Men's Basketball | December 1, 2015

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team returns to Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday to host Hofstra with tip slated for 7 p.m.  The Pride are coached by La Salle graduate and former assistant coach Joe Mihalich. 

Hofstra Pride (4-2) at La Salle Explorers (4-1)
Wednesday, December 2 | 7 PM | Tom Gola Arena

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Game Notes
La Salle | Hofstra

Pre-Game Information
The new Explorer GameDay food court opens at 5:30 PM in the Hall of Athletes area of the Hayman Center. Adults cost $15 and children under 12 are $8. 

Last Time Out
Junior Jordan Price had 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals as La Salle picked up a 81-51 win at Rowan on Saturday. The game was scheduled to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of Rowan's 1996 National Championship which was coached by Dr. John Giannini. The Explorers finished with 17 steals its most since the 2005-06 season. The trip was the first by a Division I team to a Division III program since Villanova played at Redlands in 2003.

All-Time Series
This will be the 21^st all-time meeting between the two programs. La Salle holds a 15-5 advantage over the Pride. The Explorers hold an 8-2 record over Hofstra at home, and is 8-2 in the past 10 games of the series.

Last Meeting With Hofstra:  
La Salle received a balanced offensive effort to earn a 83-74 win on the road at Hofstra. Jordan Price scored 28 points and added seven assists and five rebounds to lead the charge.  Cleon Roberts had 18 points, while had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Steve Zack had eight points and 11 rebounds. Offensively, the Blue and Gold were efficient with a season-high 19 assists and nine three-point baskets. The 19 assists were the most by La Salle since dishing 20 versus St. Bonaventure on February 26, 2014. 

Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers return home to Gola Arena after two straight road games at Penn and Rowan. Junior Jordan Price leads the Atlantic 10 and is third in the nation in scoring (25.0 ppg.). Price also ranks ninth nationally in three-point field goals/game (3.8). Sophomore Johnnie Shuler is 19th in the nation in minutes per game (36.6 mpg.). The Explorers are also 14th in the nation in steals per game (9.8 spg.). 

• Today's game matches two of the top scorers in Division I in La Salle's Jordan Price (25.0 ppg.) and Hofstra's Juan'ya Green (19.8 ppg.)

• Jordan Price (.528) and Cleon Roberts (.500) are shooting a combined 32-62 (.516) from three-point range. They are the only two teammates nationally to be shooting over 50% from three-point range (2.5 threes/game to be eligible). 

• La Salle is currently ranked second nationally and second in the A-10 in free-throw shooting at 82.3%. Johnnie Shuler is 11-for-12 (.917) and is ranked fourth in the league. 

• La Salle has won 25 of its last 29 non-conference regular season games (.862) at Gola Arena, including nine of the last 11. The only losses were Central Connecticut State (11/18/12), Manhattan (11/9/13), #10/9 Villanova (12/3/14) and American (12/16/14).

La Salle-Hofstra Connections
Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich is a 1978 graduate of La Salle who played four seasons for the Explorers under Paul Westhead helping the Explorers win 68 games and appear in a pair of NCAA Tournaments. He also spent 17 years as an assistant on the Explorers staff from 1981-98. Milhalich is 1-2 against La Salle as a head coach splitting two matchups while at Niagara and dropping last year's matchup.

The Pride have a pair of Philadelphia natives on their roster in seniors Juan'ya Green (Archbishop Carroll) and Ameen Tanksley (Imhotep Charter). Green and Archbishop Carroll grabbed a 58-45 win over La Salle College High School and Amar Stukes in 2011. Green finished with 16 points while a sophomore Stukes added four points. 

Scouting the Pride
-Hofstra enters the matchup coming off a road win over fellow A-10 foe St. Bonaventure. The Pride topped the Bonnies 89-83 on Saturday.

-The Pride opened up the season with three straight wins including beating Florida State to start the Paradise Jam, before dropping a pair of games to South Carolina and Indiana State.

-Hofstra has been led by their offense which ranks 34^th in the nation in scoring. The Pride are averaging 84.8 points per game but have allowed opponents to average 77.4 points against them.

-The Pride has done much of their offensive damage from beyond the three-point line. They rank 20^th in the nation averaging 10.2 three-point field goals made per game.

-Junior Brian Bernardi leads the outside threat for the Pride, shooting 56.3% from beyond the arch which ranks him 11^th in the nation.

-Senior Juan'ya Green leads the team with 7.2 assists per game which ranks 10^th in the nation.   

Up Next
The Explorers continue their home stand as they welcome Drexel to Tom Gola Arena on Saturday with tip scheduled for 2 p.m.