Men's Basketball | January 30, 2015

OLEAN, N.Y. – The La Salle men's basketball team hits the road Saturday as it visits St. Bonaventure for a 7 p.m. tip from the Reilly Center. The game will be broadcast regionally on MyPHIL17.4 and Time Warner Cable as well as radio coverage in Philadelphia on WNTP 990 AM.

La Salle Explorers (11-9, 3-4 A-10) at St. Bonaventure Bonnies (11-7, 4-3 A-10)
Saturday, January 31 | 7 PM | Reilly Center
 
TV: MyPHL17.4 (Comcast 253/Verizon Fios 468), Time Warner Cable. [SNY will air tape-delay of game on Sunday at 3 PM]
Radio: WNTP 990 AM | Live Audio | Live Video (FREE)

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Game Notes
La Salle | St. Bonaventure

Last Time Out
La Salle overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat Saint Joseph's 53-48 in the final Big 5 game of the season at Tom Gola Arena on Tuesday night. "I think it's the perfect example of a character win," La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini said.  The Explorers scored seven straight points to tie the game at 39-39 on a Jordan Price jumper with 7:43 left in the game. The Explorers later took their first lead since the 13:41 mark in the first half on a Steve Zack tip-in with 5:09 remaining in the game. A Khalid Lewis steal with 1:35 remaining setup the go-ahead jumper by Jerrell Wright with 1:12 left in the game.

All-Time Series
La Salle owns the all-time series 15-13 over the Bonnies...This will mark the third straight year La Salle has visited St. Bonaventure and the fourth time in five years...La Salle has won four of the last six meetings overall... The Explorers have won two of the last three in Olean...The two teams met in the 2011 and 2014 Atlantic 10 Tournaments...The teams also met at neutral sites in the 1963 Quaker City Tournament and 1981 Connecticut Mutual Classic.

Scouting the Explorers
La Salle enters the game allowing the second fewest points per game in Atlantic 10 play, limiting conference opponents to just 58.3 points per game. Additionally, the Explorers held opponents to just 49 points per contest in their three league wins. The Explorers have also taken care of the ball during conference play, averaging a 2.71 turnover margin per Atlantic 10 game.

Cleon Roberts has emerged as a scoring threat since the start of conference play. The sophomore leads the team with 12.0 points per game in Atlantic 10 play, an increase of nearly four points from his out of conference scoring average of 8.1 points per game.

Roberts also checks in at sixth in the conference in three-point percentage, converting 46.9 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. Roberts also ranks in the top ten in steals, averaging 1.7 per Atlantic 10 game, and free throw percentage (81 percent) against A-10 foes.

The Explorers frontcourt has come into form since the start of conference play. Both Steve Zack and Jerrell Wright rank in the top 10 of offensive rebounds per Atlantic 10 game, averaging 3.0 and 2.6 offensive rebounds per game, respectively. Zack is also third in blocks per game, averaging 2.4 blocks per contest.

Explorer Notes
• La Salle is allowing just 61.0 ppg., which is the best since the 1950-51 Explorers allowed 60.9.

• La Salle has made a three-point basket in 766 consecutive games. The last time the Explorers went without a three was on March 6, 1989 versus Saint Peter's in the MAAC Championship at the Meadowlands. (courtesy of Stats, Inc.)

• St. Joe's 48 points marks La Salle's lowest opponent point total since the Explorers held Massachusetts to 44 points in February of 2006.

• La Salle's defense, in terms of shooting percentage has either been really good, or really not. In ten of the 20 games, La Salle has held opponents in the 30s (and are 9-1 in those games). In seven games, the opponent has shot above 50% (La Salle is 1-6 in those games). Just three times has an opponent shot in the 40s.

• Steve Zack is one of two players in the nation with at least 40 blocks and 40 assists joining Jameel Warney of Stony Brook.

• Cleon Roberts has made a three-pointer in 14 of his last 15 games and is shooting 31-for-66 (.470) from long-range during that span. He has moved up to sixth place in the A-10 in three-point shooting (.429). It is the highest by an Explorer since Ramon Galloway shot .442 in 2011-12.

• Jerrell Wright became one of nine Explorers to score 1,300 points and grab 700 rebounds in a career on January 14. He is now 14th in La Salle history with 762 rebounds.

Scouting the Bonnies
St. Bonaventure had Rhode Island on the ropes on Sunday, tied 47-47 with 2:32 left to play before the Rams went on a 6-1 run to close out a 53-48 win over the visiting Bonnies. The loss snapped a three-game win streak by St. Bonaventure (George Mason, Saint Joseph's, Duquesne).

Junior Dion Wright finished with 22 points, which tied a career high, in the loss at Rhode Island while going 10-18 from the field. Wright added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. The Bonnies leading scorer Marcus Posley was held to just six points in the loss, tying a season low and marking just the third time this year the junior failed to score in double figures. Posley is averaging 18.0 points per conference game which ranks third in the Atlantic 10.

Senior Youssou Ndoye has been a constant presence down low for the Bonnies. Ndoye is averaging 10.4 rebounds per conference game, which ranks second in the conference as well as 13.6 points per game in the league (13^th). The senior grabbed 11 rebounds against Rhody, and has secured double-digit rebounds in 13 of 18 games this year.  

Up Next
La Salle returns home as they host Richmond for a 6:30 p.m. tip on Thursday with the game being broadcast on NBCSN.