Silencer, Gary Neal, had a game high 19 points. Steven Smith added 17 points. La Salle is now 6-1 at home and 8-7 overall.

Anthony Anderson had 13 points for UMass.

UMass coach Steve Lappas is used to the Explorers beating him whether it be on the Main Line (Villanova), Manhattan or Massachusetts. UMass appears to be the second worst team in the A10 as only Fordham appears to be struggling more. Just wondering, do UMass fans want Bruiser back now?

After the game coach Hahn said "it was a great win for us as we got back our passion on defense."

Explorers Limp Home
Explorers Battle Back But Bonnies Win.
1/18/03 by Hoops Tick

The Explorer defense was the missing ingredient in a 87-77 loss to the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. Rasheed Quadri, one of our top defenders, did not play due to a wrist injury. Marques Green, the one player who could beat us, was allowed to put in 27 points for the Bonnies.

La Salle trailed by 12 at the half but was able to cut the deficit to 5 points on several occassions. Yet, every time they got close Green nailed a three-pointer.

However, the Explorer freshmen continue to impress. Steven Smith continues to get better and pumped in 23 points and grabbed 5 boards. Gary "The Silencer" Neal scored 20 points as he has recovered from his battle with the flu. David Bell had 9 points in 29 minutes.

Billy Hahn picked up a first half technical and the refs seemed to call a good game after that.

The team needs to regain some of the excitement and energy it had during the Rutgers win. Having four of the next five games at home should help. The Explorers will not leave the state of Pennsylvania until February 12 when they visit Rhode Island.

Frightful Rebounding Effort Leads To Blow Out
1/14/03 by Hoops Tick

The Xavier Musketeers are fortunate to have David West for this season. West had a double-double in the first half; he finished with 18 points and 15 boards. La Salle needs to continue to work on rebounding. The final was 80-47 in Xavier's favor.

Steven Smith led the Explorers with 16 points and 9 boards. David Bell had 9 points and 2 blocks.

The payback against Xavier may not come until next season but you can be sure Billy is going to have our guys ready for the Feb. 19 game at the Gola.

We also have to give a big thumbs down to the Atlantic 10 schedule maker for having us make two trips to Ohio in less then 6 days!

It was announced before the game that freshman forward Lewis Fadipe has undergone surgery on his left elbow and will miss the rest of the season.

Smith Gains Second Consecutive ROW Award
1/13/03

Steven Smith received his second straight Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week award as he averaged 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two games. He scored a career-high 22 points in the win over George Washington.

Defense Holds Colonials to 23% Shooting
Thomas, Larkai and Smith Step Up
1/11/03 by Explorer Steve
La Salle held the George Washington Colonials to 23 percent shooting from the floor (14 for 61) while connecting on 42 percent (22 for 52). 67-49 was the final.

The Explorers defense had George Washington confused the entire game. Photo by MJL93

Steven Smith had another huge game with 22 points, 9 boards, 2 blocks and a steal. He had a tremendous dunk in the second half that demoralized GW.

Jermaine Thomas played a very steady game with 17 points and 4 assists.

Flo Larkai chipped in with 9 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Gary Neal looked like he may have flu-like symptoms. He was only able to get 2 points in 23 minutes. However, "his teammates picked him up today" said coach Hahn.

Chris Monroe had 21 for GW.

Coach Hahn Show at the Ugly Moose
1/09/03
The first of 5 shows will be January 15th. Listen on 950 AM in Philly area or Yahoo! on the Internet. Come out and have a few beers with Kale and Billy.

Ugly Moose owner JP Boles said he will have drink and food specials during the show.

Also meet and greet members of the Explorer Club including LaSalle-Explorers.com domain owner Mascot and webmaster Explorer Steve.

Here's the Full Schedule...
Wed. January 15 - 7:00 PM
Thu. January 30 - 7:00 PM
Thu. February 6 - 7:00 PM
Thu. February 20 - 7:00 PM
Wed. February 26 - 7:00 PM

Flyers Nearly Grounded
Explorers Fight in Hostile Territory
1/08/03 by Explorer Steve
The Dayton Flyers escaped their home floor with a 76-72 win. La Salle's freshman played hard throughout the contest and came up just a little short in one of the A10's toughest places to play.

Gary Neal led La Salle with 26 points, including a three at the end of the first half that silenced the stunned Dayton crowd. The Explorers took a 34-30 lead into the half time break.

Steven Smith had another double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
David Bell contributed 10 points (4 for 5), a block, a steal and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes.

