PHILADELPHIA, PA - La Salle University men's basketball will open its 2004 campaign - the first under new head coach Dr. John Giannini - with a 2:05PM Saturday match-up against James Madison on November 20th at Tom Gola Arena.

The Explorers will take the court at Gola ten more times including a Tuesday, November 30th date with Southern California at 7:05 PM when Henry Bibby's Trojans become the first PAC-10 school to play on campus since the arena opened in 1997.

"As always the focal points of the schedule include an extremely tough Atlantic 10 schedule as well as the traditional Big 5 schedule," remarked Giannini. "Those games give us a great platform to play some of the great basketball teams throughout the east as well as the traditional city rivals."

Giannini also cited non-conference games against Cincinnati, Virginia Commonwealth, American and Central Connecticut State who played in their conference championship games a season ago. "There's no question that we will be challenged by this schedule and are excited to have meaningful accomplishments against strong competition."

A full slate of Big 5 contests is also on the schedule including three games at The Palestra. The Explorers square off against Penn on November 4th in the annual Big 5 Classic and also face Villanova (December 11th) and Saint Joseph's (January 15th) in home games on The Palestra hardwood.

Atlantic 10 Conference play begins on Tuesday, January 5th at George Washington with a 7:30 PM start. The Explorers will host the full complement of Atlantic 10 rivals in their tenth season of competition in one of college basketball's highest-regarded conferences.

On Sunday, February 6th Gola Arena will be the site for a doubleheader of Explorer basketball with the men's team squaring off against the Fordham Rams at 2:05PM. Coach Tom Lochner's women then take to court against Fordham at 5:00PM to complete a full afternoon of Explorer and Atlantic 10 hoops.

All unlisted times will be announced at a later date. Times are subject to change.