Men's Basketball | January 15, 2016

KINGSTON, R.I.  – The La Salle men's basketball team completes its road trip as it heads to Rhode Island to take on the Rams on Saturday with tip slated for 2:30 p.m. with the matchup being aired live nationally on NBCSN.

La Salle Explorers (5-9, 1-3 A-10) at Rhode Island Rams (10-7, 2-2 A-10)
Saturday, January 16 | 2:30 PM | Kingston, R.I.

TV: NBCSN (Mike Corey, Dalen Cuff)
Live Video | Download the NBC Extra App to view on your phone or tablet
Live Audio | Live Stats 
Live Tweets @GoExplorers 

Game Notes
La Salle | Rhode Island

Last Time Out
La Salle held an eight-point lead in the early going but foul trouble and a talented and balanced Richmond team proved to be too much to handle as the Spiders captured a 83-61 victory.  Junior Jordan Price led the Explorers with 19 points, while classmate Cleon Roberts and sophomore Johnnie Shuler each had 15. Shuler also led the team with a career-high eight rebounds and set a career-best with five three-pointers. As a team, La Salle connected on a season-high 13 three-pointers.

Last Meeting With Rhode Island
The Rams grabbed a 59-56 road victory over La Salle last February. Jerrell Wright had a game-high 23 points while adding eight rebounds in the loss. Steve Zack scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half helping fuel the Explorers comeback effort that fell just short. La Salle closed a 15 point deficit to just one point with 6:15 remaining. However, missed free throws haunted the Explorers down the stretch as they could not complete the comeback.
 
Scouting the Explorers
• Jordan Price is currently 13th in the nation in scoring at 22.0 points per game. He is second in the Atlantic 10 behind Jack Gibbs of Davidson.

• Price was named Big 5 Co-Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 19.0 ppg., 8.5 rpg., and 5.0 apg. He scored his 1,000 career point in a win over #25 Dayton.  

• Price is one of three players in the nation to average at least 22.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg., and 3.0 apg.

• La Salle made 13 three's at Richmond, the most since tying a school-record of 18 on February 9, 2013 vs. Fordham.

• Johnnie Shuler had a career-high in points (15), rebounds (eight) and three-pointers (five) in Wednesday's loss at Richmond.

• Rohan Brown (knee injury) and Yevgen Sakhniuk (sickness) have not appeared in a game since December 22 versus Miami. La Salle has played with seven scholarship players so far in conference play.

• Johnnie Shuler is ranked ninth nationally in minutes per game (37.6) and is second in the A-10.  La Salle has three players in the top seven in minutes per game in the A-10 (Shuler, Roberts, Price).

La Salle-Rhode Island Connections
La Salle assistant coach Horace "Pappy" Owens is a '83 graduate of Rhode Island and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 1996. Owens ranks seventh in Rams history with 1,750 career points. He was named an honorable mention All-American as a senior while averaging 22.3 points per game.

Rhode Island Assistant Coaches David Cox and Jim Carr and La Salle Director of Basketball Operations Matt Bloom were all part of the 2010-11 Rutgers basketball staff. Cox was Associate Head Coach while Carr served as the Director of Basketball Operations. Bloom spent the season as an Operations Assistant.   
 
Rams graduate transfer Four McGlynn is a York, Pa. native and has faced the Explorers previously in his collegiate career. McGlynn scored a team-high 14 points for Towson last year as they fell to La Salle 67-53.

Scouting the Rams
• Rhode Island returns home after a tough road trip where they fell at Saint Joseph's (72-67) and St. Bonaventure (69-64).

• The Rams have won both of their conference games at home so far this season, grabbing wins over Saint Louis (85-57) and Richmond (77-65).

• Rhode Island leads the conference and ranks 34^th nationally in scoring defense only allowing opponents to score 64.6 points per contest against them. They also lead the Atlantic 10 in total blocks with 83 on the season.

• Junior Hassan Martin ranks second in the conference and 37^th in the nation in field-goal percentage, shooting 58% on the season. Martin also is 22^nd in the country and leads the A-10 with 38 blocks on the season.   

Up Next
La Salle returns to Philadelphia to take on Big 5 foe Temple on Wednesday as part of the Big 5 Doubleheader at The Palestra. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. and will be televised on CBSSN.