Men's Basketball | November 18, 2016
PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle men's basketball team will play host to Southwestern Athletic Conference preseason favorite Texas Southern at Gola Arena on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3:00 p.m. Homecoming festivities will take place throughout the day.
NEWS & NOTES
•Senior
Jordan Price led a trio of players in double figures with 15 points while adding five rebounds and three assists in a 74-68 win over Delaware in the home opener on Nov. 11.
•Junior transfers
Pookie Powell and
Demetrius Henry played a big role in the outcome, combining for 25 points and hitting a number of big shots down the stretch.
•Leading by one with five minutes remaining, Henry had back-to-back buckets to push the margin back to five at the 3:36 mark.
•Following a three-pointer by the Blue Hens, Powell connected on a three-pointer before a dunk by Henry put the lead at 68-61 with just over two minutes left.
•The Explorers shot an even 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half and dished out 19 assists on 26 made field goals.
SCOUTING TEXAS SOUTHERN
•Preseason SWAC favorite Texas Southern enters Saturday with a 2-1 record and is coming off an impressive 71-68 road win at in-state rival Rice on Wednesday.
•Prior to the contest against the Tigers, Rice had went on the road to defeat James Madison in emphatic fashion, 94-70.
•Minnesota transfer Zach Lofton had a team-high 26 points and recorded a block on a three-point attempt in the closing seconds by the Owls that sealed the win.
•Last season's SWAC Player of the Year as a freshman, Derrick Griffin had 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while adding three blocked shots. Griffin was also a preseason All-American as a tight end in football after being named to the Associated Press All-America team a season ago.
•Head coach Mike Davis has led the Tigers to NCAA Tournament appearances in two of the last three seasons and last year went an impressive 16-2 in regular-season conference play.
EXPLORERS FEND OFF UD FOR FIRST WIN
•La Salle established a 13-point, second-half lead against Delaware in its home opener, then withstood a furious comeback to come away with its first win of the year.
•A pair of free throws from
Pookie Powell, who had 14 points, put the margin at 51-38 with just over 10 minutes left in the 2nd half.
•Delaware responded later in the stanza with a 10-0 run that cut the margin to one with five minutes left.
•Powell and fellow transfer
Demetrius Henry helped keep the Blue Hens at bay, however, with nine consecutive points between them in less than two minutes.
STORIED HISTORIESÂ
•La Salle and Texas Southern boast two of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history in their alumni databases.
•Lionel Simmons, who led the Explorers from 1987-90 and was named the 1990 Player of the Year, ranks third in NCAA Division I history with 3,217 points.
•Simmons went on to play seven seasons in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, and was runner-up to Derrick Coleman for the 1991 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.
•Harry Kelly scored 3,066 points for Texas Southern during his four-year career that spanned from 1979-83.Â
•A two-time NCAA scoring champion who was nicknamed "Machine Gun" for his scoring prowess, the 6-7 Kelly was drafted in the fourth round by the Atlanta Hawks in 1983.
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