Much has been made about some of the individual talents that Dr. John Giannini can look to, but for much of the season the La Salle Explorers haven't lived up to the expectations. Wednesday night offered the perfect opportunity to slip even further in the Atlantic 10 standings following losses to Temple and Dayton, especially when they trailed Saint Louis 75-68 with 4:03 left in the game. But the Explorers (12-13, 4-6) fought back, eventually winning the game 79-78 on a Ruben Guillandeaux layup with 19 seconds remaining. Guillandeaux and Jerrell Williams scored 20 points apiece to lead the Explorers while Brian Conklin scored 18 to lead Saint Louis (8-15, 3-7), who have lost four of their last five games. Saint Louis out-rebounded La Salle 38-31 and outscored them 42-32 in the paint, but their 17 turnovers resulted in 22 La Salle points.

The first half featured good offensive play on both sides, with neither team leading by more than seven points and both teams shooting better than 56% from the field. Aaric Murray scored 11 of his 18 for La Salle in the first half, allowing the Explorers to keep close inside as the Billikens led 44-43 at the break. Kyle Cassity was outstanding for Saint Louis, accounting for 12 points and five assists without turning the ball over once in the first half. The second half would be played tight as well, but the Billikens were able to pull away with a 7-0 run that featured four points in the paint. A Brian Conklin free throw with 4:03 remaining put the Billikens up by seven, but the Explorers would answer about a minute later as Earl Pettis knocked down a three pointer to cut the lead to four with 3:10 remaining.