Men's Basketball | November 5, 2014

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team opens its 2014-15 season on Monday, November 10 when it hosts Philadelphia University in an exhibition game. Admission is free for all fans. The Explorers will begin their regular season just five days later when they host Colgate on Saturday, November 15 for homecoming.

Philadelphia University Rams at La Salle Explorers
Monday, November 10, 2014 | 7 PM | Tom Gola Arena

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Scouting the Explorers
La Salle returns one of the most experienced and talented front courts in the Atlantic 10 this season in seniors Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack. Wright was named to the preseason second-team all-Atlantic 10 team after averaging 13.3 ppg and 6.6 rpg on his way to All-Philadelphia Big 5 honors. Zack returns after leading the A-10 in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and double-doubles (13) last season. He has been tabbed as a preseason third-team all-Atlantic 10 as well as a preseason all Atlantic 10 defensive team member.
 
The Explorers will look to fill the shoes of three graduating senior starters from last season in Tyreek Duren, Sam Mills, and Tyrone Garland. The three accounted for 54.8% of total starts on the team and 52.1% of the team's scoring last season. The trio was part of a four person class along with Dunn who ended up the winningest class in La Salle history going back the past 22 years, finishing their careers with 75 wins.
 
The team returns plenty of options to replace the production lost by graduation. Senior guard D.J. Peterson returns after making nine starts in his junior campaign. Peterson averaged 4.4 points per game while shooting .366 from the field and .282 from behind the arc. Also returning are redshirt juniors in guard Khalid Lewis and guard/forward Rohan Brown. The two were vital coming off of the bench last season providing solid minutes. Brown had a field goal percentage of .400 on the season while also pulling down 68 rebounds.
 
Also in the mix to take over at guard are a pair of transfers who had to sit out last season due to NCAA rules. Jordan Price comes to 20^th and Olney after transferring from Auburn. He appeared in 27 games as a freshman making five starts and averaging 5.4 ppg. He was efficient from the outside, going 30-77 on the season from three-point distance. Cleon Roberts joins the team after a fantastic freshman campaign at Georgia Southern in 2012-13. Roberts averaged 8.6 ppg while starting all 33 games on the season. He also shot .385 from behind the arc on the season while adding in 36 steals.

Redshirt freshman Tony Washington will be called to provide vital minutes in the front court off of the bench. Washington joined the program last season after a stellar career at the Miller School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He averaged 12.6 ppg. and 8.4 rpg as a senior and was a second-team All-State Division I team member as a senior.
 
A pair of rookies, redshirt freshman Amar Stukes and true freshman Jonnie Shuler, also look to contribute this season. Stukes is in his second season on campus after redshirting last season. The Philadelphia native was a standout player at La Salle College High School who was third team All-State as a senior after averaging 19.6 points per game as a senior. Stukes joins the program this season after being named the D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Theodore Roosevelt High School where he averaged 15.1 ppg. and 4.5 apg.
 
Scouting the Rams
Philadelphia University comes into Tom Gola Arena having already taken down one Division 1 team this season after a 79-76 win over James Madison on November 2. The Rams head to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers on Friday before heading across Philadelphia for the matchup with the Explorers on Monday. They enter the matchup ranked 18^th in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Rankings.
 
The Rams utilized a balanced scoring attack against the Dukes, with all five starters recording at least 10 points. Junior forward Derek Johnson and senior guard Nick Schlitzer led the way with 21 and 19 points respectively in their exhibition win. Schlitzer was a constant threat from the outside shooting 4-6 from behind the arc on the day.
 
Philadelphia University is coming off a 25-7 season with a 16-3 record in the CACC and having won the postseason CACC Tournament crown. The Rams made the NCAA Division II Tournament but dropped a close one point decision to Franklin Pierce in the first round.
 
The Rams return four of five primary starters from last season's team. Juniors Andre Gibbs, Peter Alexis, Derek Johnson and senior Nick Schlitzer return from last season's team. Alexis has been tabbed as a preseason Division II All-American second team member by Sporting News. The junior averaged a team leading 18.2 points per game last season. Johnson was second on the team with 15.5 points per game and Schlitzer was close behind with 15.3 points per game. Gibbs serves the catalyst for the offense, averaging 3.5 assists per game which is the most of any returning player.  
 
Expect the Rams to stick with their starters for the majority of the minutes against La Salle. They only played six players against James Madison with four of the five starter playing the entire 40 minutes. All of their starters from last season averaged at least 35 minutes per game with only six players having played in at least 30 games for the Rams last season.
 
At the helm of Philadelphia University is Herb Magee who is entering his 48^th season leading the Rams. Magee is the winningest coach in NCAA men's basketball history and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
  
Exhibition Rewind
The Explorers opened the 2013-14 season with an exhibition contest against Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Blue and Gold handled the Crimson Hawks by a final score of 87-57. Redshirt senior guard Taylor Dunn led all scorers with 18 points while going 5-for-7 from three in the contest. Senior point guard Tyreek Duren drove the offense with 13 points of his own to go with six assists while not committing any turnovers.
 
All-Time Series
The Explorers are 4-0 all-time against Philadelphia University, going back to their time as "Philadelphia College of Textiles & Sciences." The series against the Rams started in 1931, with the most recent matchup against them coming in 1993, an 82-80 win for the Explorers.
  
Up Next
The Explorers open up the regular season on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Colgate for a 3:00 pm tip which will also serve as the university's Homecoming game. Tickets are available by visiting www.goexplorers.com/buytickets.