Whatever 23 years weighs, it is a load best shared.

The last time La Salle won a game in the NCAA tournament, Lionel Simmons wore one of those blue-and-gold uniforms on his lean, athletic frame. On Wednesday night, the bespectacled, 44-year-old Simmons sat in the stands - the embodiment of all the years that had passed since La Salle's last great era.

If those years added a gray hair or two to Simmons' beard, they represented an undeserved burden for the current Explorers. They might have been babies, or not yet born, when the L Train rolled through, but the blue-and-gold unis on their backs weigh exactly 23 years.

Or did. Until this: La Salle 80, Boise State 71.

"To be honest," point guard Tyreek Duren said, "people have been telling us how long it's been for a while. I didn't really want to focus on it. We wanted to take it one game at a time. We didn't really want to look back at the history."

But it was there. It was there last week, when the Explorers lost two important games against tough Atlantic Ten Conference opponents. In both losses, senior Ramon Galloway struggled visibly. His last chance to make the NCAA tournament, to end that 23-year drought, appeared heavy on his mind.

"You don't have to do it alone," John Giannini, his coach, told Galloway.

Share the weight. It will be easier to carry.

And so it was that Sam Mills buried three three-point baskets in the opening salvo against Boise State Wednesday night. So it was that D.J. Peterson made a couple of big shots. So it was that Duren played rock steady while Tyrone Garland comet-trailed around the floor. So it was that Jerrell Wright opened the second half with three buckets in a row.

Nine minutes in, Galloway drove from the right. He put up a running one-hander that floated in, giving La Salle an 18-11 lead. Two minutes later, Galloway fired from downtown (if Dayton had a downtown), a three-point shot to make it 25-12.

With the weight off his back, Galloway played like Galloway. He set the tone on defense. He distributed the ball. When he slammed home an alley-oop from Garland to make it 31-17, La Salle had its biggest lead of the first half.

Galloway's 'A' game alleviated Giannini's biggest concern. The second, the impact of center Steve Zack's absence, was a little trickier. Boise State's 6-foot-9 Ryan Watkins was scoring a little too easily early, and the Broncos were able to control the boards on defense.

But the smaller, quicker Explorers just kept buzzing around. They moved the ball around and made their outside shots.

If there was any doubt La Salle deserved to be in the tournament, it was wiped away quickly. If there was any disappointment at being sent to Dayton for the "first round" - what used to be called play-in games - that was also quickly erased. Games in the quirky (and packed) University of Dayton Arena have all the buzz and sparkle of any other site on opening weekend of the tournament.

Four teams convene here. Two go on. Two go home. This year, Dayton is also hosting the second and third rounds. So eight more teams, including Temple, were pouring into town Wednesday.

The La Salle and Temple camps crossed paths in their hotel lobby. The place might as well be at Broad and Allegheny.

And there was a little extra bonus for the Explorers. The Thursday and Friday action is a kaleidoscope of last-second shots and arm-waving coaches. On Wednesday night, La Salle and Boise State were the only tournament game available to the millions of bracket-clutching fans hungry to start checking off wins.

Nobody was hungrier for a win than La Salle and its fans, not after 23 years. It was a big moment for Giannini, his players and the rest of the La Salle community to hear their name called Sunday. But getting a win - that elevates the program in a profound way.

The Explorers had to hustle to make a charter flight to Kansas City after the game. They will practice Thursday among Villanova and the six other teams playing on a kaleidoscopic Friday. It is from such experiences that winning programs are built.

Besides, it's always more fun to make history than to carry it on your back.