Unfortunately La Salle allowed Keith Waleskowski to score a season high 24 points and grab 13 rebounds.

Billy Hahn was not satisfied with the unforced turnovers and the failure to box out on free throw attempts in the second half.

Smith Named A10 ROW
1/6/03
Steven Smith was named Atlantic 10 Rookie Player of the Week for averaging 19.5 points and 14 boards in a pair of La Salle wins. He was an outstanding 14 for 20 (.700) from the field and made 10 of 13 (.769) from the line for the week.

He becomes the third Explorer freshman to win the award. La Salle has claimed 4 of the 8 weekly ROW Awards in the A10 thus far this season.

Explorers Defeat Scarlet Knights in OT Duel
Neal and Smith Handle Overtime Pressure

1/04/03 by Hoops Tick

Gary Neal had a career night with 33 points, including 10 in overtime, in an 83-75 overtime thriller over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Gary Neal hit several clutch baskets silencing the home crowd. None was more clutch then the overtime 3 pointer with 2:35 remaining that put La Salle up by 5 points.

Gary had help from key contributors. Steven Smith had his second consecutive double-double with 21 points and 13 boards. Mike Cleaves, playing at less then 100% due to surgery, handled the point for Jermaine Thomas who was plagued by foul trouble and eventually fouled out with 2:36 to go in regulation.

Ricky Shields scored 24 for Rutgers.

Rutgers had the last shot in regulation, a missed 3 pointer by Mike Sherrod. But Gary Neal hit a couple of 3 pointers in OT to put the lead out of reach to Rutgers. Coach Hahn said "this was a good win against a team that has eight wins." It was also a revenge game for Hahn's team as Rutgers won at the Gola Arena last season.

Bobcats Shot Down by Explorers
12/30/02 by Explorer Steve
The game started out slow for the Explorer offense but by the middle of the second half it started to flow with numerous "alley opps". La Salle beat the Quinnipiac Bobcats 82-71.

Mike Cleaves played for 9 minutes in the first half and scored 2 points. He did not see action in the second half. Cleaves is recovering from knee surgery and is trying to get to 100 percent by the Dayton game.

Steven Smith had a huge game with 18 points, 2 blocks and 15 rebounds in 35 minutes. Jermaine Thomas poured in 23 points. Another pleasant surprise was Lewis Fadipe who had 11 points, 4 blocks and 3 boards in 21 minutes of action.

Jermaine Thomas connects on a free throw attempt late in the second half. Photo by MJL.

It was an exciting and tense game. The dark haired official (Wally Rutecki) kept giving Quinnipiac calls despite loud protests from the crowd. But La Salle took control with focused play late in the second half.

Explorers Step On Big Red
12/28/02 by Hoops Tick

The Explorers played very well in a 73-59 victory over the Cornell Big Red. La Salle was a sizzling 28 for 52 from the floor (54%) and a respectable 11 for 16 from the line.

David Bell appears to be on his way to being a major contributor to the team as he scored 9 points. Jermaine Thomas added 16 points while Gary Neal had 12 points. Steven Smith had a big game with 14 points. Jeff Farmer chipped in with 8 points.

Cody Toppert scored a career best 27 points for Cornell.

The Explorers only had 10 turnovers for the game; an area where improvement was needed.

Southern Cal Quake Hits Explorers
Veteran USC team forces 28 Turnovers.
12/21/02 by Explorer Steve

USC soph Nick Curtis had a career game against the Explorers with 21 points and 8 boards.

Flo Larkai had 8 rebounds and Steven Smith contributed 11 points and 6 boards but the Explorers had too many turnovers, a season high 28.

David Bell's development is going to be important as the Explorers will need his contributions this season.

Explorer sophomore guard Mike Cleaves from Paterson, NJ will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

He injured the knee at Cincinnati after landing awkwardly while attempting a rebound. He was limited to just nine minutes of playing time.

Cleaves should be ready to go on January 8 at Dayton for the start of the A10 season.

Jermaine Thomas Named A10 ROW
12/16/02
A-10 Rookie of the Week
Jermaine Thomas from Frederick, MD scored a career-high 25 points in the Explorers' 65-62 loss at Cincinnati. He shot 6 for 11 from the field and made 12 of 13 from the foul line. He also handed out four assists and had two steals. He carried the workload when Mike Cleaves was injured. Thomas is ninth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 14.8 ppg and is fifth in assists with 4.7 per game.

Bearcats Barely Escape Explorer Traps
Freshmen respond in hostile territory
12/14/02 by Explorer Steve