Men's Basketball | November 24, 2015

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season as it heads to the Palestra to take on Penn on Wednesday with tip scheduled for 7 p.m.  
 
La Salle Explorers (3-0) at Penn Quakers (3-1) 
Wednesday, November 25 | 7 PM | The Palestra 
 
Live Video (PPV) | Live Audio | Live Stats 
Live Tweets @GoExplorers
 
Game Notes
La Salle | Penn
 
Last Time Out 
La Salle redshirt junior Jordan Price scored 33 points, one short of a career high, and redshirt sophomore Tony Washington had 14 points and nine rebounds in his first action of the season to give La Salle an 83-75 victory over Lafayette. Playing at full strength for the first time this season, La Salle received contributions from up and down the bench. Redshirt senior Rohan Brown grabbed 11 rebounds, one short of a career-high, while sophomore Amar Stukes dished a career-high six assists (against no turnovers). Stukes has 16 assists versus two turnovers this season. 
 
All-Time Series 
This will be the 69th?all-time matchup between the two programs. Recently, La Salle has held the advantage winning the past eight contests between the two schools. The rivalry has been an annual matchup since 1956 with the formation of the Big 5. The two teams have played 53 of their matchups at the Palestra.
 
Last Meeting With Penn
Five Explorers scored in double figures as the La Salle men's basketball team picked up an 84-67 win over Penn at Tom Gola Arena. La Salle shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) from the field and were able to stretch its lead up to 22 points in the second half. Jordan Price paced the Explorers with 18 points while Steve Zack added 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Amar Stukes added a career-high 13 points shooting 6-for-8 from the field.  

Scouting the Explorers 
• Jordan Price is currently leading the nation in scoring at 29.3 points per game. 

• Sophomore Johnnie Shuler, standing just 5-foot-11, is leading the Explorers in rebounding with 18. His 18 rebounds this year are two more than the 16 he grabbed all of last season.

• Sophomore Amar Stukes has committed only two turnovers in 91 minutes and has dished a team-best 16 assists. He is 15th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (8:1). 

• La Salle is 7-2 in November over the past two seasons. 

• La Salle has won six of its last eight games at the Palestra since November 26, 2011. The Palestra served as La Salle's primary home from 1955-56 to 1988-89 and the Explorers have continued to play a handful of games there each season. The Blue and Gold are 314-175 overall in the "Cathedral of Basketball."

• La Salle is currently ranked seventh nationally and is second in the A-10 in free-throw shooting at 80.7%. Johnnie Shuler is 9-for-10 (.900) and is ranked fifth in the league. 

• La Salle has been tied or leading for all but 2:59 so far this season (97.5% of the action).

• La Salle has won the past eight games in the series with Penn. 
 
Scouting the Quakers 
Penn opened the season with three straight wins over Robert Morris, Central Connecticut State and Delaware State but fell at Washington 104-67 the last time out. Sophomore Sam Jones leads the Quakers in scoring at 15.0 ppg. while Darien Henry-Jones adds 12.8 ppg. and 7.5 rpg. Matt Howard is also in double-figures at 10.3 ppg. The Quakers are coached by former Cornell and Boston College head coach Steve Donahue, who is a former Penn assistant.  
 
Up Next 
La Salle heads to Rowan on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip. Prior to the game there will be a celebration for the 20th anniversary of the 1996 Division III National Championship team at Rowan which was coached by current La Salle coach Dr. John Giannini.?