Men's Basketball | December 17, 2015

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team returns from its finals break layoff to welcome #15/19 Miami to Philadelphia on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. tip from The Palestra. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network with Tom McCarthy and Pete Gillen on the call. 
 
#13/16 Miami Hurricanes (9-1) at La Salle Explorers (4-4) 
Tuesday, December 22 | 5 PM | The Palestra

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Game Notes
La Salle | Miami

Last Time Out
La Salle redshirt junior Jordan Price led the team with 16 points, but it wasn't enough as No. 9/6 Villanova had five players score in double-figures on its way to a 76-47 win. Sophomore Johnnie Shuler also finished in double-figures with 11 points which was his fifth time this season with ten or more points. Shuler also led La Salle with five rebounds on the day and tied for a team-high with three steals.

All-Time Series
This will be the 16^th all-time meeting between the two programs. La Salle holds a 9-6 advantage in the series. The Explorers made two trips to Coral Gables during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, dropping both decisions. The last time the Hurricanes played La Salle in Philadelphia, the Explorers grabbed a 97-77 win in December of 1970 at the Palestra. All six Philadelphia meetings have come at The Palestra, with La Salle coming out victorious in all six meetings.  
 
Last Meeting With Miami
La Salle raced to an early 12-7 lead but Miami controlled play the remainder of the contest to record a 71-58 victory at the Bank United Center on Sunday afternoon Tyreek Duren led the Explorers with 18 points and five rebounds while Sam Mills had 15 and three steals.  Center Steve Zack recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Scouting the Explorers
 
• Jordan Price is currently fourth in the nation in scoring at 24.6 points per game (as of 12/17). He is second in the Atlantic 10 behind Jack Gibbs of Davidson (25.3). 

• Price needs only 90 points to reach 1,000 for his collegiate career. He scored 145 points at Auburn and has 765 as an Explorer.

• La Salle is playing two consecutive games versus teams ranked in the polls (#9/6 Villanova and #15/19 Miami). It will be the first time playing ranked foes in two straight games since beating #9 Butler and #19 VCU on January 23-26, 2013. 

• The Explorers are 6-0 all-time versus Miami in Philadelphia, with all six games being played at the Palestra.

• La Salle is third in the A-10 and tenth nationally in steals per game (9.6). 

• Tony Washington is second in the A-10 and 23rd nationally in blocks per game (2.5).

• La Salle has compiled a 314-175 (.642) mark at the Palestra. The building served as the Explorers home court from 1955-56 until 1988-89. La Salle has played at least one home or neutral site game at the Palestra the past five seasons and 14 of the last 15 seasons. 
  
La Salle-Miami Connections
-Miami senior Angel Rodriguez started his career at Kansas State. Rodriguez started and played 36 minutes and was limited to only a pair of free-throws in a 63-61 win by La Salle in the NCAA Tournament Second Round over fourth-seeded Kansas State. Rohan Brown played 15 minutes for La Salle in that contest adding five points off the bench.

-Hurricanes junior Davon Reed is a New Jersey native who was AAU teammates with La Salle junior B.J. Johnson on Team Final.

-Miami sophomore Ja-Quan Newton is a Philadelphia native who attended Neumann-Goretti. Explorers redshirt sophomore Amar Stukes and La Salle College High School helped end Neumann-Goretti's four year unbeaten streak in the Philadelphia Catholic League in 2013. A senior Stukes had a game-high 26 points while Newton paced Neumann-Goretti with 18.

-La Salle sophomore Johnnie Shuler faced off against fellow Washington, D.C. native, Miami sophomore James Palmer during their high school careers. Shuler and Theodore Roosevelt upended Palmer's St. John's College H.S. in 2014 by a final score of 84-77. Shuler scored 19 points in the win while Palmer added 20 points of his own.
 
Scouting the Hurricanes
-Miami is currently on a four-game winning streak grabbing wins over Nebraska, Charlotte, Florida and Charleston.
 
-All 10 scholarship players for the Hurricanes are shooting at least 40 percent from the field. Miami also has five players who are shooting 50 percent or better bed by Sheldon McClellan who owns a 59 percent field goal percentage.
 
-Miami has led for all but 10:54 in its nine wins on the season.
 
-The Hurricanes have made the most out of their trips to the free-throw line this season. They rank fifth nationally shooting 77.2% from the charity stripe.
 
-Miami has been equally efficient shooting from the field. As a team they rank 13^th in the nation in three-point percentage (42.4%) and 18^th in field-goal percentage (49.9%).

Up Next
La Salle leaves the Philadelphia area for the first time this season when it heads to Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday December, 31 for a 1:30 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.