Arena #154: Tom Gola Arena - La Salle vs. #20 Dayton

For Arena #154, I scheduled probably one of my more aggressive drives in going from Greensboro, NC to Philadelphia, PA for a visit to Tom Gola Arena on the campus of La Salle University.  I originally was planning to stop in Annapolis on this day for a game at the US Naval Academy, but when I saw that La Salle was hosting a top 20 ranked Dayton Flyers team, with one of the more electrifying players in the country in Obi Toppin, I had to call an audible.  La Salle is one of the Philly Big 5 schools and is the fourth of the five schools I’ve now visited (only Temple left).  Gola Arena was certainly one of the stranger venues that I’ve been to in that the arena itself was on a completely different level than the concourse and concessions.  Additionally, I was disappointed to find out that my ticket at center court in like the 16^th row was only a bleacher seat with no chairbacks (chairbacks ended the row in front of me…sigh).  Thankfully, they had a holiday promo with $10 tickets so I didn’t feel quite so disappointed in the value.  The on-court action certainly left a little to be desired, however, as La Salle was wholly dominated from tip to horn by the Flyers, though I certainly did enjoy the athleticism and skills that Toppin displayed during the game.  I look forward to seeing what this Flyers team does in March, especially given their performance in the Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving week.

Outside of the Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia

A+ creativity in painting the bleachers to spell out La Salle

Opening tip between the Flyers and Explorers

La Salle with the floater early in the contest