Men's Basketball | December 18, 2014

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team returns to the road on Saturday night as they travel to take on the Towson Tigers at SECU Arena with tip scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
La Salle Explorers (5-5) at Towson Tigers (7-3) 
Saturday, December 20 | 7 PM | SECU Arena
 
Radio: WNTP 990 AM
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Game Notes
La Salle | Towson
 
Last Time Out
Redshirt sophomore Jordan Price scored a game-high 26 points, including a half-court three-pointer as regulation expired to send the game to overtime, where La Salle ultimately fell 68-66 to American. The Explorers trailed by as many as 20 in the second half but went on a 13-0 run to fuel the comeback effort. The Eagles went 7-11 from the free throw line and forced La Salle into six turnovers in the extra period to pull out the win. Seniors Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack scored in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Zack finished with a double-double thanks to 11 rebounds. 

All-Time Series
This will be only the fourth ever matchup between the two programs with La Salle holding a narrow 2-1 advantage over Towson. The Explorers came out victorious in their most recent meeting, winning 89-51 in 2011 at the Towson Center. Five Explorers finished in double figures that day with Sam Mills leading the way with 18 points while Ramon Galloway and Earl Pettis each added 15 of their own. The Tigers were limited to just 28% shooting from the field in the second half and committed 15 turnovers in the loss.
 
Scouting the Explorers
Jordan Price enters the game leading the Big 5 averaging 16.6 points per game which is good for fifth in the Atlantic 10. The redshirt sophomore is also one of four players nationally with multiple games of 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists having achieved this against American and St. Francis Brooklyn.

Seniors Steve Zack and Jerrell Wright each rank in the top ten of the Atlantic 10 having pulled down 84 and 71 rebounds respectively on the season. Zack ranks second in the conference with 6.4 defensive rebounds per game and in the top ten in blocked shots with 1.5 blocks per game. Wright has helped give La Salle second chances offensively thanks to 3.2 offensive rebounds per game, good for fifth in the conference. 

Defense continues to be the cornerstone of success for La Salle this season. The Explorers are limiting opponents to an average of 55.0 points per game and a 34.2 field goal percentage in their five wins compared to 68.4 ppg and a 48.7 field goal percentage in losses this season.
 
Scouting the Tigers
Towson returns to SECU Arena following a two-game road trip including a trip to Philadelphia. The Tigers fell to Georgetown 78-46 before falling to Temple 76-64. The Tigers had won seven straight prior to the two-game losing skid. This will be the first game in ten days for Towson after a break for final exams.

The Tigers rank near the top in the nation in several statistical categories in the early going. They rank 12^th in the country as they average 27 free throw attempts per game and 12^th in made free throws with 18.7 per game. TU is also are a force on the boards as they are eighth in the country in rebounding margin, having out-rebounded their opponents by an average of 11.1 boards per game. Overall, the Tigers pull down an average of 41.5 rebounds per game.
 
Four McGlynn and John Davis have handled much of the scouring for the Tigers on the year, averaging 14.2 and 11.3 points per game, respectively. Davis has six double-doubles on the year which ranks him fifth in the nation in that category. Davis is also eighth in the country in total rebounds with  97. McGlynn sits fourth in the nation having made 96.1% of his free throws so far this year.

Connections
Towson's John Davis is a Philadelphia native and graduate of Neumann-Goretti, the high school of former Explorers Tyreek Duren '14 and Earl Pettis '12. La Salle's Amar Stukes had 26 points as his La Salle College HS beat Davis' Neumann-Goretti, 65-62, in January of 2013, snapping Neumann's 73-game Catholic League winning streak. Towson's Alex Gavrilovic played for La Salle's A-10 rival Dayton for three seasons.
 
Up Next
La Salle closes out its road trip on Tuesday, December 23 with a trip to Hofstra. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.